Phd in CIVILIZATIONS OF ASIA AND AFRICA

email: giorgio.milanetti@uniroma1.it
phone: 0688378042
building: Complesso Marco Polo
room: 325

Giorgio Milanetti is professor, Hindi language and literature,Department 'Italian Institute of Oriental Studies' (IISO), Sapienza. He began teaching in the same institution in 1981 and during the following years he held the positions of researcher, associate professor and (since 2005) full professor. During the years 2005 to 2008 he was the Head of the Department of Oriental Studies and the Scientific Director of “Rivista degli Studi Orientali” (Journal of Oriental Studies).

Following the research lines drawn by his teacher prof. L.P. Mishra, Giorgio Milanetti soon specialized in Indian medieval literatures and religions, publishing two landmark monographs in 1984 (“Il Dio senza attributi”, Roma, Astrolabio, on nirgun bhakti) and 1988 (“Il Divino Amante”, Roma, Astrolabio, on nirgun and sagun bhakti and Indian sufi traditions). Subsequently he carried on comparative researches on Hindu, Christian and Islamic mysticism (XV to XVII centuries), and on various authors and representatives of medieval and early modern Indian literatures and religions. After a few years of study and field researches, he published in 1995 (“Il poema della donna di loto”, Marsilio, Venice) the Italian translation of the celebrate sufi poem “Padmavat”, by Malik Muhammad Jayasi (XVI century). This rendering, based on a fully reviewed critical edition of the Avadhi text, represents the first translation in a European language of the full text of the poem. It was shortlisted for the National Translation Award. Other studies on “Padmavat” and other early modern poems followed, with a few publications focusing specifically on the works of the great Avadhi poet Tul’si Das (XVI century) and on his political project of re-formulating Hinduism in order to counterbalance the spread of Islam in northern India. The most recent publications analyse Indian medieval and early modern texts as sources for historical and social research, with specific reference to the political role of early modern religious poets and to the elements that contributed to shape the composite urban culture of those centuries. On the whole, his profound expertise on early modern India articulates in an inter-disciplinary perspective bridging literatures, religions, social history and politics.

Other recent publications are related to the history of modern and contemporary Hindi language: among them a study on how modern standard Hindi was jointly elaborated as ‘power construction’ by the colonial power and the Indian independence movement, and the first complete Hindi reader in Italian language. Studies on Indian tribal communities and their relation with the mainstream culture have been the subject of a few other publications.

Giorgio Milanetti has carried on many field researches in various states of India, from 1976 to date, travelling extensively in order to gather texts, data, archive materials and first hand information on medieval and modern languages of northern India. The results of his researches have been presented in several international conferences and seminars in Europe, India and the USA. In 1992 he was awarded ‘Anuvad’ prize in New Delhi for his translation activity. He was the organizer or the co-organizer of several national and international seminars in Italy and abroad. In 2005 as the delegate of the Vice-chancellor of “Sapienza”, he signed in Kolkata (India) a Memorandum of Understanding with three other Italian and three Indian universities with the aim of developing a network of Indo-Italian academic cooperation. He is member of the scientific board of several journals and academic and research institutions; he is consultant of cultural and media organizations and reviewer for national and international journals and national and international research projects. He cooperates both for scientific projects and for didactic activities with several universities in Europe and India. Since January 2016 he is the Rector's reference person for the academic relations with India.

An updated list of publications may be found at the following link:
https://sites.google.com/uniroma1.it/giorgiomilanetti/pubblicazioni