Vasudha Narayanan

Vasudha Narayanan is Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, at the University of Florida and a past President of the American Academy of Religion (2001-2002). She was educated at the Universities of Madras and Bombay in India and at Harvard University. Her fields of interest are the Hindu traditions in India, Cambodia and America; visual and expressive cultures in the study of the Hindu traditions; and gender issues. She is currently working on Hindu temples and traditions in Cambodia.

She is the author or editor of seven books and numerous articles, chapters in books and encyclopedia entries. Her research has been supported by grants and fellowships from several organizations including the Centre for Khmer Studies (2007); the American Council of Learned Societies (2004-2005); National Endowment for the Humanities (1987, 1989-90 and 1998-99), the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1991-92), the American Institute of Indian Studies/Smithsonian and the Social Science Research Council.

She was the president of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies from 1996-1998. Dr. Narayanan was named University of Florida’s Teacher Scholar of the Year in 2010.

Vasudha Narayanan’s books include The Life of Hinduism (co-edited with John Stratton Hawley, 2007); Hinduism (2004, 2009); The Vernacular Veda: Revelation, Recitation, and Ritual (1994); The Tamil Veda: Pillan's Interpretation of the Tiruvaymoli (co-authored with John Carman, 1989); and The Way and the Goal: Expressions of Devotion in the Early Srivaisnava Tradition (1987).

Dr. Narayanan and the University of Florida have created the nation’s first Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions (CHiTra) to encourage the research, teaching and public understanding of Hindu culture and traditions. For more information, see Vasudha Narayanan's Web page.