Biography
Alastair Gornall gained his Ph.D. in Asian Studies from the University of Cambridge in 2013. He is currently an Associate Professor in History and Religion at the Singapore University of Technology and Design and a Research Associate in the Department of the Languages and Cultures of South Asia at SOAS, University of London. His research focuses on the intellectual and cultural history of Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia. He teaches courses on Asian religion and history and helps lead the digital humanities minor programme.
Education
- 2009 鈥 2012, PhD, South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge
- 2009, MA, Study of Religions, SOAS, University of London (Distinction)
- 2008, BA, Study of Religions, SOAS, University of London (1st Class Hons.)me.
Research Interests
- Religion
- Intellectual History
- Historical sociologyme.
Recent Publications
Authored Books
Edited Books
- 2014. Ciotti, Giovanni, Alastair Gornall and Paolo Visigalli, eds.Pu峁pik膩: Tracing Ancient India Through Texts and Traditions.Contributions to Current Research in Indology Volume 2. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
Select Articles
- (with C. Hallisey and P.B. Meegaskumbura). 鈥溾楳ay It Always Be About Adding Beauty to Beauty鈥: The Story of theMirror in Sri Lanka.鈥 InA Lasting Vision: Dandin鈥檚 Mirror in the World of Asian Letters, ed. Yigal Bronner. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (in print)
- 2022. 鈥淧ali: Its Place in the Theravada Buddhist Tradition.鈥 In The Routledge Handbook of Theravada Buddhism, ed. S. Berkwitz and A. Thompson. London: Routledge.
- 2020. 鈥淭he Sources of the Sidat Sa艌驳补谤腻, the First Grammar of Sinhala.鈥 InMultilingualism in South India: Patterns of Language Interaction, ed. G. Ciotti and E. McCann, 411鈥28.Puducherry: Institut Fran莽ais de Pondich茅ry, 脡cole Fran莽aise d鈥橢xtr锚me-Orient.
- 2019 (with Aleix Ruiz-Falqu茅s). 鈥淪cholars of Premodern Pali Buddhism.鈥 InBrill鈥檚 Encyclopedia of Buddhism, ed. by Jonathan A. Silk, Richard Bowring, Vincent Eltschinger and Michael Radich, 420鈥36. Leiden: Brill.
- 2018 (with Amal Gunasena). 鈥淎 History of the Pali Grammatical Traditions of South and Southeast Asia by Vaska岣島v膿 Subh奴ti (1876): Part One: The Kacc膩yana-vy膩kara峁嘺 and its commentaries.鈥Journal of the Pali Text Society 33: 1鈥53.
- 2018 (with Aleix Ruiz-Falqu茅s).鈥淰erses of a Dying Arahant: A Revised Edition and Translation of the罢别濒补办补峁乭补驳腻迟丑腻.鈥Journal of the Pali Text Society 33: 55鈥100.
- 2017 (with Justin Henry). 鈥淏eautifully Moral: Cosmopolitan Issues in Medieval Pali Literary Theory.鈥 In Sri Lanka at the Crossroads of History, ed. by Alan Strathern and Zolt谩n Biedermann, 77鈥93. London: University College London Press.
- 2015. 鈥淔ame and Philology: R.C. Childers and the Beginnings of P膩li and Buddhist Studies.鈥Contemporary Buddhism, vol. 16, no. 2: 462鈥89.
- 2014. 鈥淗ow Many Sounds Are in P膩li? Schisms, Identity and Ritual in the Therav膩da Sa峁単ha.鈥Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol. 42, no. 5: 511鈥50.
Recorded Lectures and Talks
Online lecture for Shan State Buddhist University/ King’s College, London, 7 August 2020.
Conference paper for A聽Lasting Vision: Dandin鈥檚 Mirror in the World of Asian Letters, Jerusalem, Israel, 13鈥17 December 2015.
Awards & Achievements
- 2018 Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Research Fellowship in Buddhist Studies
- 2014 亚洲色吧 Pedagogy Research Grant
- 2009 – 2012,聽Rapson Scholarship, University of Cambridge
- 2008 – 2009,聽AHRC Research Preparation Masters Award, SOAS
- 2007,聽Undergraduate School Prize, SOAS