The Department of Religious Studies at UC Davis is pleased to announce a special lecture talk by Dr. Vasudha Narayan, University of Florida.

Angkor Wat and Hindu Temples in the Khmer Empire

Friday, April 3, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Putah Creek Lodge at the University of California, Davis (MAP)

*For Parking Information and Driving Directions, please see below*

The story of Hinduism is incomplete without taking into account the history of Hindus in South East Asia. Vasudha Narayanan’s talk on the Hindu temples in Cambodia will focus on Angkor Wat and the temples built for Vishnu and Shiva in the Khmer empire between the 9th and 12th centuries CE. These temples, located in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, selectively portray narratives from Hindu epics and sacred texts and also attest to widespread knowledge of Hindu architectural norms, alignment of buildings to astronomical phenomena, and an integration of many branches of knowledge.

This event is free and open to the UC Davis community.

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Driving Directions/Parking Information:

Drive east on Interstate 80 from San Francisco Bay Area or drive west on Interstate 80 from Sacramento.

Take the UC Davis exit onto Old Davis Road to the main campus, Pass the Visitor Information Kiosk, Make a left on California Avenue, Make another left on La Rue Drive. Park your vehicle in Visitor Parking Lot 47, then walk south towards the Putah Creek Lodge Road. At the end of the road, you should see a bridge that will lead you to the Putah Creek Lodge. 

See the online map of UC Davis.

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About the Speaker:
Vasudha Narayanan is Distinguished Professor, Department of Religion, at the University of Florida and a past President of the American Academy of Religion (2001-2002). She was educated at the Universities of Madras and Bombay in India, and at Harvard University. Her fields of interest are the Sri Vaishnava tradition; Hindu traditions in India, Cambodia, and America; visual and expressive cultures in the study of the Hindu traditions; and gender issues. She is currently working on Hindu temples and traditions in Cambodia.

She is the author or editor of seven books and over ninety articles, chapters in books, and encyclopedia entries. Her research has been supported by grants and fellowships from several organizations including the Centre for Khmer Studies (2007); the American Council of Learned Societies (2004-2005); National Endowment for the Humanities (1987, 1989-90, and 1998-99), the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (1991-92), the American Institute of Indian Studies/ Smithsonian, and the Social Science Research Council. She was the president of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies from 1996-1998.