Philip Lutgendorf

Philip Lutgendorf is an American Indologist. He is Professor of Hindi and Modern Indian Studies at the University of Iowa.[1] His areas of work and interest include the epic poem Ramcharitmanas, the life and works of Hindu poet Tulsidas, the worship of Hanuman, Indian popular cinema, and the Indian tea culture.[1][2] He is currently translating the Ramcharitmanas into English: this translation will be published by the Murty Classical Library of India in seven volumes.[1] He serves as the President of American Institute of Indian Studies.[3]

Education and career

Lutgendorf received a B.A. degree from the University of Chicago. In 1987, he received a PhD degree with distinction from the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations of the University of Chicago.[4][5] His dissertation was titled "The Life of a Text: Tulsidas' Ramcaritmanas in Performance."[5]

Since 1985, Lutgendorf has taught at the Department of Asian and Slavic Languages and Literature of the University of Iowa.[4] He has developed and taught courses on several subjects including Hindi language and written and oral narrative traditions of South Asia including the Ramcharitmanas, Hindu mythology, Indian literature, Indian theatre, and Indian cinema.[5]

Honors and recognition

Lutgendorf received the A. K. Coomaraswamy Prize for the book The Life of a Text. In March 2002, he received the Guggenheim Fellowship for research on the Hindu god Hanuman. In 2014, he received the Fulbright-Hays fellowship for research on the cultural history of chai (tea) in India.[1]

Historians Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf called the website on Hindi films maintained by Lutgendorf "an excellent website on Hindi films."[6] Freek Bakker wrote that Lutgendorf is an "expert in the Indian Ramayana tradition" and has done "profound research into the Ramayana katha tradition."[7]

Criticism

Professor Lutgendorf has written distorted stories in his book Hanuman's Tale, distorting the mother-son relationship of Hanuman and Sita mata. This can be found in Page 307 of his book. He's criticized in India for writing books on Lord Rama without knowing the reverence with which Lord Hanuman is worshipped traditionally in India.

Selected bibliography

References

  1. Chidanand Rajghatta (30 April 2014). "Inspired by Mumbai slum dweller's chai, Oprah Winfrey launches swish tea". Times of India. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  2. "Indiana University to open Gateway-India office in Gurgaon". India TV. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Philip Lutgendorf, PhD '87 on Chai Why? The Making of the Indian 'National Drink'". University of Chicago. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Philip A. Lutgendorf". University of Iowa. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  5. Metcalf, Barbara; Metcalf, Thomas (2012). A Concise History of Modern India (3rd, revised ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 311. ISBN 9781139537056. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  6. Bakker, Freek (2009). The Challenge of the Silver Screen: An Analysis of the Cinematic Portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad. BRILL. pp. 102, 126. ISBN 9789004168619.

External links

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