Dr. Annie Heckman

Annie holds MA and PhD degrees in the Study of Religion from the University of Toronto, an MFA from New York University, and a BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She studied Tibetan language at the University of Chicago Graham School prior to pursuing graduate work in Buddhist studies. Annie has taught visual arts at DePaul University, contributed to Bird of Paradise Press in Virginia, and worked as a reviewer of Dunhuang manuscripts at McMaster University. She was among the first recipients of the Tsadra Foundation Dissertation Fellowship for Tibetan Buddhist Studies. Annie was born in Chicago and grew up nearby in Park Ridge. 

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While working as an artist in her early career, Annie made work dealing with mortality and extreme inner experiences. She developed a growing interest in stories about meditation and started graduate work in Buddhist studies with an initial plan to study the life stories of Tibetan meditators. Annie soon fell under the sway of the intricate, compelling narrative world of monastic law, being drawn to the fascinating inner logic of rule-testing pursued by nuns who acted as the first to try out scenarios that would require the Buddha’s intervention and legislation.