Rahul is studying for a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE), with a focus on International Relations, International Economics, and the Politics of China and South Asia.
Alumni
Rahul Ahluwalia
2009
Rebecca Aier
2011
Rebecca was studying for a BA in International Relations at Stanford University.
She studied Philosophy of Eastern Religions while at Oxford.
Kristian Akselberg
2009 to 2010
Kristian has completed an M.St. in Theology.
Wahid Amin
2009 to 2010
Wahid has completed an M.St. in the Study of Religions. His main interests were Islam, philosophy, Hinduism, and anthropology.
Nirav Yogesh Piyush Amin
2011
Psychiatric Anthropology - Harvard Medical School (2006)
MBBS - Bart's and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary's University of London (2008 - 2013)
Nirav completed his MSc in Social Anthropology. His areas of interest are Anthropology of Religion, Hinduism in the Modern Era, and Diaspora studies.
OCHS Awards:
Damji Devji Pattni Scholarship
Jane Barraclough
2002 to 2003
BA in English Litrature - Cambridge University (1985)
MA in medieval and Renaissance Literature - MCGill University, Montreal (1989)
Mst in Religion - University of Oxford (2003)
Jane is currently Unitarian Minister for the Bethnal Green Unitarians, London.
Charlotte Batchelor
2009 to 2010
Charlotte has received an M.St. in the Study of Religion with a focus on Hinduism and Islam.
Alexandra Buhler
2005
After completing her BA in theology at Oxford, Alexandra is pursuing an M.Phil. in religious studies at SOAS.
OCHS Awards:
Jiva Goswami Scholarship
Hrvoje Cargonja
2009
MSc in Molecular Biology - University of Zagreb (2002)
Hrvoje was visiting from the University of Zagreb on the OSI/FCO Chevening Programme. He pursued a PhD in the anthropology of religion with a focus on religious experience.
OCHS Awards:
Damji Devji Pattni Scholarship, Jiva Goswami Scholarship
Other awards:
Chevining Scholarship
Beatrice Cernuta
2010 to 2011
Beatrice studied Sanskrit and classics.
OCHS Awards:
Ashvattha Narayan Scholarship
Deepa Chaturvedi
2007
BA in English Literature, History and Philosophy - MDS University of Ajmer (1991)
MA in English Literature - MDS University of Ajmer (1993)
Deepa completed her MSt in the Study of Religions at Oxford.
Miss Chaturvedi is Senior Lecturer, in the Department of English, Govt. College, Kota.
OCHS Awards:
Pandit Abaji Scholarship, Patel Book Grant
Travis Chilcott
2001 to 2002
BA in Religious Studies - University of California (2001)
M.St. in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2002)
Masters Thesis: 'Divine Knowability in the Bhagavat-Sandarbha of Jiva Gosvami'.
Currently Travis is pursing his Ph.D. at the University of California at Santa Barbara through the Religious Studies Department.
Travis has been graced with the following awards: Cota-Robles Diversity Fellowship, University of California at Santa Barbara. Oxford's Clarendon Fund Bursary Scholarship. Raimundo Panikkar Award for outstanding achievement in the study of South Asian religions.
Other awards:
Cota-Robles Diversity Fellowship
Clarendon Fund Bursary Scholarship
Raimundo Panikkar Award
Jessamine Dana
2006
BA - Simon's Rock College of Bard (2001)
M.Phil. in Material Anthropology and Museum Enthography - Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford (2005)
Jessamine has completed her D.Phil. in Social and Cultural Anthropology. Her research included ritual anthropology of the senses, religious politics, phenomology, Buddhist and Hindu Studies.
Mary Delaughter
2011
Mary studied scholarship and Christianity in Oxford.
Anuradha Dooney
2000
BSc (Honours) in Social Science - University College, Dublin (1985)
Certificate (TEFL) in English Language Teaching - The Language Centre of Ireland (1985)
Certificate (City & Guilds) in Adult Teaching, Training and Development - Kensington and Chelsea College (1995)
Bhakti Shastri Degree in Hindu Literature - Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (1999)
MSt in Study of Religion - University of Oxford (2003)
Her masters thesis was an exploration of faith development in the Vaishnava tradition.
Other awards:
Majewski Bursary - 2003-04 (OCHS)
Wahlstrom Travelling Scholars Fund - 2004
OCHS Theology Scholarship - 2002
Tanna Memorial Fund - 2000
Geoffrey Walker Award - 1999
Jonathan B. Edelmann
2002
BA in Philosophy - University of California (2002)
MSt in Science and Religion - University of Oxford (2003)
DPhil in Religion - University of Oxford
Senior BA thesis: 'The metaphysical presupposition of neo-Darwinism and their relationship with a Vaishnava theology of nature.'
MSt Thesis: 'The Value of Science: The Perspectives of Contemporary Science, Stephen Jay Gould and Theistic Samkhya'.
DPhil research area: Vaishnavism and the design of living organisms. Vaishnava conceptions of the creation and natural history of the world, in relation to developments in modern biology.
OCHS Awards:
Ashvattha Narayan Scholarship
Nikos Franci-Ioannou
2007
BA in Theology and Religious Studies, the History and Philosophy of Science - University of Leeds (2002)
Completed an M.St. in The Study of Religion focusing on Hinduism and Christanity.
OCHS Awards:
Gupta Dan Bursary
Rev. Martin Ganeri OP
2001 to 2003
MA, M.Phil. - University of Cambridge
D.Phil. on the doctrines of God and creation in the thought of St Thomas Aquinas and Ramanuja.
Fr Ganeri is a member of the Dominican Order within the Catholic Church. He is currently Prior of the Dominican Priory, in Cambridge. Fr Ganeri is a lecturer in Hinduism at Heythrop College, London. He is also involved in promoting Hindu-Christian dialogue and is a member of the Catholic Bishops' Committee for Other Faiths.
Abhishek Ghosh
2005 to 2006
BA (Hon.) in English - University of Calcutta (2004)
MSt in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2006)
Abhishek is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Chicago. His research interest includes Caitanya Vaishnavism during late colonial and
postcolonial periods in Bengal and focuses especially on the Bhagavata commentarial tradition that was developed by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Bhaktivedanta Swami.
Shubhangi S. Gokhale
2005 to 2006
Shubangi is studying at Skidmore College, USA, where she is majoring in Government and East Asian Studies.
She came to Oxford to study Hinduism and British foreign policy.
Dr Ravi Gupta
1999 to 2004
BA in Philosophy - Boise State University (1999)
B.Sc. in Mathematics - Boise State University (1999)
MSt in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2000)
D.Phil. in Hinduism - University of Oxford (2004)
Ravi's thesis focused on the early development of Vedanta philosophy in the Chaitanya Vaishnava tradition, based on original manuscript sources.
Ravi was our youngest student, entering Oxford University at the age of 17. He has won a number of prestigious awards including: a full Yate Scholarship from the University Theology Faculty and St. Hugh's College; and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Linacre College.
Fleur Harris
2002 to 2006
BA in Theology - Oxford University (2006)
MA in Law and Social Science - SOAS (2007)
Fleur's BA interest was in world religions, with a focus on Hinduism and Buddhism.
Her focus during her MA was on violence, conflict and development.
Fleur is currently studying to become a Religious studies teacher.
Elliot Hulme
2010
BA in Art History and Philosophy - University of Western Australia (1999)
Masters in Film and Television Production - Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (2006)
Elliot studied for an M.St. in the Study of Religion with a focus on Buddhism and Hinduism.
Devika Jina
2011
BA in Philosophy - Heythrop College, University of London (2011)
Devika was pursuing an MSt in the Study of Religion. Her area of academic concentration was Hinduism and Chiristianity.
Mrinal Kaul
2006 to 2007
B.A. (Hons.) in Sanskrit - St Stephen's College, University of Delhi
Certificate Course in Manuscriptology - Center of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, University of Pune
M.A. Sanskrit (with specialization in Nyaya) - University of Pune
An Advanced Course in the Indian Grammatical Traditions - Center of Advanced Study in Sanskrit, University of Pune,
M.A. Sanskrit, (with specialization in Indian Philosophy) - St Stephen's College, University of Delhi
Mrinal compleated an an M.St. Oriental Studies in the University of Oxford. His thesis was "Causality and Ontological Hierarchy in the Tantraaloka".
Mrinal's main area of study is Kashmir Shaivism.
OCHS Awards:
Ashvattha Narayan Scholarship
Meijia Ling
2010
Meijia gained a BA in Sanskrit.
OCHS Awards:
Hanuman Bursary
Dr Rembert Lutjeharms
2004 to 2010
BA in Oriental Studies - University of Ghent, Belgium
MA in Oriental Studies - University of Ghent, Belgium
DPhil in Theology - University of Oxford (2010)
Rembert completed his D.Phil. in Theology at the University of Oxford in 2010, focusing on the theology of the sixteenth-century Caitanya Vaishvana poet and literary critic Kavikarnapura. His research interests are Sanskrit poetry and poetics, early Caitanya Vaisnava history, and Sanskrit hermeneutics.
OCHS Awards:
Jiva Goswami Scholarship
Melanie Mader
2005 to 2006
BA (Hons) in Philosophy and Religious Studies - University of Stirling (2005)
Her BA dissertation topic 'The Nyaya-Darsana and its Relation to Western Logic and Scholarship'
Melanie compleated her MSt in Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford, focusing on Sanskrit and Indian logic, particularly the Nyaya system, in 2006
Hursh Mehta
2011
Hursh is studying for a BA in Modern Languages with a focus on the language and literature of Russia and Spain.
Avni Mehta
2011
BA in Study of Religion (Eastern and Western Philosophy, Hinduism and gender) - SOAS (2011)
Avni pursued an MPhil in Modern South Asian studies concentrating on Sanskrit and Hinduism identity and gender.
OCHS Awards:
Hansraj and Kanchanben Popat Bursary
Verena Hanna Meyer
2011
MA in Philosophy - Universitat Passau (2011)
Verena is pursued a MSt in the Study of Religion. She focused on Hinduism and Buddhism.
Amanda Mills
2001 to 2002
BA in the Science of Religion - University of Cape Town
MSt in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2002)
Trent Moyer
2006 to 2007
Trent was on a visiting student program of religion and political change from George Mason University in Virginia.
At Oxford he studied Hinduism and Buddhism. His research and life interest is the intersection of religious traditions and social movements in the contemporary political scene.
Judith Mueller
2007
Judith was in Oxford on a 'Junior Year Abroad' programme studying Economic Theory and Hinduism.
Currently pursuing a BA in International Relations, Economics, and German, George Washington University, USA.
Ashiyana Nariani
2004 to 2005
Ashiyana was a visiting student to Oxford studying Hinduism, Hindi and Mathematics during her stay.
James David Naylor
2005
James completed hi BA in Theology and Philosophy at Oxford.
Aleksandra Nijemcevic
2002 to 2004
BA in Philosophy - University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2002)
MPhil in Classical Indian Religion - University of Oxford (2004)
Kyle Patrick O'Brien
2011
BA in Politics- University of San Francisco (2009-2013)
At Oxford, Kyle concentrated on Theology, Philosophy and English Literature
John O'Connor
2007
John completed a BA in Theology from the University of Oxford.
Alana Lajoie O'Malley
2008
B.Sc. in Physics - University of Winnipeg.
Alana completed her M.Phil. in South Asian Studies, focussing on yoga and jyoti-sastra.
OCHS Awards:
Ashvattha Narayan Scholarship
Kiyokazu Okita
2003
B.A. in Religious Studies - International Christian University, Tokyo (2001)
MSt in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2004)
Thesis:"The Necessity for and the Possobility of Interreligious Dialogue".
Upon completing his D.Phil. in Theology Kiyo went on to teach at the University of Florida.
OCHS Awards:
Ashvattha Narayan Scholarship, Gupta Dan Bursary, Pandit Abaji Scholarship
Sadhu Paramtattvadas
2006
Shastri (B.A.-equivalent) in Vyakarana (Sanskrit Grammar) - Shri Yagnapurush Sanskrit Vidyalaya, Sarangpur, India (2001)
Acharya (M.A.-equivalent) in Vedanta - Shri Yagnapurush Sanskrit Vidyalaya, Sarangpur, India (2002)
Shastri (B.A.-equivalent) in Nyaya (Indian Logic) - Shri Yagnapurush Sanskrit Vidyalaya, Sarangpur, India (2003)
M.A. in Sanskrit - Karnataka State Open University, India (2004)
Completed his M.St. in The Study of Religion, University of Oxford.
OCHS Awards:
Pandit Abaji Scholarship
Tucker Plumlee
2008
BA - University of Denver.
Tucker was a visiting student at Blackfriars and studied Theology and Philosophy.
Despoina Potari
2009
Despoina completed her M.Phil. in Political Theory. Her main fields of interest were political ideologies, concepts of power, and conceptions of the 'political'.
Angela Quartermaine
2005 to 2006
BA (Hons) in Religious Studies - Edinburgh University.
M.St. in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2006)
Interests include methodological issues in the Study of Religions and religious law, particularly 11th century Hindu (Dayabhaga) law and modern Islamist ideas; also interfaith dialogue, particularly Hindu-Muslim relations.
Sweta Rana
2011
Sweta studied Philosophy and Theology and concentrated on History of Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion.
Erik Ranstrom
2012
Erik Ranstrom in a Visiting Student from Boston College where he is currently studying for a PhD in Comparative Theology. His interests include Hindu-Christian dialogue and 20th Century Catholic engagement with Vedanta.
Sheena Rastogi
2011
Sheena was pursuing a BSc in Biology of Medicine from the College of New Jersey. She studied Endocrinology and Philosophy of Hinduism at Oxford.
Moriah Rekel Hernandez
2012
Moriah studied macroeconomics and Hinduism. Her area of academic interest was Macroeconomics in Medicine.
Chao Ren
2010
Chao studied History on a Visiting Student Programme.
Noelle Richardson
2011
BA in Politics and International Relations - Royal Holloway (2010)
Noelle studied for an MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies. Her areas of academic concentration in Oxford were intellectual history of India, Hindu Philosophy and the Indian caste system.
Claire Robison
2004 to 2007
Claire completed a BA in Theology, Oxford University, acheiving not only a first (the highest grade of degree) but the top first of the year.
During her stay in Oxford Claire served as the undergraduate representative of the Religious Studies Society in Oxford. She was awarded the Horton Davies Prize, by Mansfield College, in 2006, for being the most outstanding second year theologian. She also received the University's Denyer and Johnson prize for being the candidate whose performance the examiners judged to be the best in the Final Honour School of Theology.
Claire's main areas of interest are in the theological traditions of India, particularly Vaisnavism. She is currently persuing an MPhil in Cambridge University.
OCHS Awards:
Gupta Dan Bursary
Ferdinando Sardella
2008
After completeing a BA and a B.Th. at the University of Gothenburg, Ferdinando received a MA in Religious Studies with a major in History of Religions at the same university. He defended his Ph.D. at the University of Gothenburg in 2010. He is presently a researcher at Uppsala University where he is the Director of the Forum for South Asian Studies for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Ferdinando spent two terms in spring 2008 on doctoral work at the OCHS as a visiting scholar through a scholarship from the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education.
Daniel Bender Saver
2005 to 2006
BA in Religious Studies and Urdu - SOAS (1993)
Daniel studied at the Univesity of Caifornia, Berkeley, USA, where he majored in Religious Studies and Classics.
Daniel was a visiting student to Oxford studying Hinduism and Latin Literature during his stay.
Jean-Marie Schmitt
2002
BA in Religious Studies - Bard College (2000)
MA in Indian Philosophy - Banaras Hindu University (2002)
Completed his D.Phil at the University of Oxford. His research dealt with the non-dual system of Vedanta as presented by its most celebrated exponent, the late 7th century AD philosopher, Shankara.
His thesis examined Shankara's soteriological tradition in the light of certain pedagogical and interpretive principles. It introduced the key teaching techniques, which allow Shankara to formulate a coherent and cohesive system of thought from the variegated materials of the Advaita Vedanta tradition. As a whole, his work attempts to show that the soteriological value of Shankara Vedanta lies in its being based on well-established principles of textual interpretation and, ultimately, on universal experience.
Vivek Anand Sharma
2011
Vivek studied for a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). His areas of academic concentration were Knowledge and Reality and Philosophy of the Mind.
Divya Sharma
2011
Divya was pursuing her BSc and MD in an accelerated program at The College of New Jersey and New Jersey Medical School.
She studied Medical Sciences, Hindu Philosophy of Human Science and Public Health at Oxford.
Sahasrangshu Sinha
2011
B.Tech in IT and Computer Engineering - University of Kalyani (2004)
Sahasrangshu is studying for an MBA in finance and Entrepreneurship. He is interested in the study of the History of Hinduism.
Sarah Skenazy
2008
Sarah completed a Liberal Arts Degree from Sarah Lawrence College.
OCHS Awards:
Gupta Dan Bursary
Bhavisha Tailor
2006 to 2007
BSc in Sociology - University of Bath
MSc in Development Studies - London School of Economics
MSt in the Study of Religions (specifically Buddhism and Hinduism) - University of Oxford (2007)
She left a finance position of 4 years to come to Oxford. She had previously taken the part time course in Hindu Studies, run by the OCHS in London, out of interest. This course inspired her to further study and hence Oxford.
Her specific area of interest in Buddhism is related to the nature of Buddhist involvement in the conflict in Sri Lanka. One of the areas she hopes to explore, however, is the concept of God in the saguna and nirguna bhakti traditions.
Manjari Talent
1999 to 2000
BA in Anthropology - University of California (1996)
MSt in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2000)
MSt Thesis: An Analysis of Challenges to the Validity of the Tattva-sandarbha as Representative of the Philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Manjari is presently living in India studying Sanskrit and Hindi and working for a publishing company which specializes in English translations of Sanskrit and Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava literature.
Ithamar Theodor
2000 to 2004
BA in Sanskrit, Indology, Western Philosophy and Religous Studies - The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
MA - Tel Aviv University.
M.Litt. - University of Oxford (2004)
PhD. - University of Haifa (2007)
Post Doctorate - University of Cambridge (2008)
MA Thesis: The Metaphysical Structure of the Bhagavad gita.
MLitt Thesis: Rasa and Vedanta in the Bhagavata Purana.
PhD Thesis: Personhood and Aesthetics in the Bhagavata Purana.
For ongoing updates please see Ithamar's home page at: http://eastasia.haifa.ac.il/staff/itheodor.htm
Paul Trafford
2009
MSc in Mathematics
Phd in Computer Science
Paul completed an M.St. in the Study of Religion. He was focusing on Buddhist ethics and the religious and cultural landscape in India in the time of the Buddha.
Dr Kenneth Valpey
1999 to 2004
BA (honours) in Religious Studies - University of California (1996)
MA in the Cultural and Historical Study of Religion - Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley (1998)
M.St. in the Study of Religion - Oxford University (2000)
D.Phil. - Oxford University (2004)
His dissertation was entitled The Grammar and Poetics of Murti-Seva: Caitanya Vaisnava Image Worship as Discourse, Ritual, and Narrative.
In 2006 Dr Valpey's dissertation was published in revised form with the Routledge/OCHS Hindu Studies Series as a monograph entitled Attending Krsna’s Image: Caitanya Vaisnava Murti-seva as Devotional Truth.
He is presently working with Dr. Ravi M. Gupta on an edited volume, a ‘companion’ to the Bhagavata Purana, and on a translation of a 16th century Sanskrit Vaisnava ritual text, the Haribhaktivilasa, together with Dr. Mans Broo (Abo Akademie, Finland).
Having taught courses in Indian and Asian religions for the year 2006 at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and having taught for the academic year 2007-08 at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, he presently continues to teach at CUHK each Autumn semester as a Visiting Scholar.
Jacob Louis Waldenmaier
2009
Having previously studied at the Ashland Theological College, USA, Jacob completed his D.Phil. in the Study of Religions. His main field was Comparative Theology, looking at the work of Ramanuja and Ibn 'Arabi´.
Christopher Wallis
2003 to 2005
BA in Religion - University of Rochester (2001)
MA - UC Berkley (2003)
M Phil inClassical Indian Religions - University of Oxford (2005)
Christopher's main areas of interest were Shaivism, Tantric Shaivism, and Veda.
Richard Williams
2010
BA in Theology - University of Oxford (2009)
Richard completed his MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies. His areas of interest were Saivism, approaches to ritual possession, gender in religious literature, and Brajbhasa devotional poetry.
OCHS Awards:
Mrs Bhartiben Bhanubhai Patel Prize, Ramlal Patel Bursary
Cyril Wohrer
2011
BA in Religious Studies (South Asian studies) - University of California, Santa Barbara (2011)
Cyril pursued an MSt in the Study of Religion and his areas of interest were Hinduism and Christianity.
Christopher Wood
2002
BA (Joint Honours) in Philosophy & Theology - Birmingham University
MSt. In the Study of Religion - Oxford University
BA thesis: "The Seperation of Praxis & Theory in Western Religion & Philosophy".
MSt thesis: "The Teleology of Ramanuja's Theology, focusing on Buddhism and Hinduism".
OCHS Awards:
Patel Book Grant
Mengran Xu
2010
BSc in Psychology - University of Hong Kong (2010)
Mengran studied Psychology and Buddhism while at Oxford.
Kazuko Yokoi
2011
BA in Study of Religion - Waseda University (2011)
Kazuko studied for an MSt in the Study of Religion focusing on Judaism, Hinduism and the philosophy of religion.
Yi Zhu
2010
Yi studied historical linguistics and Sanskrit at Oxford.
OCHS Awards:
Ambalal I Patel Bursary, Patel Book Grant
Anton Zykov
2010
BA in Oriental History - Moscow State University of IR
Anton completed an MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies. His research included the history of castes and Dalits among non- Hindu communities.
OCHS Awards:
Prof. Makhan Lal Roy Chowdhury Book Prize