Specialization: Digital Ethnography, Global Shinto

An anthropologist of religion, Ugoretz specializes in contemporary Japanese religion, globalization, technology, and media. Her ethnographic research focuses on the globalization of Shinto and the development of transnational digital Shinto communities. Her work has been published in Digital Humanities and Religions in East Asia, The Bloomsbury Handbook of Japanese Religion, Critical Asian Studies, and Asia-Pacific Perspectives. She frequently writes for public venues, including the Washington Post, Religion News Service, and The Conversation. Outside of the NIRC, Ugoretz hosts the educational YouTube channel Eat Pray Anime, where she explores the history and culture behind Japanese popular media. She also serves as the Japanese religions editor for The Database of Religious History and a founding organizer of GAMING+. You can learn more about her work on her website.