Ginette Ishimatsu

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University of Denver
Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Religious Studies
ChairAppointed: 1994

Mailing Address

Department of Religious Studies, Sturm Hall 166
Sturm Hall 166
University of Denver
2000 E. Asbury Ave.
Denver, Colorado 80208
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (303) 871-2755
Fax: (303) 871-2750
gishimat@du.edu

Qualifications

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, South Asian Studies, 1994.
M.A., University of California, Berkeley, Sanskrit, 1985.
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, Japanese, 1979.

Expertise and Research Interests

Research interests and expertise:
South Indian Hindu temple traditions;
Saivism;
Hindu ritual;
Saiva Siddhanta;
Saiva Agamas;
Theory of ritual.

Research languages:
Sanskrit, Tamil, French, German.

Current research:
Historical development of Saivism in South India;
20th century appropriations of Saiva Siddhanta in Tamil identity/Tamil nationalism debates;
Relationship between Saiva Agamas, ritual texts and contemporary ritual practice in Tamil Nadu;
Historical relationship between brahman Adisaiva temple priests and vellala Saiva monastic communities in Tamil Nadu.

Other Expertise

Academic Experience:
1999 Faculty Advisor for Project Nepal, a service-learning experience for undergraduates at the University of Denver;
1997 Faculty Director, South India Term Abroad (SITA) program, Madurai, India;
Editorial Board member, Journal ofthe American Academy of Religion, 1995-1999.

Future Research

History of the Kapalisvara temple in Mylapore, Chennai.

Keywords

COS Keywords:

Anthropology, Asia, Southern, Asian Languages Or Literature, Asian Religions, Cultural or Social Anthropology, History, India, Religious History, Religious Literature, Religious Studies.

Additional Terms:

Hinduism, India, Religious History, Religious Studies, South Asian Religions.

Languages

(Reading, Writing, Speaking)

Tamil: (Fluent, Functional, Functional)
French: (Fluent, Functional, Basic)
Sanskrit: (Fluent, Functional, None)
Japanese: (Basic, Basic, Functional)

Memberships

American Academy of Religion
Association for Asian Studies
South India Term Abroad Board of Directors

Honors and Awards

2006, William T. Driscoll Master Educator Award, University of Denver, Awarded for outstanding teaching at DU
1993, Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor award, University of California, Berkeley
1983, Vera Green Memorial Prize, Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Prize for excellence in language (Tamil)
1979, Phi Beta Kappa, University of California, Berkeley

Previous Positions

1993-1994, Visiting Assistant Professor, Whittier College

Funding Received

  • United States Department of Education: Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, , Nov 1989 to Nov 1990.
  • American Institute of Indian Studies: Advanced Language Training Program (Tamil), , Aug 1985 to Apr 1986.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): 5-week Summer Institute, "Religion and Politics in India", , 2004 to .

Publications

  • Ginette Ishimatsu (2002) Tamil Shaivism In J. Gordon Melton and Marin Baumann (eds), Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, Santa Barbara, ABC-Clio (bookchapter)
  • Aghorasivacarya: Author of the Pararthanityapujavidhi?, Journal of Oriental Research (Madras), 67-70, 231-46, 2000
  • Review of An Introduction to Hinduism, by Gavin Flood, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 67(3), 669-72, September 1999
  • The Making of Tamil Saiva Siddhanta, Contributions to Indian Sociology, n.s., 33(3), 571-579, Summer 1999
  • Review of Home of Dancing Sivan, by Paul Younger. In Critical Review of Books in Religion, 336-9. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996
  • Ginette Ishimatsu, Between Text and Tradition: Hindu Ritual and Politics in South India, RoutledgeCurzon, in progress pages
  • S. S. Janaki, N. R. Bhatt, Richard Davis, and Ginette Ishimatsu, eds. and trans., The Kriyakramadyotika of Aghorasivacarya. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, forthcoming

Profile Details

Last Updated: 9/14/2007

COS Expertise ID #411133
Reference this profile directly: http://myprofile.cos.com/gishimat