Rishi Mahendran Nair
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Mail code: 0202Campus: Tempe
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Student Information
Graduate StudentAsian Languages and Civilizations (Chinese)
The College of Lib Arts & Sci
Rishi Mahendran Nair joined ASU, in 2024, as a Master's student in the East Asian Languages & Civilizations (Chinese) Program. He received his Bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies at Western Washington University where he chiefly studied under advisors Dr. Julian Siyuan Wu (Premodern Chinese Literature) and Dr. Ethan Bushelle (East Asian Buddhism).
Rishi’s scholarship and translation work seeks to mediate meaningful dialogues between the poetic and the religious, enriching our understanding of the impact religion has on the creation, product, evaluation, and culture of poetry, and the impact that poetry has on the language, practice, and experience of religion in Medieval China. His research particularly emphasizes the assimilation of Buddhist thought, literature, and Sanskrit into Chinese poetry and culture, and the influence of literary tradition on the making of Chinese Buddhism.
Besides his research, he is a passionate exponent of Indian Classical Music and specializes in the Santoor, a 100-stringed instrument from Kashmir, to which he has dedicated 11 years in counting.
B.A. Western Washington University
East Asian Studies (Concentration: Chinese Studies)
Senior Thesis: Emptiness: The ‘Not-Thus’ Teaching of Chan Buddhism & Advaita Vedānta
- Religion and Poetry in Medieval China
- Buddhism
- Chinese Buddhist Verse
- Sanskrit Translation Theory in China
- Sino-Indian Literary & Cultural Interactions
Courses
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| GER 441 | Fairy Tales to Disney Movies |
| GER 441 | Fairy Tales to Disney Movies |
| GER 441 | Fairy Tales to Disney Movies |
| SLC 441 | Fairy Tales to Disney Movies |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SLC 294 | Special Topics |
| CHI 294 | Special Topics |