Christopher Zand Minkowski (; born 13 May 1953) is an American academic, who was Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 2005 to 2023.

Education and early career

Minkowski was educated at

Gilman School Gilman School is an all-boys independent school, independent, day school, day, college preparatory school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre ...

before studying English at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

. After receiving a diploma in Hindi from the

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

in 1976, he returned to Harvard to obtain a master's degree, followed by a PhD in Sanskrit and Indian Studies in 1986. Thereafter, he taught at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

before a research year (as a junior research fellow) at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Wolfson is an all-graduate college, it prides itself on being one of the most international colleges at Oxford, with part ...

Later career

Between 1989 and 2006, he taught at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, becoming Professor of Asian Studies and Classics. He was appointed Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the

in 2005, a post that carries with it a professorial fellowship at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. His writings include ''Priesthood in Ancient India'' (1991) as well as articles on

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

religion and literature and the modern intellectual history of southern Asia. He includes as one of his recreations "further adventures in the improbable".

References

External links

Minkowski's webpage
at Oxford's Institute of Oriental Studies
Transcript of his inaugural lecture at Oxford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minkowski, Christopher Living people 1953 births American Indologists Harvard College alumni University of Iowa faculty Brown University faculty Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Cornell University faculty Boden Professors of Sanskrit Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford