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Dr David Smith
Reader in South Asian religions
Degree: M.A., D.Phil (Oxford), Reader in South Asian Religions
Research Interests
Sanskritic Hinduism, classical South Asian culture, Sanskrit literature, South Asian temple sculpture; Hinduism and modernity. I am currently writing a book on Hindu Eroticism for IBTauris.
Potential Doctoral Proposals
South Asian temple sculpture and painting, Sanskritic Hinduism, religion in relation to art, religion in relation to sexuality
Publications
Principal publications
2003 Hinduism and Modernity, Blackwell.
1996 The Dance of Siva: religion, art and poetry in South India, Cambridge University Press.
1985 Ratnakara's Haravijaya: An Introduction to the Sanskrit Court Epic, Oxford University Press.
Recent publications
In press. 'Action and anxiety: Dawn in the Kadambari of Banabhatta and Bhusana', Cracow Indological Studies, vol IX.
In press. Princess Kadambari. Vol 1 of 3 vols. Kadambari of Bana and Bhusana, edited and translated by David Smith, Clay Sanskrit Library, New York: New York University Press. (Publication date: August, 2009)
2007 'La rappresentazione delle emozioni nella scultura indiana - Il corpo, lo spirito' ('Representation of the emotions in Indian sculpture—body versus spirit') in G. Boccali, R. Torella (ed.), Passioni d'oriente. Eros ed emozioni India e Tibet, Turino: Einaudi, pp. 69-101.
2006 'Animality and related realms of being in Bana's Kadambari', Pandanus 2006 Vacek, Jaroslav (ed.): Prague: Signeta, pp. 79-91.
2006 'The Hindu Imagination and Imaginary Hinduisms' in Anna S. King (ed.) Indian Religions: Renaissance and Renewal, London: Equinox, pp. 287-307.
2006 Induismo e modernità, Turino: Bruno Mondadori —Italian edition of Hinduism and Modernity.
2005 Kalidasa's Birth of Kumara, edited and translated by David Smith, Clay Sanskrit Library, New York: New YorkUniversity Press.
2005 'Kissing in kavya, with special reference to Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava', Crakow Indological Studies, vol. 7, pp. 173-187.
2005 'On the periphery of Krishna—Max Weber, modernity and postmodern divinity', Journal of Vaishnava Studies, vol. 13, No. 2, Spring 2005, pp. 39-56.
2004 'Nietzsche's Hinduism, Nietzsche's India: Another look', Journal of Nietzsche Studies, pp. vol. 28, pp. 37-56; republished in New Nietzsche Studies, 2006, vol 7, pp. 135-154.
2004 The Frescoes of the Sivakamasundari Temple: Glorification of the Holy Place' in Vivek Nanda (ed) Chidambaram - Siva as a Cosmic Dancer, Bombay: Marg Publications, pp. 97-105.
2004 'Saints in the Kuncitanghristava of Umapati Sivacarya', in A. Agrawal (ed.) Sarupa-saurabham, Tributes to Indology--Prof. Lakshman Sarup centenary volume, pp. 104-14, New Delhi: Harman Pub. House.
2003 'Orientalism and Hinduism' in G. Flood Companion to Hinduism, London: Blackwell, pp. 45-63.
2002 'Hinduism' in Linda Woodhead, Paul Fletcher, Hiroko Kawanami and David Smith (eds.), Religions in the Modern World, London: Routledge, pp. 15-40.
2002 'The Lotus as tiger: aspects of the symbolism of the lotus in kavya', Quaderni del Dipartimento di Linguistica - Universita di Firenze 12, pp. 27-45.
Recent conference papers and public lectures
2007 'Facial expression in the erotic sculpture of Khajuraho: a preliminary investigation', The Shivdasani Conference, Archaeology and text: the temple in South Asia. Oxford Centre for Hindu studies.
2007 'Cynicism and rationalism: kings and ascetics in Bana's prose poems', International Seminar on Indian Classical Literature, Università degli Studi di Milano.
2006 'Lost in the forest: problems in translating Banabhatta's Kadambari', World Sanskrit Conference, Edinburgh.
2006 'Hinduism and Orgy: Khajuraho again' Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions, Oxford.
2005 'The Kiss in Sanskrit literature'; 'Eroticism in Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava', Università degli Studi di Firenze.
2004 'Mapping Hinduism', British Association for the Study of Religion, Oxford.
2004 'Making love in the Sanskrit court epic', Richard Gombrich Celebratory Conference, St Hughes College, Oxford.
2004 'Words relating to beauty in Kumarasambhava and preceding Sanskrit poetry', Seminar on Early Kavya, University of Milan
2003 'Louis Jacolliot—an episode in the European reception of Hinduism, Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions, Oxford.
2003 'The Place of Hinduism within Religious Studies: Past, Present and Future' What's the Point: conference on the validity of Religious Studies, Lancaster (forthcoming in Religion).
2003 'The Hindu imagination and imaginary Hinduisms', The Majuwski Lecture, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.
Recently published Lancaster PhDs supervised by David Smith
Gwilym Beckerlegge (PhD 1995), The Ramakrishna Mission: The Making of a Modern Hindu Movement, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Nicholas Sutton (PhD 1995), Religious Doctrines of the Mahabharata, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2000.
Freda Matchett (PhD 1990), Krishna: Lord or Avatara? - The Relationship Between Krishna and Vishnu, London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2000.
Kirsti Evans (PhD 1993), Epic Narratives in the Hoysala Temples: Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana in Halebid, Belur and Amrtapura, Leiden: Brill, 1997.
Other Interests and Hobbies
Drawing, cooking, walking
Associated Keywords: Art/cultural history, Gender and religion, India, Modernity, Religion and literature, Ritual studies, Sculpture, sexuality, South Asia, Spirituality, Theories and narratives of reproduction, Visual culture
Contact Details
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