Dr. Candi Cann
E-mail: Candi_Cann@Baylor.edu
Dr. Candi Cann teaches World Cultures and Social World, with a specialization in Religion, having received both her A.M. and Ph.D. in Comparative Religion from Harvard University, an M.A. in Asian Religions from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a B.A. in Asian Studies and English. Her research focuses on death and dying, and the impact of remembering (and forgetting) in shaping how lives are recalled, remembered and celebrated. She examined this theme through martyrdom in her early scholarship, but more recently has shifted to "virtual" memorials, specifically examining internet memorials and social network sites as a way for remembering the dead. For Dr. Cann, the way one views death helps to shape the way one lives life, and what one forgets is as telling as what one remembers. Dr. Cann's most recent publication is a textbook, The World Religions: Essential Readings and Handbook, published by Pearson-Prentiss Hall, and was shaped by her pedagogical approach that religion is a phenomenon that should not be merely observed but practiced. For this reason, many of her students can expect to do fieldwork, whether it be an excursion to a mosque or an internship in hospice.
Phone: 254-710-3379
Office: Morrison Hall 101.10
Department: Baylor Interdisciplinary Core
BIC Courses: World Cultures, Social World
Dr. Cann's own fieldwork has largely occurred in China and Argentina. She has lived and worked in various regions of China, first working for the Amity Foundation in China, and later helping write the first Let's Go travel guide for China. Additionally, she has lived and worked in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in addition to studying at the Departamento Ecuménico de Investigaciones (DEI) in San Jose, Costa Rica, and heading the Latino Cultural Center (as GA) for two years at MIT.
Having spent the last five years teaching World Religions in the University of Hawaii system, Dr. Cann considers herself a proud member of the only two states that were once also countries (Texas and Hawaii). In her free time, Dr. Cann writes poetry and fiction, and has been published in various literary journals. Her true passions, however, are learning various languages, advocating for the poor and disenfranchised, and eating ice cream (preferably vanilla).
