Bio: Diana Pasulka is a Full Research Professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, and former head of the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Her previous titles include American Cosmic (OUP 2019) and Heaven Can Wait (OUP 2014), as well as contributions to numerous other academic works. She has been at the forefront of her field, known as an innovative scholar who leads several international groups who study conceptions of the afterlife and extraordinary religious states. She has been awarded more than one million dollars in grants and in funds to study Catholic manuscripts and saints at the Vatican Secret Archive and the Space Observatory, and she is the head editor with the Vatican on the translation of the canonization records of the saint Joseph of Copertino, and Maria of Agreda.

Diana’s research spans Catholic history to modern day reports of UAPs and UFOs. Her previous book, American Cosmic is a lively academic book that crossed over to mainstream audiences due to its accessible, story-like format. Its popularity and writing style garnered acclaim within and without Diana’s discipline and was covered by mainstream presses such as Vice, Vox, Fox News, Tank, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Publisher’s Weekly (starred review), Kirkus Reviews, and she has been interviewed on shows and podcasts such as Ezra Klein, David Pakman, The History Channel and Showtime, Mysterious Universe, Coast to Coast AM, and The Comment by Oxford University Press. Diana is a popular speaker at universities and museums such as Harvard University, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, Syracuse University, and has been invited to the Commonwealth Club in Silicon Valley to speak about her work regarding religion, technology, and UFOs.

Diana’s retains a neutral, yet sympathetic perspective as she encounters the brilliant work of scientists who are also believers.

Additionally, Diana sometimes consults about religion and history for movies and television, including The Conjuring (2013). Her book American Cosmic as well as her Life Rights have been optioned by CTV and Circle of Confusion, with Chad and Carey Hayes set to write a tv series based around her as the main character.

Website: americancosmic.com

Lecture: Protocols for Contact