B.A. in History and Religion (1983)
		Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine

	Non-degree Language Study (1983-85)
		University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

	A. M. in Religious Studies (1986)
		University of Chicago Divinity School

	Ph.D. in the History of Religions (1992)
		University of Chicago Divinity School

	National Forensics League State Champion Debater, 1979

	James Bowdoin Award for Scholastic Excellence, each term,- 1979-83 

	Phi Beta Kappa, 1982

	Highest Honors in Religion, 1983

	Fulbright Scholar in Sri Lanka, 1983-85

	Divinity School Entering Fellowship, 1985-86

	Committee on Southern Asian Studies Stipend, 1987-88; 1991-92

	Divinity School Fellowship, 1988-89; 1989-90

	Ph.D. Qualifying Exams passed "with distinction," 1989
	
	Committee on Southern Asian Studies Research Grant, 1990-91

	Junior Fellowship, Institute for the Advanced Study of -Religion, 1991-92

	Ph.D. awarded "with distinction," 1992

	Johnston Visiting Professorship, 1993-94

	National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer Stipend, 1994

	Thomas D. Howells Award for Outstanding Humanities Teaching,- 1995

	Arnold and Lois Graves Award in the Humanities, 1996-1997

	Associate, Committee on Southern Asian Studies, University of Chicago, Fall, 1996

	Paul Garrett Fellowship, 1999

	American Academy of Religion, member, 1992-present
	
	American Institute of Sri Lankan Studies, Board of Directors, 1996-present

	Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education (I.S.L.E.) Program, Board of Directors, 1996-present

	Teaching Assistant, Bowdoin College
		Led discussion sessions for and lectured in
		"Introduction to the Study of Religion", 1983

	Resident Assistant, I.S.L.E. Program in Sri Lanka
		Teaching and administering a four-month college
		study-abroad program, 1983

	Manuscripts Assistant, The University of Chicago
		Prepared calendars for manuscript collections and
		answered reference queries in the Department of
		Special Collections, 1986-89
		
	Lecturer, Northwestern University
		Taught Pali Language to second and third year
		graduate students in the Dept. of History and
		Literature of Religions, 1987-88

	Editorial Assistant, History of Religions Journal
		Edited scholarly articles, corresponded with
		contributors, managed the publishing cycle, 1988-89 

	Student Coordinator, Workshop on Buddhism
		Handled the bureaucratic responsibilities
		involved in sponsoring fourteen events at the
		University of Chicago, 1988-89

	Lecturer, The University of Chicago
		Taught Introductory Pali to graduate students, 1989-90

	Teaching Assistant, The University of Chicago
		Assisted with the Junior Colloquium on the
		Philosophy of History, Department of History in
		the College, Winter 1990

	Executive Assistant, Amnesty International
		Translated Sinhala "disappearance" reports, legal
		statements, newsclippings and correspondence for
		the International Secretariat in London, Summer 1990

	Visiting Lecturer in Comparative Religion, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
		Taught theory, method and world religions to M.A.
		students in South Asia's only graduate Comparative Religions
		program, and assisted curriculum development, 1990-91

	Assistant Professor Of Religion, Whitman College, 1992-1997; 
	Associate Professor, 1997-present
		Courses on World Religions, South Asian Religions,
		Buddhist Civilizations, Islam, Religion and Gender,
		Sacred Biography, East Asian Religions, Religious
		Pluralism, Theory and Method in the study of
		Religion and Introduction to Asian Studies in addition 
		to General Studies (First Year Core, Western Antiquity and
		Modernity; Senior Colloquium: Issues) and advising 
		responsibilities, 1992-present
	
	Resident Director, I.S.L.E. Program in Sri Lanka
		Overseeing independent study projects and the administration of
		the program, Spring, 1997

		Sanskrit (reading, all genres)
		Pali (reading, all genres; chanting)
 		Sinhala (reading, all genres; colloquial fluency)
		German (reading)
		French (reading)
		Spanish (reading)

		"Communal Karma and Karmic Community in Theravada  Buddhist
		History," delivered at the Conference on Constituting Communities, 
		Breckenridge Center of Bowdoin College, July 2000

		"The American Buddha: A Brief History from the Streets back
		to the Greeks," delivered at Drew University, October 1999

		"Stamp Acts: Philatelic Self-representation in Ceylon and
		Sri Lanka," delivered at the Annual Conference on South
		Asia, Madison, Wisconsin, October 1998 and at the
		International Center for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Jan. 1999

		"Four Modes of Finding History in the Noble Quest,"
		delivered at an American Academy of Religion-sponsored
		collaboration on "Pali Texts in New Contexts," University
		of  Chicago, May, 1998

		"Mapping Sanchi in a Whole Buddhist World," delivered
		at the Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, 
		University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, June, 1997

		"Mahasena at the Mahavihara: The Interpretation and
		Politics of History in Premodern Sri Lanka," delivered at 
		the Conference on the Uses of the Past in
		South Asia, School of Oriental and African Studies,
		University of London, April, 1997.

		"The Mahayana Origins of the Theravada," delivered at the
		Ceylon Studies Seminar, the University of Peradeniya, Sri
		Lanka, April, 1997.

		"The Politics of Treasure Pits," delivered at the Social
		Scientists' Association, Colombo, Sri Lanka, March, 1997

		"The Arhats of Ancient Anuradhapura," delivered at the
		University of Chicago, Workshop on Buddhism,
		November, 1996.

		"An  `H' of `HR'," delivered at the conference on
		"Reconstructing a History of Religions: Problems and
		Possibilities," Western Maryland College, November 1996
		and at a symposium on the same topic, University of
		Chicago Divinity School, November 1996.

		"Archaeology, Treasure Pits and Demons from Across the
		Sea: Digging up the History and Practice of a Sinhala
		Mytheme," delivered at the South Asia Workshop,
		University of Chicago, November, 1996

		"World Map, World Order: Imagining and Commanding Space
		in Buddhist South Asia," delivered at the Association of Asian 
		Studies,	Honolulu, April 1996

		"Pushing Poson: Power and a Buddhist Pilgrimage in
		Postcolonial Sri Lanka," delivered at the Annual Conference 
		on South Asia, Madison, WI, October, 1995

		"The Popular Culture of Poson: Innovation as Tradition
		in a Sri Lankan Buddhist Festival," delivered at the
		Western Conference, Association of Asian Studies, 
		Lewiston, Idaho, September, 1995

		"Will the Historical Buddha Please Sit Down?,"
		delivered at the Symposium on Building Buddhas, Drew
		University, April, 1995

 		"Deanimating and Reanimating the Dead in Rural Sri
		Lanka," delivered at the American Academy of Religion,
		Chicago, November, 1994

		"Positivist Paradise Lost: Three Lectures on the
		Mahavamsa," delivered at the International Centre
		for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 1994

		"The History and Politics of Kelaniya Temple,"
		delivered at the Social Scientists' Association,
		Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 1993

		"Buddhism and Politics in Contemporary Sri Lanka,"
		delivered to the Teacher's Workshop on Contemporary
		Religious Issues in South Asia, South Asia Outreach
		Educational Project, Chicago, July 1992.

		"From Cruel Asoka to Dharmasoka: Ecumenicalism and the
		Stabilization of Peace in Sri Lanka," delivered at the
		Seminar on Religion and Violence in South Asia, the
		University of Chicago, April, 1992

		"Multireligion on the Bus in Sri Lanka: Beyond
		`Influence' and `Syncretism' in the Study of Religious
		Meetings," delivered at the Institute for the Advanced
		Study of Religion, The University of Chicago Divinity
		School, November 1991

		"The Psychology of Healing in a Sri Lankan Village,"
		delivered at the University of Peradeniya Psychological
		Seminar, February 1991

		"Stupa, Story and Empire," delivered at the University
		of Chicago Symposium on Buddhist Biography, April, 1990

		"Hearing History: The Pali Chronicles of Sri Lanka,"
		delivered at the University of Chicago Colloquium on
		Text and Knowledge in South Asia, April, 1989 and
		(revised) February, 1990.

		"Buddhists and Brethren," delivered at the Bethany
		Theological Seminary, October, 1988.

		"History of Kelaniya Temple: An Inquiry into Sinhala
		Political Formation," delivered at the Chicago
		Anthropological Symposium, April, 1987.

		"Picturing the Path: Late Canonical Texts and the
		Expansion of Early Buddhism," delivered at the Midwest
		Conference on Asian Affairs, October, 1986

		(With John C. Holt and Jacob N. Kinnard, co-editors,) Constituting Communities: Essays
		on Theravada Traditions in Honor of Frank E. Reynolds (forthcoming)

		(with Ronald Inden and Daud Ali), Querying the Medieval: Texts and the History of 
		Practices in South Asia  (Oxford: Oxford  University Press, 2000)

		Finding Buddhists in Global History (Washington, D.C.: American Historical
		Association, 1998).

		Buried Treasure in Sri Lankan History (Colombo, Sri Lanka: Social Scientists' 
		Association Occasional Papers  Series, 1998)
	
		The History of Kelaniya (Colombo: S.S.A, 1996). Sinhala translation in press.

		Rethinking Buddhist Missions (Ph.D. Diss, Chicago,-1992)

		"Communal Karma and Karmic Community in Theravada Buddhist History,"
		forthcoming in Holt. Kinnard and Walters, eds., Constituting Communities: Essays
		on Theravada Traditions in Honor of Frank E. Reynolds

		"Mapping Sanchi in a Whole Buddhist World," forthcoming in
		C. Witanachchi, ed., Lily De Silva Felicitation Volume, University
		Of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2000

		"Suttas as History: Four Approaches to the Sermon on the
		Noble Quest (Ariyapariyesanasutta)," in History of Religions 
		Journal 38,3 (February, 1999): 247-284		

		"Mahasena at the Mahavihara: The Interpretation and Politics of
		History in Medieval Sri Lanka," in Daud Ali, ed., Invoking the 
		Past: the Uses of History in South Asia (Oxford, 1999): 322-366.
	
		"Asia in the Age of Buddhist Expansion," in Michael Adas, ed., 
		Global and Comparative  History III (Temple, 2000, forthcoming)
		and already  issued as an American Historical Association pamphlet.

               	"Mahayana Theravada and the Origins of the Mahavihara"
		in The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, 
		XXIII, Nos. 1 and 2 (1997): 100-119

		"Pushing Poson: The Politics of a Buddhist Pilgrimage
		in Postcolonial Sri Lanka," in Michael Roberts, ed.,
		Sri Lanka: Collective Identities Revisited, Vol. 2
		(Colombo: Marga, 1998): 133-162

		"Stupa, Story and Empire: Constructions of the Buddha
		Biography in Early Post-Asokan India," in J. Schober, ed., 
		Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and 
		Southeast Asia (Hawaii, 1997): 160-192

		"Multireligion on the Bus in Sri Lanka: Beyond
		'Influence' and 'Syncretism' in the Study of Religious
		Meetings," in Ismail and Jeganathan, eds., Unmaking the Nation
		(Colombo: S.S.A., 1995):25-54

		"A Voice from the Silence: The Buddha's Mother's
		Story," History of Religions Journal 33,4 (May, 1994):
		358-79

		"Gotami's Story: Introduction and Translation," in 
		Donald S. Lopez, Jr., ed., Buddhism in Practice
		(Princeton, 1995):113-38

		"Lovely Lady Lanka: A Tenth Century Depiction,"
		in The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities XIX,
		Nos. 1 & 2 (1993, publ. 1995):45-56
		
		"Vibhisana and Vijayanagar: An Essay on Religion and
		Geopolitics in Medieval Sri Lanka," in The Sri Lanka
		Journal of the Humanities, Special Jubilee Issue -(1990/1994): 129-42

		"The Buddha's Bad Karma: A Problem in the History of
		Theravada Buddhism," Numen 37,1 (June, 1990):70-95

		"Japanese Rise up Against Eppawala Mining," Sunday Times (Colombo) April 23, 2000 

		"Eppawala: Who Is Behind It?," Sunday Times (Colombo) April 9, 2000

		"Tomen Corporation involved in Controversial Sri Lankan Mining Project,"
		interview by Steve Hesse, Japan Times, Tokyo, 25 October 1999

		"American Confronts American at Eppawala," interview by Rohan Wijesinghe,
		The Island, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 11 October 1999

		"Eppawala Pospet Nidhiya Vikinima Pitupasa Kapatikamak Tibenewa," interview
		by Subhash Jayawardana, Irida Peramuna, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 4 July 1999 (in Sinhala)

		"Eppawala Pradeshaya Surakshanaya Karamu," presentation and discussion at the
		Anuradhapura District Lion's Club, Talawa, Sri Lanka, July 1999 (in Sinhala)

		"Americans for Eppawala" web site (http://people.whitman.edu/~walterjs/)

		"Not in My Back Yard, Either," video documentary, Spring, 1999

 		"Eppawala: Don't Change this Way of Life," Sunday Times 
		(Colombo) 4 October 1998 and forthcoming in the Farmers' Association
		Newsletter (Eppawala, in Sinhala)

		"The Buddha at Whitman," 1997 Convocation Address, Whitman
		College, published in Whitman magazine, Winter, 1997: 2-6
		
		"Paw Samwardhana: Voices from a Developing Sri Lankan
		Village, retold by Nigrodha", Pravada 2, 9
		(October/November 1993):19-22.

 		(with Gunapala Dharmasiri), "God," Encyclopedia of
		Buddhism, Volume 5, Fascicle 2 (1991):345-47

		"Buddhism," Encyclopedia Britannica Annual For 1998:
		Book of the Year, forthcoming. I contributed this piece
		yearly since 1995 and, with Frank E. Reynolds, from 1989-1994.

		"Sacrificing Rene Girard: Toward a Purposeful
		Reorientation of Studies in Religion," Critical
		Theology 3 (Easter, 1990): 23-33

		Review of H. L. Seneviratne, The Work of Kings: the New Buddhism of Sri Lanka
		Forthcoming in Journal of Asian and African Studies (2001)

		Review of Joel Tatelman, The Glorious Deeds of Purna: A Translation and Study of
		The Purnavadana, forthcoming in Journal of Buddhist Ethics (online journal)

		Review of Gregory Schopen, Bones, Stones and Buddhist Monks,
		Forthcoming in History of Religions Journal, 40, 3 (February, 2001)

		Review of Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Elaborations on Emptiness:
		Uses of the Heart Sutra, forthcoming in International Journal Of Hindu Studies, 1998	
 
		Review of Paul David Numrich, Old Wisdom in the New
		World: Americanization in Two Immigrant Theravada
		Buddhist Temples, in Journal of the American
		Academy of Religion, XLV, No. 1 (Spring, 1997):235-37

		Review of K.N.O. Dharmadasa, Language, Religion and
		Ethnic Assertiveness: The Growth of Sinhalese
		Nationalism in Sri Lanka, in Anthropological- Linguistics
		33,3 (1994):330-32

		Review of R. L. Stirrat, Power and Religiosity in a
		Post-Colonial Setting: Sinhala Catholics in
		Contemporary Sri Lanka, in Journal of Religion
		74,3 (July, 1994):431-32

		Review of Steven Kemper, The Presence of the Past:
		Chronicles, Politics, and Culture in Sinhala Life,
		Journal of Religion 73, 3 (July, 1993):450-51

		Review of William E. Biernatzki, S.J., Roots of- Acceptance:
		The Intercultural Communication of Religious Meanings,
		Journal of Asian Studies (May, 1992):366-67

		Review of Gunapala Dharmasiri, Fundamentals of -Buddhist
		Ethics and id., A Buddhist Critique of the Christian 
		Concept of God, in Journal of Religion 70,3 (July,-1990):497-99 

		Review of Peter Khoroche, tr., Once the Buddha was a
		Monkey: Arya Sura's J atakamala, in Chicago South Asia
		Newsletter 14,2 (March, 1990):8

		Review of Richard Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism: A
		Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo,
		Philosophy East and West 40,2 (April, 1990):251-53

		Review of Uma Cakravarti, Social Dimensions of Early
		Buddhism, Journal of Religion 69,4 (October, -1989):592

		Palm Leaves and Postcards: Material Culture and Its
		Representation in Colonial Ceylon. Exhibition and
		palm-leaf format catalogue (also available on-line: 
		http://www.whitman.edu/Departments/Sheehan/PostCards/postcards.html) 
		Sheehan Gallery, Whitman College, October, -1995

		The Buddha's Sermon on the Practice of Loving Kindness, 
		a free verse translation of Karaniyamettasutta published
		as a contemporary artist's book by Barbara Tetenbaum,
		Whitman College Book Arts Laboratory, August 1995.
		
		"Appreciating Buddhist Art in the Post-Orientalist
		Age," and sculpture descriptions in [Walters, Takemoto 
		and Mitchell,] Paths to Enlightenment: Buddhist Art in 
		the Whitman College Collections (Whitman College Gallery 
		Publications,- 1994) plus associated exhibition.