Sondra Hausner

Professor Sondra Hausner holds the title of Professor of Anthropology of Religion at the University of Oxford, where she is also a Fellow and Tutor in Theology and Religion at St Peter's College. She concurrently serves in multiple academic roles: as a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, and as a Research Associate at the Centre for Migration, Policy, and Society (COMPAS). She was a visiting professor at the University of Tübingen's Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology in 2015.

Her research focuses on the anthropology of religion, including shamanic healing in South Asia, comparative philosophical traditions between Indian and European thought, political ideologies in Indian asceticism, and Nepali migrant religiosity in diasporic communities. She leads the 'Orientophilia' network under TORCH, exploring intellectual cross-pollination between Asian and European philosophies.

Her major works include monographs on Himalayan asceticism and London's ritualized commemoration of historical sex workers, alongside edited volumes on gendered renunciation, Durkheimian sociology, and diasporic religious citizenship. Her academic education includes an AB from Princeton University and MA/PhD from Cornell University.