معرفی
Prof. William S. Sax is a distinguished anthropologist at Heidelberg University's South Asia Institute, where he has led the Department of Anthropology since 2000. His research focuses on ritual healing, medical anthropology, and cultural dynamics in the Western Himalayas, particularly in India. He has held academic positions at Harvard University and the University of Canterbury, and his work bridges interdisciplinary collaborations across Europe and South Asia.
- Education:
- Undergraduate: University of Washington, Seattle
- Undergraduate: Banaras Hindu University, India
- M.A. (1982) and PhD (1987): University of Chicago
Prof. Sax's research spans the anthropology of religion, gender, and performance, with a focus on ritual healing and transcultural psychiatry. He has presented lectures internationally on topics such as "Ritual Healing," "Shamanic Nosologies," and "Transcultural Psychiatry." His projects include leadership in the research cluster Asia and Europe in a Global Context and participation in Germany's Special Research Area 619 Ritualdynamik.
Notable collaborations include grants like the SFB 619 project "Ritual Healing and its Critics" (€225,600) and Cluster of Excellence MC-11 "Changing Minds" (€829,250). His monographs, such as Mountain Goddess: Gender and Politics in a Central Himalayan Pilgrimage (1991) and God of Justice: Ritual Healing in the Central Himalayas (2009), remain foundational texts in Himalayan studies. He also co-led DFG-funded initiatives exploring resource use among the Bhotiyas in Uttarakhand and the transcultural analysis of stress relief concepts.
