Meet Dr. John Knight Lundwall
Writer, Author, Lecturer & Photographer
Dr. Lundwall holds a doctorate in comparative myth and religion from Pacifica Graduate Institute’s Joseph Campbell School of Comparative Myth. He teaches as an Associate Professor in Myth Studies and has an academic background in literature and literary analysis. A published author, editor, and presenter, he has contributed peer reviewed articles as well as essays in popular magazines. His primary research centers on the epistemology of orality and the creation of ancient myth, with a focus on oral cosmology and cultural astronomy.
Dr. Lundwall is also an avid photographer who travels to sacred sites around the world. His work centers on how cultures express the sacred and the transcendent, leading him into tombs, temples, pyramids, standing stones, cathedrals, and petroglyph shrines to explore how the sacred is manifested in place and image.
John Knight Lundwall, Ph.D.
John Knight Lundwall holds a doctorate in comparative myth and religion from the Joseph Campbell school of comparative myth, Pacifica Graduate Institute, out of California, where he teaches as an Associate Professor in Myth Studies. Lundwall’s undergraduate training is in literature and literary analysis. He is a published author, academic and popular presenter, and has served as an academic managing editor. He has published several peer-reviewed articles and essays in popular magazines. His major area of research is on the epistemology of orality and the creation of ancient myth, with a focus on oral cosmology and cultural astronomy.
Dr. Lundwall is also an avid photographer and focuses on taking his camera to sacred sites around the world. From ancient tombs, temples, and pyramids, to standing stones and simple petroglyph shrines and alcoves, Lundwall explores the idea of the sacred manifest in many different cultures.
Cultural Astronomy
Dr. Lundwall is a founding board member of the Utah Valley Astronomy Club, a nonprofit organization partnering with Utah’s state and national parks to run astronomy programs. He gives night sky presentations, leads astronomy tours, and guides visitors through ancient sites both locally and abroad.
As Project Leader of the Utah Cultural Astronomy Project, he directs a team investigating the archeoastronomy of Utah’s ancient rock art. Working with archaeologist John McHugh, the UCAP team has surveyed Clear Creek Canyon—home to Fremont Indian State Park and Museum—and made several original discoveries about the Fremont people. Their forthcoming book, The Sun in the Stone: A Field Guide to the Cultural Astronomy of Fremont Indian State Park, details this work.
UCAP has also conducted extensive research in the Uintah Basin, uncovering significant findings at sun shrines and rock art panels. The team regularly collaborates with the Utah Rock Art Research Association (URARA) and presents at its annual symposiums.
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