Department of Indian Subcontinental Studies

We offer studies in Sanskrit as well as non-language areas that explore traditional and modern cultures and religions, especially Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. We also investigate the history, literature, politics and social structures of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan) as well as Tibet and Central Asia. 

Our research

Our research areas include: 

• The religious traditions of South Asia
• Indian religion as manifest in other parts of Asia, particularly Buddhism in Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia
• Method in the study of Indian and Buddhist thought
• Early Buddhist literature, particularly of the ‘mainstream’ schools as preserved in Pali, Gandhari, Prakrit, Buddhist Sanskrit and Chinese
• Recent discoveries of Buddhist manuscripts from Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia, with a special interest in ancient Gandhara
• Buddhist Sanskrit and the Middle Indo-Aryan languages, particularly Pali and Gandhari.

Our people

Events

See our school's calendar for a full listing of upcoming events.