James Mark Shields received a B.A. in politics and anthropology from McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 1991, followed by a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, U.K. in 1993, and a M.A. in philosophy of religion from McGill University in 1997. In 2000 he received a Monbugakusho (Ministry of Culture and Education) Fellowship from the Japanese government, allowing him to study at Kyoto University's Institute for Japanese Philosophy from 2000-2002. He received his Ph.D. in Buddhism and philosophy of religion from McGill University in 2006. His research includes modern Buddhist thought, Japanese philosophy, comparative ethics and philosophy of religion. He has published over a dozen articles, chapters and translations in peer-reviewed scholarly publications, and is currently engaged in writing a manuscript on the progressive and radical 'New Buddhist' movements of late-Meiji, Taisho and early Showa Japan. He has taught courses on a variety of subjects, including Asian and comparative religions and philosophy, sexual ethics, religion and gender studies, and religion and the arts for McGill University, Antioch College, Bucknell University and Doshisha University. He is currently Assistant Professor of Asian and Comparative Thought at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA and Visiting Faculty Fellow at Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, 2009-10.