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Student profile

Elizabeth Dugu

Elizabeth Dugu
Faculty

Faculty of Arts & Science

Program

Religion (PhD)

Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Marc des Jardins

Thesis title: Daoism and Local Tujia Religious Traditions: Transmission, Localization, and Transformation from the Late Qing to Contemporary China

Elizabeth Dugu is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Concordia University. She holds an M.A. in Education, an M.A. in Theology (Christianity), and a B.A. in Administrative Management. Her current research examines the evolution of Daoism and local Tujia religious traditions. Drawing on her Tujia heritage, linguistic knowledge, and community connections, she investigates ancestral traditions, ritual lineages, and religious knowledge transmission in Southwest China's Ba-Shu region. Her interdisciplinary work engages anthropology, interethnic relations, and borderland studies, with a focus on documenting understudied traditions and promoting cultural sustainability and minority identity.

Elizabeth has published peer-reviewed journals and presented at more than ten academic conferences in different countries. Her professional experience spans education, including teaching in Quebec's French and English school boards, international cultural centers, as well as project management, public relations, and business development in China and Canada.

Integral to Tujia cultural traditions, Elizabeth's artistic interest and practice grew through organizing university cultural events and participating in Tibetan (藏族) and Yi (彝族) dance groups during her B.A. in China. These experiences nourished her creative work in sensory research performance, digital storytelling, and interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing academic research to wider audiences.

Publications:

  • "From Cosmic Humility to Institutional Humility in Humanistic Religion, Comparative Theology, and Humanistic Education for Navigating Conflict." 2026. Invited contribution to an edited volume (Submitted)
  • "The Decay of Academic Mentorship and Friendship Under Marketization of Higher Education." 2022. In Encyclopedia of Teacher Education.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8679-5_19   
  • "Utilitarianism Captures the University: A Study of Marketization in Contemporary Higher Education." 2017. Master's thesis, McGill University. https://mcgill.scholaris.ca/items/cd1fa821-9780-4314-adb3-9e83115fd7ed   
  • "Reaching a Mature Social Life: The Ultimate Goal of Deweyan Democracy - The Role of Public Intellectual in Education and Grassroots Movements." 2016. Kinesis: Journal of Philosophy 41, no. 1 (Spring)

Creative Output: Divination and the Sacred Cosmos: Ritual Knowledge from Sanxingdui.

Creator and performer of this original interdisciplinary multimedia project combining historical and archaeological research with digital imagery, music, and performance. Presented and published at ISM. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQsnijlCPSQ

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