James Huntley Grayson (born 1944) is a scholar of the religions and folklore of Korea. He is Emeritus Professor of Modern Korean Studies in the School of East Asian Studies at The University of Sheffield.[1]
Grayson earned a BA in Anthropology from Rutgers University (1962–66), an MA in Anthropology from Columbia University (1966–68), an MDiv in Systematic Theology from Duke University (1968–71), and a PhD in the History of Religion from University of Edinburgh (1976–79).[2]
Grayson served as a missionary of the United Methodist Church (USA) to South Korea between 1971 and 1987.[3] During this time he taught religion at Kyungpook National University and Keimyung University.[4]
In 1987 he moved to the University of Sheffield, where at the School of East Asian Studies, he taught Korean history and culture, and East Asian philosophy and religion. as first Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, Reader and finally Professor. He retired in 2009.[2]
Grayson's research has focused on topics such as traditional Korean religion, Korean Christianity and Korean oral folklore[5] and has been summarised as being focused on both "the diffusion of religion across cultural boundaries, and an analysis of the religious and intellectual conceptual framework of the Korean and East Asian peoples".[6] His research is informed by his anthropological training and has been aided by fieldwork in Korea, Japan, and Okinawa.[7]
A collection of Grayson's research notes and correspondence, from the time he spent in East Asia, is kept in the Special Collections of the University Library, University of Sheffield.[3]
Grayson has served as President of the British Association for Korean Studies (BAKS), and Vice-President of the Association for Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE).[8]
Grayson was also President of the Folklore Society from to 2014 to 2017.[1]
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