Shubha Pathak

Associate Professor Department of Philosophy and Religion

Shubha Pathak is a historian of religions who studies the mythological literatures of India, Greece, and Rome. In addition to teaching courses on comparative philosophy and comparative religion, she is researching Greco-Roman and Indian epics in their original and later literary forms, focusing on their theological and narratological dimensions. Her monograph, Divine Yet Human Epics: Reflections of Poetic Rulers from Ancient Greece and India (Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University, 2014), reveals the similar ways in which the primary Greek and Sanskrit epics address their respective audiences' existential needs. Her edited volume, Figuring Religions: Comparing Ideas, Images, and Activities (State University of New York Press, 2013), shows how metaphor and metonymy theories can be used in comparative religious studies.

Degrees

AM (divinity), PhD (history of religions), University of Chicago Divinity School; PhD (social and behavioral sciences), Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; AB (religion), Princeton University

Office: CAS - Philosophy and Religion; Battelle Tompkins - 113; Tuesdays and Fridays, 11:20–11:50 a.m., and by appointment
Contact Info: (202) 885-2957 (Office); (202) 885-1094 (Fax)
For the Media: To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
See Also: Department of Philosophy and Religion

Partnerships & Affiliations

American Academy of Religion

Member, Steering Committee, Hinduism Unit
American Comparative Literature Association

Member
American Oriental Society

Member
Modern Language Association of America

Member
Renaissance Society of America

Member
Society for Classical Studies

Member, Committee on Public Information and Media Relations, Outreach Division; Past Member, Committee on the Classical Tradition and Reception, Outreach Division

Teaching

Spring 2017
- RELG-245 Stories of South Asia
- Description
- RELG-396 Selected Topics:Non-Recurring: The Ground Beneath Her Feet
- Description

Fall 2017
- LIT-496 Selected Topics:Non-Recurring: The Mythographer's Craft
- Description
- RELG-225 Meaning & Purpose in the Arts
- Description

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

The philosophical, psychological, and religious aspects of epic poetry and literary creativity; comparative philosophy and comparative religion; literary criticism; and contemporary psychological theories.

Grants and Sponsored Research

2016–17 College of Arts and Sciences Mellon Faculty Development Fund Grant, American University.

2010–11 Faculty Research Award, Office of Academic Affairs, American University.

2008–9 College of Arts and Sciences Mellon Faculty Development Fund Grant, American University.

Selected Publications

Divine Yet Human Epics: Reflections of Poetic Rulers from Ancient Greece and India. Washington: Center for Hellenic Studies, Trustees for Harvard University; Cambridge: distributed by Harvard University Press, 2014.

Figuring Religions: Comparing Ideas, Images, and Activities (edited volume). Albany: State University of New York Press, 2013.

"The Divine Character of Poetic Creativity in Rājaśekhara's Kāvyamīmāṃsā." In Poetry, Drama and Aesthetics, edited by Mandakranta Bose, David Gitomer, and David Smith. Vol. 6 of Papers of the 13th World Sanskrit Conference. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, forthcoming.