The scope of research and teaching interests at the Chair of South Asian Studies, Faculty of Asian and African Cultures, University of Warsaw, has expanded over time, from classical Indology and Buddhist studies, based on Sanskrit and Pali sources, to encompass early modern and contemporary India, with a focus on the study of sources in Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages, such as Bengali, Hindi/Urdu and Tamil. Since 2008, this shift has also been reflected in the unit’s name: the Chair of South Asian Studies. Today, the Chair is a leading centre for South Asian studies in Poland, with staff focusing their research and teaching on the languages, literatures, religions, philosophy, history, cultures and societies of South Asia. The Chair is an active participant in the international academic community. It collaborates with academic institutions worldwide, organises seminars, conferences and workshops, and contributes to research grants and international projects.
International Cooperation
The Chair of South Asian Studies (Faculty of Asian and African Cultures, University of Warsaw) is a member of the international research group Prague–Milan–Kraków–Warsaw, active since 1998 and originally comprising the Indology centres at Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), the University of Milan (Italy), and Jagiellonian University (Poland). In 2008, the group, already including the Chair, signed a letter of intent in Warsaw. This letter outlines academic and research collaboration in areas of mutual interest, carried out primarily through annual seminars organised alternately by group members and through subsequent publications. In 2015, another Indological centre joined the group: the University of Cagliari (Italy). For more information on the results of the group's collaboration, click here.
The Chair was one of the founding members of the Central and Eastern European Network of Indian Studies (CEENIS, 2006), which brought together nine academic institutions from Central Europe. The Chair has organised numerous significant international academic events, including the 24th European Conference on South Asian Studies (ECSAS 2016), held in collaboration with the Polish Oriental Society, which attracted nearly 500 scholars from around the world, and the 13th International Conference on Early Modern Literatures of North India (ICEMLINI 2018), recognised as a leading forum for research on early modern vernacular sources. Other important events organised by the Chair include the International Conference on Sanskrit and Related Studies (1999); the international seminar Argument and Reason in Indian Logic (held in Kazimierz Dolny in 2001); and the Conference on Indian Studies in Central and Eastern Europe (2005).
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The bachelor's and master's degree programmes are offered in four languages: Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Tamil, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Doctoral studies are also possible through one of the Doctoral Schools of the University of Warsaw. The Department's interdisciplinary curricula provide students with the opportunity to study a wide range of topics focused on the cultures and societies of South Asia.
The Chair of South Asian Studies conducts research in the following areas:
- Languages and literatures of South Asia
- Culture and history of South Asia
- Religion, philosophy, and art
- Socio-political issues of contemporary South Asia
- Indian theatre
- Indian folklore
History
Former Faculty and Collaborators
