John Lowell Crow
2801 Starmount Ln
Tallahassee, FL 32303
Email: jlcrow@fsu.edu
Website: http://www.johnlcrow.com/
Education
2017 | Ph.D., Florida State University, Department of Religious Studies |
2009 | M.A., University of Amsterdam, Department of Religious Studies |
2007 | B.A., Kennesaw State University, Department of English |
- Ensure online course quality to meet Florida Board of Governor's Quality Initiative though training, consultation, and course evaluations using Quality Matters rubric
- Leading role in university’s planning, development, and training of accessibility and universal design policies and solutions to ensure compliance with state and federal laws
- Design, develop, implement, and evaluate instructional and technological solutions in support of online, hybrid, and in-person courses and programs for numerous colleges and departments
- Evaluate, recommend, and train university faculty and staff to use educational technologies
- Assist with development of course and project budgets, timelines, and marketing materials to ensure successful course deployment
Florida State University, Office of Distance Learning (ODL) Tallahassee, Florida, August 2019 to Present |
- Design, develop, implement, and evaluate instructional and technological solutions in support of online, hybrid, and in-person courses and programs for diverse departments throughout university
- Ensure the quality of online course design though training, consultation, and course evaluations using Quality Matters rubric
- Leading role in university’s planning and development of accessibility and universal design policies and solutions to ensure quality and compliance
- Evaluate, recommend, and train university faculty and staff to use numerous pedagogical, accessibility, and universal design technologies
- Assist with development of course and project budgets, timelines, and marketing materials to ensure successful course deployment
Florida State University, Office of Distance Learning (ODL) Tallahassee, Florida, August 2014 to July 2019 |
- Utah State University:
- Introduction to Religious Studies: 2014 to present, online
- Introduction to Buddhism: 2015 to present, online
- Religion & Science: Examining a Complex History of Interaction: 2016 to 2017, 2022, online
- Florida State University:
- Digital Literacy for the Humanities: 2019 to present, in-person and online
- Introduction to World Religions: 2010 to 2016, in-person and online
- Religion in the United States: 2013, in-person
- New Religious Movements: 2014, in-person
- Tallahassee Community College:
- Introduction to World Religion: from 2011 to 2014, in-person and online
- Humanities I (Pre-History to Italian Renaissance): 2013, in-person
|
|
|
|
|
|
Publications
Books- The Life of Allan Bennett, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya. 2 Volumes, biography & collected writings. Co-authored with Elizabeth J. Harris. Equinox Publishing. (Forthcoming, Fall 2024)
|
- “Taming the Astral Body: The Theosophical Society’s Ongoing Problem of Emotion and Control.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 80.3 (September 2012), 691-717. doi: 10.1093/jaarel/lfs042
|
- “Accessing the Astral with a Monitor and Mouse: Esoteric Religion and the Astral located in Three Dimensional Virtual Realms” in Contemporary Esotericism, Granholm K. & Egil Asprem, eds. London: Acumen Publishing, February 2013, 159-180.
- “Venerable Ananda Metteyya’s Buddhist Mission to the UK,” in Dharma to the UK: A Centennial Celebration of Buddhist Legacy. ed. Dr. Mahinda Deegalle. London: World Buddhist Foundation, 14-36, September 2008, 14-36.
|
|
- Taormina’s Historic Past and Continuing Story: A Unique Spiritual Community in Ojai, by Helene Vachet (Minneapolis: MCP Books, 2016). Reviewed for Quest, 105.2 (Spring 2017), 47.
- Handbook of the Theosophical Current, edited by Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein (Leiden: Netherlands, 2013). Reviewed for Communal Societies: Journal of the Communal Studies Association, 36.1 (Spring 2016), 86-89.
- Yearning for the New Age: Laura Holloway-Langford and Late Victorian Spirituality, by Diane Sasson (Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2012). Reviewed for Communal Societies: Journal of the Communal Studies Association, 34.1 (Spring 2014), 100-102.
- Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between Mind and Body, edited by Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnson (Routledge, 2013). Reviewed for Religious Studies Review, 40.4 (December 2014), 196.
- Occultism in a Global Perspective, edited by Henrik Bogdan and Gordan Djurdjevic (Acumen Publishing, 2014). Reviewed for Religious Studies Review, , 40.4 (December 2014), 195.
- Celestial India: Madame Blavatsky and the Birth of Indian Nationalism, by Isaac Lubelsky (Equinox Pub. 2012). Reviewed for Nova Religio 17.4 (May 2014).
- Radiance from Halcyon: A Utopian Experiment in Religion and Science, by Paul Eli Ivey (Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2013). Reviewed for Quest, 101.4 (Fall 2013), 156, 158.
- Native American Freemasonry: Associationalism and Performance in America, by Joy Porter (Nebraska UP 2011). Nova Religio 17.2 (Nov. 2013), 123-126.
- Dixie Dharma: Inside a Buddhist Temple in the American South, by Jeff Wilson (UNC Press 2012). Reviewed for the Journal of Southern Religion, vol 14 (2012).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- “Buddhism,” “Illuminati Controversy,” and “New Age,” in Religion and Politics in America: An Encyclopedia of Church and State in American Life, Smith, Frank, ed., Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, May 2016. Pgs 87-89, 369-370, 509-513.
- “Astral plane,” “Mesmerism,” and “Ritual magic” entries in Ghosts, Spirits, and Psychics: The Paranormal from Alchemy to Zombies, Matt Cardin, ed., ABC-Clio, August 2015. Pgs 27-30, 158-161, 271-274.
- “Automatic Writing,” “Channeling,” “Aleister Crowley,” and “Spiritualism,” entries in Spirit Possession around the World: Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion across Cultures, Joseph Laycock, ed., ABC-Clio, June 2015. Pgs 22-24, 71-74, 87-89, 323-328.
- “Ouija Board” and “Spiritualism” entries in The Twenties in America, Carl Rollyson, ed. Pasadena: Salem Press, April 2012. Pgs 658-659, 818-819.
|
|
|
|
- “Thought Forms: A Bibliographic Error” in Theosophical History: A Quarterly Journal of Research 16.3-4 (July – October 2012), 126-127.
- “Miracle or Magic? The Problematic Status of Christian Amulets,” in Van Discussie tot Beleving: Religiestudies aan de UvA (From Discussion to Experience: Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam). ed. Jacqueline Braak and Deirdre Malone. Amsterdam: Ars Notoria/University of Amsterdam, 97-112, April 2009.
- “The Unity of All Life: Ananda Metteyya’s View of Nature,” in The Middle Way: The Journal of the Buddhist Society. Serialized in 83.3 (November 2008), 131-137, & 83.4 (February 2009), 195-202.
- “Allan Bennett & the Emergence of Buddhism in the West,” in Insight: The Journal of the Theosophical Society of England, 49.3 (Autumn 2008), 30-33.
- “Epistemological Blinders: Constructivism and Mahamudra,” in Quinta Essentia: The Selected Proceedings of the 5th Annual North Georgia Student Philosophy Conference, August 2007.
- “The Nature of Becoming: An Examination of Aleister Crowley’s Ontology and Map of Consciousness,” in Interplay: The Selected Proceedings of the 4th Annual North Georgia Student Philosophy Conference, January 2007.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Invited Presentations
March 30, 2016 | “Modern Science’s Dependence on Religion.” Utah State University, Logan, Utah |
March 30, 2016 | “Creating and Teaching Effective Online Courses.” Utah State University, Logan, Utah |
September 20, 2009 | “Spreading The Light of Asia To Europe: Ananda Metteyya’s Buddhist Message to the West.” Keynote Lecture, World Buddhist Foundation “UK Buddhist Day Celebrations,” London, England |
Public Scholarship & Media
September 2016 | Radio Interview. The Colin McEnroe Show, National Public Radio, Connecticut: “Satanism: Religion, Philosophy, Lifestyle.” |
2015 – 2016 | Religious Institutions of Tallahassee & Cross-Cultural Diversity Artifacts, a student-faculty digital humanities/World Religions project |
2011 – 2015 | Contributor; Religion in American History Group Blog |
September 2013 | Radio Interview. Bridge to Everywhere, 89.5 HVAF, Palmer, Alaska: “A Survey and History of Alternative Religions in America.” |
Conference Presentations
October 2022 | “The Invention of Occultism: The Creation and Shaping of an Esoteric Category.” International Theosophical History Conference, Naarden, Netherlands |
May 2018 | “Against Sex and Marriage: Blavatsky’s Arguments for Celibacy and Chastity Being at Occultism’s Core.” Rice University, “Eros, Sexuality, and Embodiment in Esoteric Traditions,” Association for the Study of Esotericism, Houston, Texas |
October 2017 | “The American Tours of Annie Besant.” The Theosophical Society in England. International Conference on Annie Besant (1847-1933), London, England |
November 2016 | Panelist, “The Digital Futures of Religious Studies.” Annual Meeting, American Academy of Religion, San Antonio, Texas |
June 2016 | “More than the Sum of its Parts: Mapping the Subtle Bodies in Theosophy.” University of California, Davis. “Cartographies of the Soul,” Association for the Study of Esotericism, Davis, California |
October 2015 | With Dr. Annette Jones. “Using Media Analytics to Enhance Course Design.” Online Learning Consortium. 21st Annual Online Learning Consortium International Conference, Orlando, Florida |
February 2015 | “Embodying Christ Consciousness: Jiddu Krishnamurti as the 20th century Theosophical Mahatma.” Florida State University. “Religion & Resistance,” Fourteenth Annual Department of Religion Graduate Student Symposium, Tallahassee, Florida |
November 2014 | “The Primeval Divine Hermaphrodite: Theosophy’s Construction and Deconstruction of Victorian Gender Norms.” Annual Meeting, American Academy of Religion, San Diego, California |
September 2014 | “A Necessary Evil: Theosophy’s Ambivalence towards the Human Body.” The Theosophical Society in England. International Theosophical History Conference, London, England |
June 2014 | “The Theosophical Shift to the Visual: Graphical Representations of the Human Body in the Literature of Second and Third Generation Leadership in the Theosophical Society.” Colgate University. “Esoteric Practice: Theories, Representations, & Method,” Fifth International Conference of the Association of the Study of Esotericism, Hamilton, New York |
February 2014 | “The Theosophical Shift to the Visual: Graphical Representations of the Human Body in the Literature of Second and Third Generation Leadership in the Theosophical Society.” Florida State University. “Inscribing Authority: Bodies, Spaces, Texts,” Thirteenth Annual Department of Religion Graduate Student Symposium, Tallahassee, Florida |
February 2013 | “Just Call Me Jack: Madame Blavatsky’s Gender Politics.” Florida State University. “Politics of Religion,” Twelfth Annual Department of Religion Graduate Student Symposium, Tallahassee, Florida | December 2012 | “Ariosophic Demon Seeds: The Theosophical Roots of Nazi Race Theory.” “World War II and Religion Conference,” Institute on World War II and the Human Experience and Department of Religion, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida |
November 2012 | “Disciplining the Mental and Desire Bodies on the Astral Plane: Thought-Forms and the Regulation of the Theosophical Bodies.” Annual Meeting, American Academy of Religion, Chicago, Illinois |
July 2012 | “Blavatsky’s Coming Race: Nationalism, Racism and Fiction in Theosophical Doctrine.” University of California-Davis. “Esotericism, Religion, and Culture,” Association for the Study of Esotericism Fourth International Conference, Davis, California |
March 2012 | “Blavatsky’s Coming Race: Nationalism, Racism and Fiction in Theosophical Doctrine.” University of North Carolina-Asheville. “Spiritual Matters/Matters of the Spirit,” 33rd Annual Conference of the Nineteenth Century Studies Association, Asheville, North Carolina |
March 2012 | “Lemuria Rising: California in the Theosophical Place-Making Imagination.” South Eastern Commission for the Study of Religion, Regional Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia |
February 2012 | “Blavatsky’s Coming Race: Nationalism, Racism, and Fiction in Theosophical Doctrine.” Florida State University. “Beyond Borders: Constructing, Deconstructing, and Transgressing Boundaries,” 11th Annual Graduate Student Symposium, Tallahassee, Florida |
September 2011 | “‘Can Females Become Adepts?’: Explicating the Complexity of Gender within the Theosophical Society.” Florida State University. “Women and Minorities: Past and Present,” Third Annual Southeast Regional History Graduate Student Conference, Tallahassee, Florida |
August 2010 | “Placing Western Esotericism on the Map: Exploring the Geographic Distribution of a Modern Occult Organization.” University of Toronto, “Religion: A Human Phenomenon,” 20th World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religion, Toronto, Canada |
February 2010 | “Unveiling the Unveiled: Exploring the Genealogy and Rhetoric of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, Positive Thinking, and the Law of Attraction,” Florida State University, “Sects and Sexuality: Issues of Division and Diversity,” 9th Annual Graduate Student Symposium, Tallahassee, Florida |
July 2009 | “A New Jerusalem in Cyberspace?” University of Strasbourg, “Capitals of European Esotericism and Transcultural Dialogue,” 2nd International Conference of ESSWE, Strasbourg, France |
November 2008 | “Duncan’s Royal Arch Ritual as a possible framework for Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.” University of Leiden, “The Expression of Freemasonry,” The Hague, Netherlands |
April 2008 | “The Bhikkhu and the Magus: Exploring Allan Bennett’s Influence on Aleister Crowley.” CESNUR, ‘Twenty Years and More: Research into Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the New Spirituality’, London, England |
March 2008 | “Miracle or Magic: The Problematic Status of Christian Amulets.” University of Amsterdam, “Emblems, Magic, and Hidden Knowledge,” Amsterdam, Netherlands |
April 2007 | “Epistemological Blinders: Constructivism and Mahamudra.” Kennesaw State University, 5h Annual North Georgia Student Philosophy Conference, Kennesaw, Georgia |
April 2006 | “The Nature of Becoming: An examination of Aleister Crowley’s Ontology and Map of Consciousness.” Kennesaw State University, 4th Annual North Georgia Student Philosophy Conference, Kennesaw, Georgia |
Academic Service
2013 – Present | Buddhism in the West, Steering Committee, American Academy of Religion (AAR) |
2014 – 2020 | Co-Organizer THATCamp AAR/SBL, The Humanities and Technology Camp |
2008 – 2017 | Assistant to the Editor, Japan Studies Association Journal, Japan Studies Association |
2011 – 2016 | Assistant to the Editor, Belmont Humanities Symposium Journal, Belmont University |
2015 – 2016 | Textbook Chapters Reviewer, Oxford University Press, W.W. Norton |
2013 | MOOC Advisory Committee Member, Society for U.S. Intellectual Historians |
2005 – 2012 | Assistant to the Editor, East West-Connections, the Asian Studies Development Program of the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i |
2010 – 2011 | Assistant to the Editors, Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture, American Society of Church History |
Scholarships/Grants/Awards
2022 | FSU Office of Distance Learning Accountability Award |
2021 | FSU Office of Distance Learning Innovation Award |
2020 | FSU Office of Distance Learning Customer Service Award |
2017 | FSU Office of Distance Learning Innovation Award |
2016 | FSU Office of Distance Learning Innovation Award |
2009 – 2016 | FSU Department of Religion Presentation Grant |
2009 – 2016 | FSU Congress of Graduate Students Conference Presentation Grant |
2013 | FSU Excellence in Online Course Design Award |
2013 | Honorable Mention FSU Excellence in Online Teaching Award |
2011 | Best Philosophy Paper, Third Annual Southeast Regional History Graduate Student Conference |
2007 – 2009 | Amsterdam Merit Scholarship, Full Tuition, Graduate School of Humanities |
2004 – 2007 | Georgia HOPE Tuition Scholarship |
Certifications
June 2021 | Addressing Accessibility and Usability (AAU), Quality Matters |
January 2021 | QM Higher Education Peer Reviewer, Quality Matters |
July 2015 | Advanced Online Teaching Certificate, Online Learning Consortium |
December 2014 | Applying Quality Matters Higher Ed Rubric, Quality Matters |
Organizations/Memberships
2008 – 2020 | European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism |
2006 – 2020 | Association for the Study of Esotericism (North America) |
2010 – 2019 | American Academy of Religion |
2013 – 2019 | American Historical Association |
Work Experience
- Assist in the maintenance of all information technology for largest Presbyterian PCA congregation in the United States
- Provide support of servers, network, and users on a day-to-day basis
- Designed, implemented, and managed Windows 2003 & Cisco based network infrastructure between Atlanta, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine, with satellite locations in Denver, Colorado, and Austin, Texas.
- Project management of multiple internal and client based projects
- Taught numerous internal courses to employees and management on software and network systems
- Managed projects for adapting software products and documentation for foreign markets for Fortune 500 companies
- Installed and managed internal local area network
- Updated and maintained company internet site in five languages
- Installed & managed Windows & Macintosh based networks for graphics and publishing companies throughout Southeastern United States
- Sales & installation of non-English language fonts, graphics & design software, specializing in Asian languages
- Assisted Apple Computer, Inc., Adobe Systems, Inc. and DiamondSoft, Inc. in prerelease beta testing of non-English language software
- Oversaw the installation and maintenance of data intensive network for a multi-lingual service company
- Maintained numerous non-English operating systems, particularly Asian language operating systems
- Typeset documents in over forty languages, and output client files on a variety of print devices including imagesetters and direct-to-plate printers
- Lead specialist for Microsoft products and all Macintosh OS, software and hardware support calls
- Answered end-user support calls for over 40 different software applications for Windows and Macintosh
- Evaluated and trained new personnel in operational procedures, equipment configuration and use
- Created internal software applications for call tracking and technical skills tests
August 2006 to July 2007 |
Infotank, LLC., Atlanta, Georgia Information Technology Support Engineer |
September 2000 to August 2006 |
TechDiscovery, LLC., Atlanta, Georgia
Information Technology Manager
|
January 1999 to August 1999 |
GlobalDoc, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Localization Manager <
|
February 1996 to September 2000 |
MB Consulting, Inc., Acworth, Georgia Owner/President |
December 1994 to February 1996 |
Magnolia Studios, Inc., Marietta, Georgia Information Systems Manager |
January 1992 to December 1994 |
ComputerLand/Vanstar National Technical Support Center, Roswell, Georgia Help Desk Technical Specialist |