Sheldon Pollock
Encyclopedia
Sheldon I. Pollock is a scholar of Sanskrit
, Indian intellectual and literary history, and comparative intellectual history. He is currently the William B. Ransford Professor of Sanskrit and South Asian Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University
. He is also General Editor of the Clay Sanskrit Library
and the Murthy Classical Library of India.
and the University of Iowa
. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University
's Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, where he studied with Daniel H. H. Ingalls
. Pollock's dissertation, completed in 1975, was entitled "Aspects of Versification in Sanskrit Lyric Poetry."
In 2010 Pollock was awarded the Padma Shri
, India's fourth highest civilian award, by the government of India.
), poetics (alamkarasastra), and the Mimamsa
school of Vedic exegesis, he has published articles dealing with Hindu nationalism and the history of Orientalism
. He has authored The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India (2006).
and German Indology
in his "Deep Orientalism? Notes on Sanskrit and Power Beyond the Raj" (1993). Pollock has also been criticized for his emphasis on secular aspects of Sanskrit literary culture and his lack of interest in the field of religious studies.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Indian intellectual and literary history, and comparative intellectual history. He is currently the William B. Ransford Professor of Sanskrit and South Asian Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He is also General Editor of the Clay Sanskrit Library
Clay Sanskrit Library
The Clay Sanskrit Library is a series of books published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation. Each work features the text in its original language on the left-hand page, with its English translation on the right...
and the Murthy Classical Library of India.
Career
Pollock has previously taught at the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, where he studied with Daniel H. H. Ingalls
Daniel H. H. Ingalls, Sr.
Daniel Henry Holmes Ingalls, Sr. was the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University. Born and raised in New York City, Ingalls received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard before serving as an officer in the US Army in World War II. After the war, Ingalls returned to Harvard as...
. Pollock's dissertation, completed in 1975, was entitled "Aspects of Versification in Sanskrit Lyric Poetry."
In 2010 Pollock was awarded the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
, India's fourth highest civilian award, by the government of India.
Theory of literary cultures
In a series of articles in the 1980s and 1990s, Pollock became known as one of the most innovative theorists working in the discipline of Indian intellectual history. Besides his interests in Sanskrit poetry (kavyaKavya
Kavya refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing from the first half of the seventh century AD. This literary style is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech, metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its emotional effects...
), poetics (alamkarasastra), and the Mimamsa
Mimamsa
' , a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation" , is the name of an astika school of Hindu philosophy whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close hermeneutics of the Vedas...
school of Vedic exegesis, he has published articles dealing with Hindu nationalism and the history of Orientalism
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
. He has authored The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India (2006).
Criticism
Some defenders of traditional Oriental studies, such as Reinhold Grunendahl, have argued that Pollock exaggerates the connection between NazismNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and German Indology
Indology
Indology is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent , and as such is a subset of Asian studies....
in his "Deep Orientalism? Notes on Sanskrit and Power Beyond the Raj" (1993). Pollock has also been criticized for his emphasis on secular aspects of Sanskrit literary culture and his lack of interest in the field of religious studies.