My research explores the role of religious traditions in debates over ethics, politics, and culture. Since secular democracies are marked by a religious heritage, I think the study of religion clarifies the context of contemporary debates, and it offers resources anyone can draw on to address them.

My interests are in Tibetan history and literature; Buddhism; religion, kingship, and state.

I study ethics:—the norms, principles, relationships, and practices that people use in trying to live well. I focus on religious ethics, especially in disciplines of life like monasticism, and I also work in environmental ethics and the environmental humanities more broadly, with a particular interest in literary studies. My first book is Thoreau's Religion (Cambridge, 2021).

Dr. Oleszek’s research primarily focuses on the development of the American West during the 18th,19th, and 20th centuries, featuring specialized studies in political, social, and cultural movements.

Dr. MacCormack's research centers on the cosmopolitan intellectual and social environment of early modern Tibet, especially the role of Buddhist thought and practice.