Beatrice Chrystall

Beatrice Chrystall serves as Lecturer on Pali at Harvard Divinity School, teaching academic-year courses and Summer Language Programs since 2014. She holds a PhD in South Asian Studies from Harvard University and previously taught in Harvard's Department of South Asian Studies.

Education: Studied at the University of Oxford and the University of Paris prior to completing doctoral work at Harvard University.

Research Focus: Specializes in Buddhist textual analysis with emphasis on:

• Narrative structures in Pali literature
• Ethical frameworks in Buddhist storytelling
• Intertextuality in composite religious texts
• Thai Pali literary traditions
• Linguistic pedagogy for classical languages

Her doctoral thesis examined literary form and ethics in the Jinamahānidāna, a Thai Pali biography of the Buddha. Current projects include developing a first-year Pali primer and translating the Jinamahānidāna.

Teaching Philosophy: Cultivates collaborative learning environments through innovative pedagogy tailored to diverse language-aptitude levels, as highlighted in her Summer Language Program commentary "Separated in Flesh, Together in Spirit".