Ben Van Overmeire’s research focuses on Zen Buddhism, with particular emphasis on kōan practice, Buddhist autobiography, and the literary forms through which religious experience is narrated. His work explores the intersections of religion and literature, Buddhist modernism, and the religious imagination in contemporary culture, including science fiction, cosmology, and outer space exploration. He is especially interested in how Buddhist thought adapts to modern scientific and technological worldviews in China, Japan, and North America. His teaching interests include Zen Buddhism, Chinese and East Asian religions, comparative religion, Buddhist philosophy, religion and literature, and religion and science fiction. At Duke Kunshan University, he teaches in Religious Studies, Global China Studies, and the university-wide Common Core curriculum, with a focus on discussion-based, interdisciplinary pedagogy.
Van Overmeire is the author of American Koan: Zen and Self in Autobiographical Literature (University of Virginia Press, 2024) and co-editor (with James Miller) of Chinese Religions in Five Minutes (forthcoming, Equinox). His research has appeared in journals such as The Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Religions, Contemporary Buddhism, and The Journal of Popular Culture, as well as in edited volumes from Oxford and Hawai‘i University Press. He is actively involved in curricular leadership and educational innovation at Duke Kunshan University and serves on steering committees for the Religion and Science Fiction and Comparative Studies of Religion units of the American Academy of Religion.
Van Overmeire received a B.A. and an M.A. in Germanic Languages and Literatures from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Antwerp, and an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, San Diego. Before joining Duke Kunshan University, he served as a postdoctoral fellow of the Research Foundation–Flanders (FWO) at Ghent University (Belgium).
欧馥般的研究重点是禅宗佛教，特别关注公案修行、佛教自传以及宗教体验的叙述文学形式。他的工作探讨了宗教与文学的交叉点、现代佛教以及当代文化中的宗教想象力，包括科幻、宇宙学和外太空探索。他特别关注佛教思想如何适应中国、日本和北美的现代科学与技术世界观。他的教学兴趣包括禅宗佛教、中国和东亚宗教、宗教比较研究、佛教哲学、宗教与文学以及宗教与科幻。在昆山杜克大学，他任教于宗教研究、全球中国研究以及全校通识核心课程，强调以讨论为基础的跨学科教学方法。
欧馥般是《美国公案：自传文学中的禅宗与自我》（University of Virginia Press, 2024）的作者，并与James Miller共同编辑了《五分钟了解中国宗教》（即将出版，Equinox）。他的研究成果发表在《中华哲学期刊》（The Journal of Chinese Philosophy）、《宗教》（Religions）、《当代佛教》（Contemporary Buddhism）和《大众文化期刊》（The Journal of Popular Culture）等学术期刊上，并刊登于牛津大学出版社和夏威夷大学出版社出版的论文集。他在昆山杜克大学积极参与课程领导与教育创新工作，并在美国宗教学会（American Academy of Religion）中担任“宗教与科幻”和“宗教学比较研究”两个委员会的指导委员。
欧馥般获得了布鲁塞尔自由大学（Vrije Universiteit Brussel）的日耳曼语言与文学学士和硕士学位，安特卫普大学（University of Antwerp）的美国研究硕士学位，以及纽约州立大学石溪分校（State University of New York at Stony Brook）的比较文学硕士学位。他的比较文学博士学位则来自加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校（University of California, San Diego）。在加入昆山杜克大学之前，他曾在根特大学（比利时）担任由佛兰德研究基金会（FWO）资助的博士后研究员。
