Edwin F.Bryan
 Background

Homepage | Class Schedule | Projects | Publications | Bookmarks
 

My book, In Quest of the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Invasion Debate(New York: OxfordUniversityPress, 2001), explores a contested historical period that is extremely important to the sensitivities of traditional Hindus and many Indian scholars -- the antiquity and origins of the Vedic (Indo-Aryan) language and religious culture. It is a multi-disciplinary work that traces the incursion of Western critical scholarship into India, and examines the disciplines -- Vedic philology, historical linguistics, archaeology, astronomy, etc. -- through which scholars reconstructed the history of the Vedic culture (which they considered to be originally intrusive into the subcontinent).  It then examines the history of attempts, mostly from India, to contest aspects of this historical formulation. Many scholars from the subcontinent insist on an indigenous, and more ancient and sophisticated origin for the Vedic Hindu culture than critical scholarship has so far allowed. The book also has three chapters dedicated to the socio-religio-political context of both sides of the issue. This debate over Vedic, Indo-Aryan origins has developed into one of the most contested issues in Indology. I am also in the terminal stages of co-editing a volume incorporating a variety of the most prominent voices representing positions from both sides of this debate, which has been contracted to Curzon Press.

I am presently working on a sequel volume with Oxford University Press entitled: In Quest of the Historical Krishna. This book is also a historiographical study examining a range of Western and Hindu views on the divinity and historicity of Krishna -- another highly sensitive issue since this deity is one of the most popular divinities in the Hindu religious landscape (this project includes a major comparative chapter on the Western 'Quest for the Historical Jesus'). I have also completed a large scale Sanskrit translation project, the 4000 verses of the 10th book of the Bhagavata Purana (the principal text describing the life and activities of Krishna), which is under contract with Penguin Classics. I have signed a contract with Columbia University Press on an edited volume entitled: The Post-Charismatic Fate of the Hare Krishna Movement (also in its terminal stages) and have put together an edited volume with Oxfor University Press entitled: Sources of the Krishna Traditions for which I have brought together translations from a wide range of Krishna-centered Sanskrit texts from some the most important scholars working in this field.

My personal interests to a great extent overlap my professional activities.  I spend much of my free time reading and writing books and articles on Indian religion and philosophy.  Other than this, I keep in shape by doing yoga and jogging frequently, and spend as much time as I can with my adorable infant daughter, Mohini.

 
Homepage | Class Schedule | Projects | Publications | Bookmarks

Last updated: 09/26/00