South Asian Medicine with Anthony Cerulli
Episode 126 - June 10, 2024
Anthony Cerulli (University of Wisconsin – Madison) joins the podcast to discuss his work on medicine in South Asia, focusing on ayurvedic medicine in premodernity. After some basic background contextualizing south Asian medicine, Anthony provides an overview of the three foundational texts for it. The conversations touches upon subjects such as the role of the patients, how healing is achieved in south Asian medicine, and similarities between south Asian medicine and Greek/Arabic medicine. Although most of the conversation focuses on the premodern past, Anthony also draws connections with the present, including with Covid. The interview ends with some reflections on the broader theme of health and the humanities in academia.
Further Reading
- Cerulli, Anthony. 2022. The Practice of Texts: Education and Healing in South India. Oakland: University of California Press (OA).
- Cerulli, Anthony. 2012. Somatic Lessons: Narrating Patienthood and Illness in Indian Medical Literature. Albany: State University of New York Press.
- K.P. Girija. 2021. Mapping the History of Ayurveda: Culture, Hegemony, and the Rhetoric of Diversity. New Delhi: Routledge India.
- Maas, Philipp A. and Anthony Cerulli, eds. 2024. Suhṛdayasaṃhitā: A Compendium of Studies on South Asian Culture, Philosophy, and Religion Dedicated to Dominik Wujastyk. Co-edited with Phlipp Maas. Studia Indological Universitatis Halensis, vol. 28.
- Stanley-Baker, Michael, ed. 2023. Situating religion and medicine in Asia: Methodological insights and innovations. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
- Wujastyk, Dominik, trans. 1998. The Roots of Ayurveda: Selections from Sanskrit Medical Writings. London: Penguin Books.
Our Guests
Anthony Cerulli
Professor of South Asian Studies – University of Wisconsin, Madison
