Ralph W. Nicholas

(PhD, U Chicago 1962) William Rainey Harper Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and of Social Sciences in the College and President of International House of Chicago, studies South Asian societies and cultures with an emphasis on Bengal. He has done research on religion, including Hindu rites, middle period Bengali narrative, and the relationship between Hinduism and Islam in South Asia. He also has studied kinship and families in Bengal. Cultural responses to epidemic diseases and other calamities are a current concern of his research. (Retired 6/00)
email: r-nicholas@uchicago.edu

Publications:

1981 The goddess Sitla and epidemic smallpox in Bengal. Journal of Asian Studies 41:21-44.

1982 The Bengali calendar and the Hindu religious year in Bengal. In P.J. Bertoccvi, ed., The Study of Bengal: New Contributions to the Humanities and Social Sciences. Michigan State University, Asian Studies Center ( South Asia Series, Occ. Paper No. 31).

1982 The village mother in Bengal. In J.J. Preston, ed., Mother Worship: Theme and Variations. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, pp. 192-209.

1995 The Effectiveness of the Hindu Sacrament (Samskara): Marriage, Divorce, and Caste in Bengali Culture. In L. Harlan & P.B. Courtright, eds., From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and Culture. Oxford University Press, 137-159.