Brian Dott

Brian Dott has a passion for studying changes in Chinese cultural practices from 1500 to the present. He is author of “The Chile Pepper in China: A Cultural Biography” (Columbia University Press, 2020). His previous book examines different groups of pilgrims to one of China’s most sacred mountains: “Identity Reflections: Pilgrimages to Mount Tai in Late Imperial China” (Harvard University Asia Center, 2004). In addition, he has also worked on modern meanings of the mountain. His current project is examining the interconnections between religious use of plants as demonifuges (purging of evil spirits) and those same plants’ medicinal uses. He teaches a broad range of classes on the history of China and Eastern Asia.

From 2010–2013, Dott served as the Division Chair for the Social Sciences at Whitman College.