Christopher Zand Minkowski (/mɪŋˈkɔːfski, -ˈkɒf-/;^[1] born 13 May 1953)^[2] is an American academic, who was Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 2005 to 2023.

Education and early career[edit]

Minkowski was educated at Gilman School before studying English at Harvard College. After receiving a diploma in Hindi from the University of Delhi in 1976, he returned to Harvard to obtain a master's degree, followed by a PhD in Sanskrit and Indian Studies in 1986. Thereafter, he taught at the University of Iowa and Brown University before a research year (as a junior research fellow) at Wolfson College, Oxford.

Later career[edit]

Between 1989 and 2006, he taught at Cornell University, becoming Professor of Asian Studies and Classics. He was appointed Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford in 2005, a post that carries with it a professorial fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford.^[2]

His writings include Priesthood in Ancient India (1991)^[3][4] as well as articles on Vedic religion and literature and the modern intellectual history of southern Asia. He includes as one of his recreations "further adventures in the improbable".^[2]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Minkowski's webpage at Oxford's Institute of Oriental Studies
• Transcript of his inaugural lecture at Oxford