2026-27 Visiting Faculty

  • Jesse Berger

    Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion

    171 Church Street

    jberger@wesleyan.edu

    Jesse Berger holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religions from UChicago Divinity School and a M.Sc. in Philosophy of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He specializes in Sanskrit philosophy, with a particular interest in the dialogical evolution of Buddhism and Śaivism in medieval Kashmir. His work is often characterized by a cross-cultural methodology that brings ancient Indian philosophers into constructive conversation with 20th Century Anglo-American thinkers. His dissertation, for example, draws upon the pragmatism of C.S. Peirce and William James to analyze the philosophies of Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Buddhism, and Kashmir Śaivism. He has published articles in journals like Philosophy East and West, The Journal of Indian Philosophy, and the Journal of Buddhist Philosophy. In his spare time, he can be found playing jazz guitar in the manouche style of Django Reinhardt, or producing synth-wave disco with his Roland Juno-106.