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Wendy Doniger

うぇんでぃ・どにがー

Wendi Donigā

Aliases: Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1940-11-20 （New York City, New York）
Nationality
American
Languages
English, Sanskrit
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
New York City, New York → Great Neck, New York → Chicago, Illinois

Career

Occupations
Indologist, Sanskritist, Professor of the History of Religions
Active Years
1962-2024
Affiliations
University of Chicago
Memberships
American Academy of Religion, Association for Asian Studies, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society
Influenced By
Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr., Robert Charles Zaehner
Influenced
Jeffrey Kripal, Alexander Argüelles

Education

Radcliffe College
Sanskrit and Indian Studies
Degree: BA
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: United States
summa cum laude
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Sanskrit
Degree: MA
Period: 1963
Year of Graduation: 1963
Country: United States
Harvard University
Sanskrit
Degree: PhD
Year of Graduation: 1968
Country: United States
Dissertation: Asceticism and Sexuality in the Mythology of Siva
Oxford University
Oriental Studies
Degree: DPhil
Year of Graduation: 1973
Country: United Kingdom
Dissertation: The Origins of Heresy in Hindu Mythology

Awards

PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award
2000
Work: Splitting the Difference
Category: 多文化文学・ノンフィクション優秀賞
Organization: PEN Oakland
Result: 受賞
Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
2002
Work: The Bedtrick
Organization: British Academy
Result: 受賞
Martin E. Marty Public Understanding of Religion Award
2008
Organization: American Academy of Religion
Result: 受賞
Charles Homer Haskins Prize
2015
Organization: American Council of Learned Societies
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Hindus: An Alternative History

2009 Religious History

An alternative history of Hinduism drawn from myths and texts.

MythologyDiversityHeresy

Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva

1973 Mythology

Explores the tension between asceticism and eroticism in Siva mythology.

SivaAsceticismEroticism

Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook

1975 Myth Sourcebook

Translation of Hindu myths from Sanskrit.

Myths

The Rig Veda: An Anthology

1981 Vedic Anthology

108 hymns from the Rig Veda translated from Sanskrit.

Vedas

Bibliography

  • The Hindus: An Alternative History
  • Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva
  • The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology
  • Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts

Translations by Author

  • The Laws of Manu
  • Vātsyāyana Kāmasūtra

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Comparative mythologyPsychoanalytic interpretationTextual analysis
Recurring Motifs
Multivalence of mythsTension between sex and asceticismHeresy and orthodoxy

Legacy

Preeminent American Indologist specializing in Sanskrit and Hindu mythology. Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor Emerita at the University of Chicago. Her works have sparked controversy but are highly regarded in academia.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Religion
  • Association for Asian Studies

Archives

  • University of Chicago Library

In Popular Culture

  • Controversy over pulping of The Hindus in India

Quotes

  • I myself am by both temperament and training inclined to texts. I am neither an archaeologist nor an art historian; I am a Sanskritist, indeed a recovering Orientalist, of a generation that framed its study of Sanskrit with Latin and Greek...
    Source: The Hindus: An Alternative History (2009)

Trivia

  • Born to non-observant Jewish immigrant parents.
  • Studied dance under George Balanchine and Martha Graham in high school.
  • Criticized by some Hindus for misinterpretation of traditions.