Indira Viswanathan Peterson
Encyclopedia
Indira Viswanathan Peterson is a literary critic and the David B. Truman Professor of Asian Studies at Mount Holyoke College
. She is a specialist in South Asia
n Studies.
, India
. She came to the United States as an AFS (American Field Service) exchange high school student in the late 1960s. She returned to Mumbai and received her B.A. in English literature from The University of Mumbai
and her Ph.D. in Sanskrit from Harvard University
in 1976. She has been a professor at Mount Holyoke since 1982, with a period at Columbia University
from 2002-2004.
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
. She is a specialist in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n Studies.
Background
Peterson was born and raised in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. She came to the United States as an AFS (American Field Service) exchange high school student in the late 1960s. She returned to Mumbai and received her B.A. in English literature from The University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
and her Ph.D. in Sanskrit 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...
in 1976. She has been a professor at Mount Holyoke since 1982, with a period at 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...
from 2002-2004.
Select scholarship
- Design and Rhetoric in a Sanskrit Court: The Kiratarjuniya of Bharavi, 2003
- Editor - Norton Anthology of World Literature http://www.wwnorton.com/college/titles/english/nawol2/meet_the_editor.htm, 2003
- Editor - Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces http://www.wwnorton.com/college/titles/english/nawmsh/meet_the_author.htm, 1997
- Poems to Siva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints, 1989