Socialibnacc: academic biography

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{{Short description|Swiss-Italian academic and writer}}
{{Infobox academic
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| name = Flavio Geisshuesler
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| birth_name = Flavio Alessio Geisshüsler
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| nationality = Swiss and Italian
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| occupation = Senior Lecturer at the [[University of Sydney]]
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| website = {{URL|https://www.flaviogeisshuesler.com/}}
| education = [[University of Lausanne]] (2008, B.A.) [[University of Virginia]] (2013, M.A.) [[HEC Paris]] (2025, EMBA)
| alma_mater = [[University of Bern]] (2018) [[University of Virginia]] (2019)
| thesis_title = Prisons of Freedom: An Interdisciplinary Study of Contemplative Practices in Great Perfection Buddhism
| thesis_url = https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/sb397874p
| thesis_year = 2019
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| doctoral_advisor =
| academic_advisors = [[David Germano]] [[Kurtis Schaeffer]] [[Peter W. Ochs]]
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| discipline = [[History of religion|History of Religions]]
| sub_discipline = [[Tibetan Buddhism|Indo-Tibetan Buddhism]] Theory in religious studies European intellectual history
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| main_interests = Meditation research [[Dzogchen]] tradition of [[Tibetan Buddhism]]
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'''Flavio Alessio Geisshuesler''' is a Swiss-Italian academic and writer. As historian of religions, he specializes in the study of meditation and other contemplative practices in [[Tibetan Buddhism|Indo-Tibetan Buddhism]].

==Early life and education==
Geisshuesler spent his childhood in [[Zurich]], Switzerland. He graduated with a B.A. from the [[University of Lausanne]] in 2008, where he majored in [[religious studies]], focusing on Judaism and Indian religions, while studying Biblical Hebrew, Hindi, and Tibetan. In 2013, he obtained an received an M.A. from the [[University of Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uvatibetcenter.org/about/students/flavio-geisshuesler/|title=UVA Tibet Center, Academic Research, Programs, Events & Collaboration, Tibetan Studies in Charlottesville, VA|website=www.uvatibetcenter.org | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flaviogeisshuesler.com/bio|title=Bio | Flavio A. Geisshuesler|website=GeisshueslerCopy | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> Afterwards, he earned two PhDs, one from the [[University of Bern]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.relwi.unibe.ch/notre_institut/equipe/index_fra.html|title=Equipe|date=February 3, 2022|website=Institut de sciences des religions | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> in 2018 and another from the [[University of Virginia]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6735-977X|title=ORCID|website=orcid.org|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>

His 2018 doctoral dissertation, defended at the University of Bern, is titled ''Crisis and Critique in the History of Religions: Ernesto de Martino (1908-1965) in Italy and Beyond''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.relwi.unibe.ch/forschung/dissertationen/index_ger.html|title=Dissertationen|date=April 1, 2015|website=Institut für Religionswissenschaft | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> In 2019, he also defended a second doctoral disseration, ''Prisons of Freedom: An Interdisciplinary Study of Contemplative Practices in Great Perfection Buddhism'', at the [[University of Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/sb397874p|title=Prisons of Freedom: An Interdisciplinary Study of Contemplative Practices in Great Perfection Buddhism|first=Geisshuesler, Flavio, Religious Studies - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of|last=Virginia|website=libraetd.lib.virginia.edu | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> As part of his research, he also spent several years living and studying in various parts of Asia, particularly in the Himalayan regions of India and Nepal.<ref name="Sky-Gazing"/>

==Career==
In 2021, he published a monograph on the life and work of [[Ernesto de Martino]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A | title=The Life and Work of Ernesto de Martino | publisher=Numen Book | publication-place=Leiden Boston (Mass.) | date=2021 | isbn=978-90-04-45770-6 | url=https://brill.com/display/title/59827 | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://data.snf.ch/|title=SNSF Data Portal|website=data.snf.ch | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> The research project is based on 18 months of archival work in [[Rome]], which was financed by a grant from the [[Swiss National Science Foundation]].<ref name="auto2"/> Geisshuesler also wrote a book on [[Sky gazing (Dzogchen)|Tibetan sky-gazing meditation]] in the [[Dzogchen]] tradition, which is based on his doctoral dissertation and further expanded during his postdoctoral research at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]].<ref name="Sky-Gazing">{{cite book | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio | title=Tibetan Sky-Gazing Meditation and the Pre-History of Great Perfection Buddhism | date=2024-02-08 | isbn=978-1-350-42881-2 | location=London | publisher=Bloomsbury}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.asia.huji.ac.il/people/flavio-geisshuesler|title=Flavio Geisshuesler|website=en.asia.huji.ac.il | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> The fieldwork in Nepal was funded by a [[Fulbright–Hays]] Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1jcGe_qsY9zMsheyNMfU5BzO_29I|title=IFLE Grantee Institutions - FY 2015|website=Google My Maps | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> His postdoctoral position in Israel was funded by fellowships from the Khyentse Foundation (2019-21),<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://khyentsefoundation.org/kf-news-the-university-of-sydney-appoints-kf-macready-senior-lecturer-in-tibetan-buddhism/|title=KF News | The University of Sydney Appoints KF-Macready Senior Lecturer in Tibetan Buddhism|date=July 5, 2023|website=Khyentse Foundation | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> the [[Lady Davis Fellows|Lady Davis Foundation]] (2020-21),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ldft.huji.ac.il/fellows/post-doctoral-fellows-awards-for-2020-21|title=Post-Doc 2020/21|website=ldft.huji.ac.il | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> the [[Azrieli Foundation]] (2021-23),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://azrielifoundation.org/the-azrieli-foundation-is-delighted-to-announce-the-selection-of-the-2021-2022-international-postdoctoral-research-fellows/|title=The Azrieli Foundation is delighted to announce the selection of the 2021-2022 International Postdoctoral Research Fellows|date=May 3, 2021 | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/posts/postdocisrael_dr-flavio-geisshuesler-become-the-monkey-activity-7097919639074029568-VDUp|title=Postdoc in Israel on LinkedIn: Dr. Flavio Geisshuesler: Become The Monkey! A New Paradigm For Meditation…|website=www.linkedin.com | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> and the Mandel Scholion Research Center (2021-24).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://en.scholion.huji.ac.il/people/flavio-geisshuesler|title=Flavio Geisshuesler|website=en.scholion.huji.ac.il | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>

Throughout his career, has also taught courses at several universities, including the [[University of Virginia]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://louslist.org/page.php?Semester=1118&Type=Course&Mnemonic=RELB&Number=2054|title=UVa Class Schedule - Schedule for RELB 2054 - Fall 2011 (Unofficial, Lou's List)|website=louslist.org | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thecourseforum.com/instructor/2491/|title=Flavio Geisshuesler - theCourseForum|website=thecourseforum.com | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], the [[University of Bern]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://experiments-with-experience.org/conference|title=Conference|website=experiments-with-experience.org | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> the [[University of Fribourg]] in 2021,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unifr.ch/sr/de/news/news/25962|title=Flavio A. Geisshuesler|website=www.unifr.ch | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> the [[University of Basel]] in 2022,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vorlesungsverzeichnis.unibas.ch/de/recherche?id=266029|title=Recherche | Vorlesungsverzeichnis Universität Basel|website=vorlesungsverzeichnis.unibas.ch | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> and the [[Sapienza University of Rome]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.uniroma1.it/lettere/news/teorie-e-metodi-della-ricerca-negli-studi-orientali-venerd%C3%AC-28-aprile-2023|title=Teorie e metodi della ricerca negli studi orientali - Venerdì 28 Aprile 2023 | Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia|website=web.uniroma1.it | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>

Bilingual in German and Italian, he has mastered English, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Tibetan, Nepali, Hindi, Urdu, and Persian. He also reads Sanskrit, Tibetan, Pali, Biblical Hebrew, and Russian.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://huji.academia.edu/FlavioAlessioGeisshuesler/CurriculumVitae|title=Flavio A . Geisshuesler | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Academia.edu|website=huji.academia.edu | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>

In 2023, he was appointed as KF-Macready [[Senior lecturer|Senior Lecturer]] in Tibetan Buddhism at the [[University of Sydney]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/khyentse-foundation-announces-the-appointment-of-kf-macready-senior-lecturer-in-tibetan-buddhism-at-the-university-of-sydney/|title=Khyentse Foundation Announces the Appointment of KF-Macready Senior Lecturer in Tibetan Buddhism at the University of Sydney | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/>

==Research==
Geisshuesler's primary research centers on the contemplative traditions of India, Tibet, and the wider Himalayas, particularly the [[Dzogchen]] or Great Perfection tradition. His most recent publication offers the first comprehensive English-speaking introduction to the [[Sky gazing (Dzogchen)|Tibetan sky-gazing]] practice. The book's most important argument is that the Great Perfection was originally a pre-Buddhist indigenous Tibetan tradition that emerged in close contact with the early [[Bön]] tradition. He argues that Dzogchen once belonged to a [[shamanism|shamanic]] cult centered on the quest for vitality, which involved the worship of the sky as primordial source of life and endorsed the hunting of animals, as they were believed to be endowed with the ability to move in between the divine realm of the heavens and the world of humans. The book also traces the historical development of the Great Perfection, delineating a process of buddhicization that started with the introduction of Buddhism during the time of the [[Tibetan Empire]], intensified with the rise of [[History_of_Tibetan_Buddhism#Tibetan_Renaissance_(10th–12th_centuries)|new schools in the 11th century]], and reached its climax in the systematization of the teachings by the great scholar-yogi [[Longchenpa]] in the 14th century.<ref name="Sky-Gazing"/>

Geisshuesler also published about other subjects, such as the Italian anthropologist and historian of religion [[Ernesto de Martino]],<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/5/304|title=A Parapsychologist, an Anthropologist, and a Vitalist Walk into a Laboratory: Ernesto de Martino, Mircea Eliade, and a Forgotten Chapter in the Disciplinary History of Religious Studies|first=Flavio A.|last=Geisshuesler|date=May 2, 2019|journal=Religions|volume=10|issue=5|pages=304|via=www.mdpi.com|doi=10.3390/rel10050304 | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://brill.com/display/title/59827|title=The Life and Work of Ernesto De Martino|first=Flavio A.|last=Geisshuesler|date=July 29, 2021|publisher=Brill|via=brill.com | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref> the methodology of the [[cognitive science of religion]], or the connection between [[collective trauma]] and the historical development of contemplative traditions.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/3/114|title=Luminous Bodies, Playful Children, and Abusive Grandmothers: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disorganized Attachment in the Early History of Great Perfection (rDzogs Chen) Buddhism|first=Flavio A.|last=Geisshuesler|date=March 2, 2020|journal=Religions|volume=11|issue=3|pages=114|via=www.mdpi.com|doi=10.3390/rel11030114 | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.dbpia.co.kr/Journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE09365438|title=From Grounded Identity to Receptive Creativity The Mythical-Historical Formation of the Nyingma School and the Potential of Collective Trauma|first=Flavio A.|last=Geisshuesler|date=June 2, 2020|journal=International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture|volume=30|issue=1|pages=233–270|via=www.dbpia.co.kr|doi=10.16893/IJBTC.2020.06.30.1.233 | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311908.2019.1707055|title=When Buddhas dissociate: A psychological perspective on the origins of great perfection Buddhism (rDzogs Chen)|last=Geisshuesler|first=Flavio A.|editor-first=Luca|editor-last=Cerniglia|date=January 1, 2019|journal=Cogent Psychology|volume=6|issue=1|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1080/23311908.2019.1707055 | access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
===Books===
*{{cite book | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A. | title=The Life and Work of Ernesto de Martino: Swiss Perspectives on Apocalypse and Rebirth in the Modern Study of Religion | publisher=Brill | series=Numen book series | year=2021 | isbn=978-90-04-45770-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fsc6zgEACAAJ}}
* {{cite book | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio | title=Tibetan Sky-Gazing Meditation and the Pre-History of Great Perfection Buddhism | date=2024 | isbn=978-1-350-42881-2 | location=London | publisher=Bloomsbury}}

===Articles===
Selected articles by Geisshuesler include:<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VrhYGIUAAAAJ|title=Flavio A. Geisshuesler|work=Google Scholar|access-date=2 October 2023}}</ref>

* {{cite journal | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A. | title=When Buddhas dissociate: A psychological perspective on the origins of great perfection Buddhism (''rDzogs Chen'') | journal=Cogent Psychology | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=6 | issue=1 | date=2019 | issn=2331-1908 | doi=10.1080/23311908.2019.1707055}}
* {{cite journal | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A. | title=The 7E Model of the Human Mind: Articulating a Plastic Self for the Cognitive Science of Religion | journal=Journal of Cognition and Culture | publisher=Brill | volume=19 | issue=5 | date=2019 | issn=1567-7095 | doi=10.1163/15685373-12340069 | pages=450–476}}
* {{cite journal | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A. | title=A Parapsychologist, an Anthropologist, and a Vitalist Walk into a Laboratory: Ernesto de Martino, Mircea Eliade, and a Forgotten Chapter in the Disciplinary History of Religious Studies | journal=Religions | publisher=MDPI AG | volume=10 | issue=5 | date=2019 | issn=2077-1444 | doi=10.3390/rel10050304 | page=304}}
* {{cite journal | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A. | title=From Grounded Identity to Receptive Creativity The Mythical-Historical Formation of the Nyingma School and the Potential of Collective Trauma | journal=International Journal of Buddhist Thought and Culture | publisher=International Association for Buddhist Thought and Culture | volume=30 | issue=1 | date=2020 | issn=1598-7914 | doi=10.16893/ijbtc.2020.06.30.1.233 | pages=233–270}}
* {{cite journal | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A. | title=Luminous Bodies, Playful Children, and Abusive Grandmothers: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disorganized Attachment in the Early History of Great Perfection (rDzogs Chen) Buddhism | journal=Religions | publisher=MDPI AG | volume=11 | issue=3 | date=2020 | issn=2077-1444 | doi=10.3390/rel11030114 | page=114}}
* {{cite journal | last=Geisshuesler | first=Flavio A. | title=Meditation between Open Skies and Deep Ravines | journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies | publisher=Peeters online journals | doi=10.2143/JIABS.45.0.3291576 | pages=39–71 | date=2022}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://www.flaviogeisshuesler.com/}}
*[https://huji.academia.edu/FlavioAlessioGeisshuesler Academia.edu]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geisshuesler, Flavio}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Buddhist studies scholars]]
[[Category:Tibetologists]]
[[Category:Swiss historians of religion]]
[[Category:Italian historians of religion]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:University of Lausanne alumni]]
[[Category:University of Virginia alumni]]
[[Category:University of Bern alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Sydney]]
[[Category:Tibetan Buddhism writers]]
[[Category:Swiss-Italian people]]

Flavio Geisshuesler - Revision history

Socialibnacc: academic biography