Dr. Peter Friedlander

Biography

Peter Friedlander lived in India from 1977 to 1982 where he learned Hindi while teaching English in Varanasi. He studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where he completed his PhD on the life and works of the medieval Hindi poet-saint Ravidas in 1991. Peter taught Hindi language, Buddhist Studies, and Indian Studies for Antioch University abroad in Bodhgaya, La Trobe University in Melbourne, and the National University of Singapore. He was awarded an honor for his contribution to the study of Hindi literature at the World Hindi Conference in South Africa in 2013 and was an invited keynote speaker for the World Hindi Secretariat on International Hindi Day in Mauritius in 2016. He served as an academic advisor for the development of the Australian National Curriculum for Hindi from 2015 to 2016 and was the organizer and convenor of a national workshop on Hindi in Australia at ANU in July 2015. Additionally, he co-organized the Symposium 'New Directions in Language Education' held at ANU in 2019. His research interests involve the interaction of Hindi language and literature with religious traditions in South Asia, particularly Buddhism, and the Sant tradition, focusing on poet-saint leaders such as Kabir and Raidas (also known as Bhagat Guru Ravidas).

Research Interests

Experience