Manuel Litalien portrait
Full-time Faculty
Graduate Program Faculty

Dr. Manuel Litalien

About

Biography

Manuel Litalien has a PhD in Political Science from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He is the author of La philanthropie religieuse en tant que nouveau capital démocratique: développement social et régime providentiel en Thaïlande (Presses de l’Université Laval) and has published book chapters with UBC Press, McGill-Queen's University Press, and Routledge. He is an adjunct professor at Mahidol University in Thailand and has collaborated with faculty at Thammasat University, also in Thailand.<p>Dr. Litalien’s broad research areas are social development, welfare systems, philanthropy, ethnicity, minority groups, and religion, with a focus on Southeast Asia. As a researcher, he has conducted fieldwork in Canada and Southeast Asia. He is interested in looking at how institutions in developing and developed nations are creating political venues for marginalized groups. His works have documented community social welfare projects, as well as the impacts of government development initiatives on the behaviour of non-governmental organizations. He is particularly interested in examining the role of religion in public life, in global development, and in diasporas, connecting these to religious movements and national identity. He occasionally provides analyses of Southeast Asia to the media and government agencies.<p>For further information on Dr. Litalien, see hiscurriculum vitae.

Positions

Full-time Faculty
Faculty of Arts and Science - Psychology, Child and Family Studies and Social Welfare - Social Welfare and Social Development
Graduate Program Faculty
Graduate Studies - PhD in Education (Educational Sustainability)
Graduate Program Faculty
Graduate Studies - Sociology, MA

Education

BA, Concordia University
MA, Université de Montréal
PhD, Université du Québec à Montréal
Research Interests / Areas
Areas of Specialization:

Comparative politics, development, welfare regimes and religion in Southeast Asia, transnational religious movements, democracy, social policy, nationalism, identity politics, gender, ethnicity and governance

Research Interests:

Cultural politics, religious diversity in Southeast Asia, geopolitics of Buddhism, health, education, the elderly, families, violence, poverty alleviation, social inequalities, disaster relief, moral economy

Current & Future Research:

​Completing an article on socially-engaged Buddhism and the transnational networks of Buddhist nuns (bhikkhunis). Collaborating on a project examining the influence of spirituality on health perception and health outcomes amongst African and Southeast Asian immigrant communities in Ontario.

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Publications