ISTB University of Vienna, Austria
The Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (Institut für Südasien-, Tibet- und Buddhismuskunde), University of Vienna.
- Have you written a doctoral thesis in Indology in the last two years? Now is your chance to apply for the Roland-Atefie-Preis of the ÖAW! Hand in your doctoral thesis by March 2026 and win a prize of 4.000€. More information here: stipendien.oeaw.ac.at/.../hum.../r...
- We congratulate Dr. Alaka Chudal on her lecture titled “Interpersonal Networks and the Making of Regional Buddhist Histories: India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in the 20th Century.” The lecture took place on January 18 in Colombo. (c)hirunews
- Tomorrow Alban von Stockhausen will give a CIDRIS lecture about the transformation process of the "Heidelberger Völkerkundemuseum". 22.01.2026 17:30 Institute of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies University Campus Spitalgasse 2, Entrance 2.7 1090 Vienna univienna.zoom.us/j/6817073509...
- Tomorrow, January 21 at 4pm (CET), Dr. Drölma Chökyi Jusa (ISTB) will be offering a public lecture on „Letters, Gifts, and Authority: Material Exchange in Tibetan Correspondence (11th–15th Century)“ at the University of Hamburg: For details, please go to www.kc-tbts.uni-hamburg.de/events/2026-...?
- Join us this Friday, January 16th at 3 p.m. for the public talk “From Memorial Steles to Stūpa Galleries. Commemorating the Dead in the Early Deccan” by Prof. Vincent Tournier (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München). stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- Out now: The first scholarly English translation of the “The Swasthani Vrata Katha” from the original Nepali by Dr. Alaka Chudal (ISTB) and Dr. Jessica Birkenholtz (Pennsylvania State University). Open Access academic.oup.com/book/61743 (print due Feb. 26) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-...
- Many thanks to Jason Birch for his insightful presentation on 'Intertextuality in Medieval Sanskrit, Persian and Hindi Yoga and Svarodaya Works'. A true highlight to end the calendar year before Yuletide.
- Tomorrow, at 17:30 p.m Jason Birch will give a lecture in the Seminar room 1 of the Institute of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (University Campus, Spitalgasse 2, Entrance 2.7). More info here: stb.univie.ac.at/.../did-sufi...
- We congratulate Luisa Masznitz, an outstanding student in the ISTB interdisciplinary Master programme “Culture and Society of Modern South Asia”, who has just received an appreciation award from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research for her master’s thesis.
- We are deeply honoured that the ISTB Library has been selected as one of the distinguished institutions to receive the eighty-volume commemorative edition of the Tipitaka, published in Thailand in 2016 to mark the seventieth anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne.
- Join us online for the launch of the edited volume "Among Tibetan Materialities: Materials and Material Cultures of Tibet and the Himalayas" (eds. Emma Martin, Trine Brox, Diana Lange, HASP 2025) on December 16, 2025 at 11.30am (GMT): www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launc... [eventbrite.co.uk]
- On the occasion of the International Gita Mahotsav, ISTB researchers @borayin-larios.bsky.social, Dr Alaka Chudal and Dr Julian Schott contributed to “Dialogues on Dharma and Global Ethics: Insights from the Gita”, moderated by Mrs. Devi Gopinath (Embassy of India) at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna.
- On Dec. 4th at 17:30 p.m, Jacob Dalton will give a lecture as a Numata visiting professor. The lecture will take place in the Seminar room 1 of the Institute of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies (Spitalgasse 2, Entrance 2.7). Click here for more info: stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- Two open-access chapters in the edited volume "Among Tibetan Materialities" (eds. Emma Martin, Trine Brox, Diana Lange; HASP 2025) have sprung from the FWF-Project ‘Potent Substances in Sowa Rigpa and Buddhist Ritual’ (2018–2024), based @ISTB: hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/catalog/book...
- On November 30th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Markus Viehbeck will do a lecture as part of a symposium. To join the lecture as well as the symposium click here: toyo-bunko.or.jp/en/event/2031/
- Unfurling with a Song: Ecological Themes and the Question of Creative Labour in Contemporary Scroll-Paintings: Tomorrow at 17:30 p.m Join on site or online: univienna.zoom.us/j/6395063435.... (688384) Or in the seminar room 1 of the ISTB (Spitalgasse 2, Hof 2.7) stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- @Scholars involved in Buddhist studies attending the AAR conference: Sunday Nov 23, 3:00-4:30 PM, Dr Christopher Jones (ISTB) will present a “Commentary on ‘Transforming the Base’: Yogācāra doctrine in the Chinese Ratnagotravibhāga, or Baoxinglun 寶性論” (A23-339). papers.aarweb.org/papers-sessi...
- “Embodied Energies: Mantra, Gesture, and the Poetics of Bharata-nāṭyam Repertoires”: Tomorrow, Nov. 13th, 5:30 p.m., public talk and performance by Géraldine-Nalini Margnac at the ISTB. Join us on site or online: univienna.zoom.us/j/6976904692... (Code 806110) stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- Austrian Decoration for Science and Art for Ernst Steinkellner @istb-univienna.bsky.social is proud to announce that Emer. O. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ernst Steinkellner has been awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art by Austria’s President Alexander van der Bellen. © Peter Lechner/HBF
- This coming Friday, November 7th from 3:30-5:00 pm, His Eminence Khamba Lama Javzandorj Dulamragchaa will offer a public lecture @ISTB in Vienna on the “History of Mongolian Buddhism”. If you would like to attend, please sign up via email to istb@univie.ac.at. stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- Dr. Barbara Gerke (PI, FWF Project “Pandemic Narratives”) and Yeshi Samdrup (Norbuling Rigter College) offered a guest lecture at Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan, sharing insights on co-authoring an open-access article on pandemic causation and protection in Bhutan: journals.openedition.org/aam/10311
- This Thursday, Oct. 30th, 5 pm @ISTB in Vienna: “Existence and Emptiness in Late Medieval Latin Semantics” by Graziana Ciola (Radboud University). Respondent: Birgit Kellner (IKGA). Attend in person or online: univienna.zoom.us/j/6860921736..., Code 989509. stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- Fresh off the press: Dr Cristina Pecchia (ISTB, University of Vienna) “Ayurveda and Philosophy” in Alex Broadbent (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Medicine. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2025, pp. 46-59. [DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197625835.013.0003] univie.academia.edu/CristinaPecc...
- Joyful Diwali to all who celebrate! 🪔 This 18th-cent. Rajasthani miniature depicts Lakṣmī who is especially venerated during Diwali (Dīpāvalī) celebrating the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. 📸 The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
- Tomorrow, Oct. 16 at 5:30 p.m.: Religious Philosophy between India and China, between Asia and Europe: Translating Buddhism Public lecture by Dr. Ralf Stepien (IKGA), CEU Center for Religious Studies events.ceu.edu/2025-10-16/r... 🖼️ "Cover detail from "Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy"
- ISTB Research Day 2025: Ethics in Research Presentations by Borayin Larios, Barbara Gerke (both @istb-univienna.bsky.social) and Edda Schwarzkopf (University of Tübingen) addressed ethical questions in fieldwork, cross-cultural collaboration in interdisciplinary environments and data management.
- @istb-univienna.bsky.social is hiring (again): We are offering a six-year PostDoc Position in in the field of Cultural and Intellectual History of Premodern South Asia (Indology) Details and application: jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi... Deadline: Sept 12, 2025.
- @istb-univienna.bsky.social is hiring: Job Opportunity (University Assistant – Praedoc) in Pre-modern South Asian Studies (Indology) with Prof. Nina Mirnig, focussing on early Śaiva traditions and Sanskrit epigraphy. Application: jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi... Deadline: Sept 5, 2025.
- New WSTB publication by Mingyuan Gao: The Buddhist Concept of Vāsanā. A Genealogical Study. 2025, 314 p. wstb.univie.ac.at/product/wstb... The book presents a genealogical study of the Buddhist concept of vāsanā, tracing its diverse origins and exploring the main ideas it conveys in context.
- A joint interest in 'Writing about Calamities in Cross-Cultural Contexts: Epidemics, End-of-Life Crises & Climate Disasters in Tibet and South Asia' brought together international scholars, PhD students, early career researchers and seasoned academics for a workshop at @istb-univienna.bsky.social.
- IABS 2025 in Leipzig is coming up soon. Several members of @istb-univienna.bsky.social will be sharing their research there, and look forward to meeting colleagues and friends. For details of the academic program, please go to conference.uni-leipzig.de/iabs2025/aca... See you in Leipzig!
- The 'Vienna Summer School on the History and Cultures of Asia', co-hosted by @istb-univienna.bsky.social and IKGA, brought together scholars and students in an intensive exploration of epistemology in South Asian philosophical traditions, based on guided readings of Sanskrit texts.
- Now available: Reprint of Markus Viehbeck's (@istb-univienna.bsky.social) collected volume "Transcultural Encounters in the Himalayan Borderlands", studying borderland Kalimpong as "Contact Zone": vajrabookshop.com/product/tran... Open Acess: library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...
- Book Launch: "Studies on Indian Philosophy and on Buddhism" by Tilmann Vetter (eds. Lambert Schmidthausen and Jonathan A. Silk) IKGA and ISTB honored the late Tilmann Vetter, Professor of Buddhist Studies at the Rijksuniversiteit Leiden from 1975 until his retirement in 2000, yesterday evening.
- Spot on: "Tilopā’s Two Mahāmudrā Songs: A Comparative Study Including Critical Editions of the Dohākośa Within the Sārārthapañjikā and the Gaṅgāma with Rang byung rdo rje’s Commentary" (article by Jim Rheingans and Julian Schott, both @istb-univienna.bsky.social) rdcu.be/efFdO
- Join us this on June 26 for a public talk on "Monuments of Modernity: Market-Halls of Colonial India" by Pushkar Sohoni (visiting professor @istb-univienna.bsky.social) who will examine the intersection of politics, science, and social change in colonial urbanism. stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- @istb-univienna.bsky.social is hiring: We are offering a three-year 50% Postdoc Position in the field of Indology and Himalayan Studies at the ISTB in Vienna. Please circulate this advertisement among qualified candidates. Closing date for applications: June 26 jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...
- Tomorrow, Borayin Maitreya Larios (@istb-univienna.bsky.social) will present on “Embodying the Divine in the Streets of Pune” at the 21st international conference on the culture & society in Maharashtra focusing on “Deha: Invoking The Body” in Heidelberg: www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/en/events-at...
- The Nepali translation of the late anthropologist Dr. Hanna Rauber's "Salt and Rice" was recently launched in Kathmandu. Translated by Dr. Alaka Chudal (@istb-univienna.bsky.social) the nuanced portrait of Himalayan cultural landscapes and trade practices reaches a broader Nepali audience.
- Join us tomorrow at 5:30 pm for a public talk by Prof. Francesco Sferra @istb-univienna.bsky.social: "Texts in Context. An Inquiry into the Social and Religious Context in which the Kālacakra Buddhist Tradition originated" stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- @istb-univienna.bsky.social is hiring: we are looking for a fulltime organisational assistant! Closing date for applications: June 26 jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Organisa...
- A Tibetan typewriter and a historic set of movable Tibetan types Jo de Baerdemaeker, expert in Tibetan typography, and Élie Roux, technical lead at BDRC, visited @istb-univienna.bsky.social to examine two fascinating items: a 1970s Tibetan typewriter and a historic set of movable Tibetan types.
- Next Wednesday, June 11, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Kiyotaka Yoshimizu (University of Tohoku) will offer a public talk on Paul Hacker's 'Two Accounts of Cosmogony' in the Manusmṛti, Vedic Myth and Preclassical Sāṅkhya Theory of Emanation @istb-univienna.bsky.social: stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
- An inaugural workshop recently brought the MANTRAMS team @istb-univienna.bsky.social together with project task forces from Oxford and Tübingen. "Mantras in Religion, Media, and Society in Global Southern Asia” (MANTRAMS) is funded by an ERC Synergy Grant. mantrams.univie.ac.at 📸 Prema Goet
- The early days of Tibetan Studies in Europe: some textual and historical considerations regarding I.J. Schmidt (1779–1843) and his German translation of The Wise and the Foolish Intellectual History Review, 34(3), 653–675. doi.org/10.1080/1749... by Jim Rheingans (@istb-univienna.bsky.social)
- Here’s to the next 50+ years of Tibetology at the University of Vienna! Many thanks to Prof. em. Ernst Steinkellner, Prof. Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Prof. Jim Rheingans, Dr. Hildegard Diemberger for their inspiring contributions to the jubilee event @istb-univienna.bsky.social stb.univie.ac.at/en/
- Time to celebrate: 50+ years of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna Join us TOMORROW on site @istb-univienna.bsky.social: stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/... Contributing: Prof. em. Ernst Steinkellner, Prof. Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Prof. Jim Rheingans, Dr. Hildegard Diemberger
- “Responding to Epidemic Outbreaks in Tibetan Contexts” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines, Number 77, Mai 2025: www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/... Special issue, guest editors Dr. Barbara Gerke (@istb-univienna.bsky.social) William A. McGrath (New York University), Jan van der Valk (@univie.ac.at)
- The Symbol of Ascent in Brahmanical and Christian Discourse This Friday, May 16, 3-5 p.m., Gavin Flood (Oxford University) will present @istb-univienna.bsky.social as guest of the De Nobili Collection in Vienna. The talk will be offered in hybrid format: oeaw-ac-at.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
- The Enchanted World of Bombay Film: Anglo-Indian women and the discourses of stardom Join us this Thursday, May 15 at 5:30 p.m. for a public lecture by Sarah Niazi (University of Leiden) at @istb-univienna.bsky.social stb.univie.ac.at/news-events/...
