University of Sydney / Faculty of Arts / Department of Indian Sub-Continental Studies / Staff / Academic Staff

Dr Tamara Ditrich

PhD (Studies in Religion, University of Queensland) BA Hons(Linguistics, University of Ljubljana), BSc(Mathematics, University of Ljubljana)
Honorary Lecturer
Room 739, A18 Brennan Macallum Building

Tamara’s disciplinary background is in Sanskrit language, Vedic philology and Studies in Religion (Hinduism and Buddhism). She has had over twenty years of teaching and research experiences at various universities in the EU and Australia. At present she is a Marie Curie Research Fellow, researching dual deities in the Ṛgveda; she also teaches Sanskrit and Eastern religions and supervises several Masters and PhD students. Her research interests are primarily in Vedic philology and Theravāda Buddhism.

Research areas

  • Vedic studies
  • Gender issues in early Indian history
  • Buddhist meditation in theory and practice
  • Sanskrit and traditional Indian linguistics

Current projects

  • The role of dual deities in the Rgveda
    Interpretations of the Satipaṭṭhānasutta by contemporary Buddhist meditation teachers in Sri Lanka

Selected publications

Books

  • Aṇguttaranikāyapurāṇaṭīkā, Catutthā Linatthapakāsinī d. by P. Pecenko and T. Ditrich, Oxford Pali Text Society, [forthcoming]
  • The Way Things Really Are: A Translation of Book IV of the Sutta-nipāa, trans. by Lesley Lebkowicz, Tamara Ditrich and Primoz Pecenko. Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc., 2006
  • Jiddu Krishnamurti: Problemi zivljenja Ljubljana, Mladinska Knjiga, 1994

Articles

  • "Historical development and typology of dvandva compounds in the Ṛgveda", in The Fourth International Vedic Workshop, University of Texas, Austin. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass [forthcoming]
  • "Ṛveda Godesses: Their Roles and Significance in the Vedic Pantheon", in Indian Studies - Slovenian Contributions, ed. by L Skof Kolkata: Sampark Publishing, 2008, pp. 153-165
  • "Dvandva Compounds in the Ṛgveda: The Chronology of the Ten Mandalas Revisited", in Poligrafi 41/42, Vol 11, 2006, pp. 123-148
  • "Stylistic Analysis of Coordinative Nominal Constructions for Dual Deities in the Ṛgveda", in Proceedings of the 13th World Sanskrit Conference, Edinburgh, July 2006, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass [forthcoming]
  • "Early Goddesses", in Goddess: Divine Energy, edited by J. Menzies. Sydney: Art Gallery of NSW, 2006, pp. 18-21
  • "Dvandva Compounds and the Chronology of the Ṛgveda", in Crossroads 1 (Autumn 2006), pp. 26-35. (website: http://uq.edu.au/crossroads)
  • "Human and Divine Mothers in Hinduism", in Motherhood: Power and Oppression, ed. by Marie Porter, Patricia Short and Andrea O'Reilly. Toronto: Women's Press, 2005, pp. 137-151
  • "Indological Studies in Australia", in Indology: Past, Present and Future, ed. by Saroja Bhate. Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2002, pp. 61-83
  • Kaṭha Upaniṣad", in Sebstvo in meditacija, ed. by Andrej Ule. Poligrafi 17/18, Ljubljiana: Nova Revija, 2001, pp. 61-77

Areas of teaching and research supervision

Teaching

  • Sanskrit, Vedic, Pali
  • Hinduism
  • Buddhism
  • Meditation in Eastern Religions
  • Buddhist Ethics

Supervision

  • Vedic philology (Ṛgveda)
  • Early Indian thought
  • Hindu pantheon
  • Hinduism in diaspora
  • Feminist interpretation of Buddhist and Hindu texts
  • Modern Hindu movements
  • Buddhist literature
  • Buddhist thought and practice

Conference activity

  • Papers given at recent conferences include:
  • “The Presentation of Motherhood in Ancient Hindu Legal Sources”. International conference, The Mother: Images, Issues and Practices, University of Queensland, 5–7 July 2007.
  • “Historical Development and Typology of Dvandva Compounds in the Ṛgveda”. The Fourth International Vedic Workshop: The Vedas in Culture and History, University of Texas, Austin, USA, 24–27 May 2007.
  • “The Goddesses in the Vedas”. International symposium Goddess: Divine Energy, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 October, 2006.
    “Dual Deities in the gveda: Stylistic and Typological Analysis”. International conference Alternative Expressions of the Numinous, University of Queensland, 20 August 2006.
  • “Stylistic and Typological Analysis of Coordinative Nominal Constructions in the Ṛgveda”. The 13th World Sanskrit Conference, Edinburgh, 10 July 2006.
  • “Hinduism”. Mind Ventures, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, November 2004.
  • “Motherhood in Hinduism”. International conference Mothering: Power/Oppression, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, July 2001.
  • “Indological studies in Australia”. International conference Indology: Past, Present and Future, the University of Poona, India, January 1997.

Other professional contributions

  • Public lectures, including “The Goddess in Classical Hindu Literature”, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 28 March, 2006; “Hindu Goddesses: Wives and Mothers”, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 3 June 2005; “Buddhist Meditation”, Bodhicitta Chan International Association, 6 August 2005; “The Yoga-sūtra of Pata–jali”, series of lectures at the West End Yoga College, 2006.
  • Media interviews including: “Goddess: Divine Energy”, The Spirit of Things, Radio National, with Rachael Kohn, 22 October 2006; “Buddhism in Sri Lanka”, 31 October 2006, Radio 4EB FM; “Vāyu, the Hindu God of Wind”, ABC Radio National series Encounters, 30 May 2004.
  • Director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies: organiser of several programs, workshops, public lectures, Brisbane Buddhas Lecture Series etc., 2004–2008.
  • Consultant for Education Queensland, Curriculum Strategy Branch, Education House, Brisbane, 2004.
  • Advisor for UQ Sanskrit Society, participating in organization of series of lectures, workshops, film nights etc., 2002–2006.
  • Member of the International Association of Sanskrit Studies, the Queensland Society for the Study of Religion, the Bodhicitta Chan International Association, Association for Research on Mothering, Canada, Slovenian Linguistic Society.
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