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Farewell Lecture by Prof. Dr. Axel Michaels on July 20, 2016

The Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia cordially invites you to the farewell lecture by Prof. Dr. Axel Michaels with the title "Nepal in der Welt", which will take place on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 12 am s.t. in the Great Hall of the University (Grabengasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg). The lecture is followed by a reception in the Bel Etage.

“Nepal in der Welt” is the last lecture of the regular course entitled “Kulturgeschichte Nepals” (Cultural History of Nepal /Hinduism II). It deals with the history of Nepal, which serves as example for the multifaceted cultural and religious encounters, also referred to as syncretism. The lecture emphasizes the complex processes of exchange relationships.

The farewell lecture covers the following topics (in German):

Groß und Klein: Nepal zwischen Indien und China
Krieg oder Frieden: Die Gorkha-Regimenter
Drinnen und Draußen: Nepals Wanderarbeiter in der Golfregion
Shangrila oder Failed State: Nepals Image
Bergauf-Bergab-Bergauf: Nepals Zukunft
Abschiedsblicke vom Dach der Welt

Axel Michaels studied Indology, philosophy and law in Munich and Hamburg as well as at the Benares Hindu University in India. After earning his doctorate at the University of Hamburg, he joined the staff at Kiel University, where the researcher completed his habilitation in 1991. In 1992, he accepted a professorship at the University of Bern (Switzerland). Four years later, he joined the faculty at Heidelberg University as professor of Classical Indology at the SAI, where he heads the Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia.
The researcher has been a member of the directorate of the Cluster of Excellence “Asia and Europe in a Global Context” since 2007, and is acting director of the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies (HCTS) founded at Ruperto Carola in 2013. He also directs the “Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Premodern Nepal” research unit of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Prof. Michaels’ research is focused on the practice and history of Hinduism in India and the religions of Nepal, in particular rituals and festivals. His work also includes the study of sacred maps and religious geography of Benares as well as Hindu asceticism. The laws of ancient India and legal literature of pre-modern Nepal are other areas of interest.

11 Jul 2016

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