Travis L. Smith
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. Columbia University
Sanskrit Literature, Indian Mythology, Early Saiva Theism

Office: 008 Anderson Hall
Phone: (352) 392-1625
Email: tlsmith@ufl.edu

Travis Smith studied toward an undergraduate degree at Williams College (MA), and received his B.A. in Liberal Studies from Antioch University. As a graduate student, he studied Sanskrit and South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and received his Ph.D. in Religion from Columbia University, specializing in South Asian Religions. His dissertation, entitled The Sacred Center and its Peripheries: S'aivism and the Va-ra-n.asi- Sthala- Pura-n.as, was a literary and historical study of the Ka-s'i-khan.d.a and of the Va-ra-n.asi-ma-ha-tmya chapters of the older Skandapura-n.a, two of the most influential ma-ha-tmyas (“glorifications”) of the illustrious pilgrimage center of Va-ra-n.asi-, the ancient city of commerce and the favorite abode of Lord S'iva situated along the banks of the northward-flowing Ganges River. In the dissertation, Smith explored the theological assertions and narrative strategies of these Pura-n.a texts, and their relevance for understanding the historical development of early S'aivism.

He has published articles in the Encyclopedia of Hinduism and in Acta Orientalia Vilna. Before coming to the University of Florida, he held a Visiting Term Assistant Professor at Barnard College / Columbia University. Classes he has taught include: Sacred Geographies: Place, Space and Pilgrimage in South Asia, Gods, Sages and Kings: Readings in Indian Mythology, Religion in Asia, Religions of India, Indic Landscapes: Mind, Body, Cosmos and Contexts of Tantra. Smith also co-leads, with Anita Anantharam (University of Florida, Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research), the UF in India Study Abroad Program, hosted by Navdanya Institute (Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India).