John L. Crow

I am an educational technologist and scholar of religious history whose work bridges the humanities, digital literacy, and online pedagogy. My research focuses on the historical development of Eastern and esoteric religious traditions in the modern West, with particular attention to how Buddhism and Western occultism emerged in dialogue with one another during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. My recent book, The Life of Allan Bennett, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya, examines these intersections through the biography of an English Theosophist who became one of the earliest Western Buddhist missionaries.

Alongside my scholarly work, I serve as an Instructional Specialist Faculty member at Florida State University, where I focus on educational technology, online course design, and the teaching of digital and AI literacy in the humanities. I work closely with faculty to design pedagogically sound online courses and to critically integrate emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, into teaching and learning. I also teach online courses in religious studies through Utah State University.

Across both research and practice, my work is driven by a shared question. How do institutions, instructors, and students meaningfully adapt to technological change without losing sight of historical context, human judgment, and educational values?

Scholarship

My scholarship spans religious history and educational technology, united by a shared concern with how institutions and individuals adapt to periods of cultural and technological change.

Research Areas

Religious History

1. Western esotericism and occultism in the modern period
2. Buddhism and other Asian religious traditions in their early transmission to the West
3. Religion, science, and spiritual authority in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
4. Esoteric constructions of the body, emotion, and discipline

Educational Technology

1. Online pedagogy and course design in the humanities
2. Digital and AI literacy for students and instructors
3. Accessibility, universal design, and inclusive learning environments
4. Critical approaches to educational technology and artificial intelligence (AI)

Chronological and Geographic Focus

1. Period: ca. 1850 to the beginning of World War II
2. Primary regions: the United States and Britain
3. Secondary regions: Western Europe
4. Global context: English-speaking world shaped by British and American imperial networks
5. Asian traditions: India and Southeast Asia, with limited reference to East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism in transnational contexts

Core Claims

1. Western esotericism, particularly occultism, has played a far more significant role in modern Western culture than is typically acknowledged.
2. Early encounters between Western esoteric movements and Asian religious traditions produced hybrid forms of religion that shaped popular, scholarly, and institutional understandings of Buddhism in the West.
3. When deployed thoughtfully, educational technologies can expand access and improve learning without displacing historical context, disciplinary expertise, or human judgment.

Selected Projects

1. The Life of Allan Bennett, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya (Equinox, 2026)
   Two-volume biography and collected writings examining the intersection of Western occultism, early Western Buddhism, and imperial networks.
2. “The Invention of Occultism: The Creation and Shaping of an Esoteric Category”
   An analysis of how “occultism” emerged as a modern classificatory and bibliographic category.
   
3. “Accessing the Astral with a Monitor and Mouse”
A study of esoteric religion and virtual environments, exploring how religious experience is mediated by digital space.

Methods and Orientation

1. Historical and archival research
2. Close textual analysis
3. Genealogical and critical approaches to religious categories
4. Applied digital humanities and pedagogical research

I approach both historical scholarship and educational technology critically and historically, with an emphasis on clarity, evidence, and long-term consequences rather than novelty or hype.

Curriculum Vitae

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