Shiv SubramaniamAssistant Professor

Shiv Subramaniam specializes in Sanskrit literature. His research investigates the philosophical implications of Sanskrit literary works, and focuses particularly on classical Sanskrit poetry as well as the poetry and theology of the Śrīvaiṣṇava religious tradition. His current book-project, Thinking after Kālidāsa, examines exemplary instances in the reception of the Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa (4^th c.), in order to argue that the interest of his poetry isn't exhausted by the aesthetic pleasure that readers have claimed to derive from it but also lies in its thinking; for example, its insights into the nature of daydreaming, the value of ascetic life, and the condition of mortality. Shiv is also a member of the Kampaṉ project, and is currently working on a translation Book 1 of Kampaṉ's Tamil Rāmāyaṇa. His work has appeared in The Journal of Indian Philosophy, and the authors he has written on include Kālidāsa, Kuntaka, Vedāntadeśika, Bilhaṇa, and Sri Aurobindo.

Education

• PhD, Columbia University, 2019
• BA, The University of Chicago, 2011

Research and Teaching

• Classical Sanskrit literature
• Sanskrit poetics and rhetoric 
• The Srivaishanava religious tradition
• Genre theory and the lyric
• Literature and philosophy