Curriculum Vitae

Address 857 Boulevard East, #30, Weehawken, NJ 07086

Tel. 805-705-8949; gsm@giss.org

Education 1965-71 M.A., English, Baring Union Christian College, Batala, Punjab

1974-75 Diploma in English Studies, CIEFL, Hyderabad, India

1975-76 M.A., English, University of Kent at Canterbury, England

1984-87 Master of Theological Studies, Harvard University

1987-93 Ph.D., Religion, Columbia University

Work History 1971-84 Lecturer, English, Baring Union Christian College, Batala, Punjab

1988-99 Instructor (88-92), Assistant Professor (92-97), and Associate Professor (97-99),

Religion, Columbia University

1999-2015 Kundan Kaur Kapany Professor of Sikh Studies, UC Santa Barbara

2004-15 Founder Director, Center for Sikh and Punjab Studies, UC Santa Barbara

2016- Founder Director, Global Institute for Sikh Studies, New York, NY

Publications 1996 The Goindval Pothis. Cambridge: Harvard Oriental Series 51

2001 The Making of Sikh Scripture. New York: Oxford University Press; New Delhi:

OUP, 2001 (hardbound), 2003, 2006, 2009 (paperback)

2004 Sikhism. Prentice Hall: Religions of the World; 2007 (Japanese & Spanish editions)

Co-author 2001 With P. D. Numrich and R. B. Williams, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs in America.

New York: Oxford University Press; 2008 (paperback)

2011 With Gurdit Singh, Ami P. Shah, Gibb Schreffler, Introduction to Punjabi.

Patiala: Punjabi University

Editor 1993 With J. S. Hawley, Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North America. Albany: SUNY

2006 20th-Century Punjabi Litt., a special issue of the Journal of Punjab Studies 13:1-2

2008 Guru Gobind Singh, a special issue of the Journal of Punjab Studies 15:1-2

2010 W. H. McLeod, a special issue of the Journal of Punjab Studies 17:1

2017 With Kristina Myrvold et al. Brill’s Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Leiden: E.J. Brill

Selected Articles

Baba Nanak

“Baba Nanak and the 'Bhakti Movement'. Journal of Sikh and Punjab Studies
25:2, 2018, pp. 3-20

“Baba Nanak and the Founding of the Sikh Panth.” Brill’s Encyclopedia of Sikhism.

Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2017, pp. 3-17

“Guru Nanak’s Life and Legacy: An Appraisal.” Punjab Reconsidered: History, Culture, and
Practice, edited by A. Malhotra and F. Mir. New Delhi: OUP, 2012, pp.116-160

Guru Gobind Singh

“Understanding Literary Production at the Court of Guru Gobind Singh: A Case Study of
the Anandpur Bir." (In progress)
“Sources for the Study of Guru Gobind Singh’s Life and Times.” Journal of Punjab Studies

15:1-2, 2008, pp. 229-284

“Facsimiles of Core Compositions in the Earliest Manuscripts of the Dasam Granth.”
Journal of Punjab Studies 15:1-2, 2008, pp. 285-311

Guru Granth

“Guru Granth.” Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2017, pp. 129-137
“Scripture and the Nature of Authority: The Case of the Guru Granth.” Signifying on

Scriptures, edited by V. Wimbush. Rutgers University Press, 2007, pp. 41-54

“Canon Formation in the Sikh Tradition.” Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity, edited by

C. Shackle et al. London: Curzon Press, 2001, pp. 10-24

Modern Sikhism

“Sri Gur Panth Prakash: Its Text, Context, and Significance.” Journal of Sikh and Punjab

Studies 23:1-2, 2016, pp. 15-56

“The Sikh Panth.” Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations, edited by
Linda Wood et al. London: Routledge, 2016, pp. 113-141

“Making Home Abroad: Sikhs in the United States.” Nation of Religions, edited by Steven

Prothero. Durham: University of North Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 160-177

General

“Understanding the Sikh Panth (1520-2020): Some Reflections.” (In progress)
“Diversity within the Panth (1500-1700).” Brill’s Encyclopedia of Sikhism.
Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2017, pp. 326-333
“Pilgrimage to Darbar Sahib, Amritsar: A Photo Essay.”
http://giss.org/pdf/pilgrimage.pdf, 2016

With Ami P. Shah, “Sikhism.” The Norton Anthology of World Religions.

http://www.norton.com/college/religion/nawr/sikhism.aspx, 2016

“Conversion to Sikhism.” Oxford Handbook on Religious Conversion, edited by L. Rambo

and C. Farhadian. New York: OUP, 2013, pp. 488-507

“Teaching of Punjabi in the United States: Present Situation and Future Prospects.”

Journal of Punjab Studies 14:2, 2007, pp. 281-294

“Punjabi Proverbs.” The Columbia World of Quotations, edited by R. Andrews et al.

New York: Columbia University Press, 1996

With J. S. Hawley, “Mirabai at the Court of Guru Gobind Singh.” Culture and Circulation,

edited by A. Busch and T. de Bruijn. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2014, pp. 107-138

With J. S. Hawley, “Mirabai in the Pothi Prem Ambodh.” Journal of Punjab Studies 15:1-2,
2008, pp. 199-226

Reviewed 2010- Twenty-seven book manuscripts under consideration for publication by presses
including Cambridge, Columbia, Harvard, and Oxford (Khalid)

Teaching At UC Santa Barbara (1999-2015)

RS 20 “Indian Civilization” (Winter 2014: 120 students)

RS 60A-F “Punjabi” (Spring 2014: 28 students)

GS 104 “Global Diaspora and Cultural Change” (Winter 2014: 154 students)

RS 162C “Sikhism” (Fall 2013: 287 students)

RS 213A-E Five graduate seminars on the Sikhs and the region of Punjab

And was associated with 15 doctoral dissertations during this period

2011 Awarded “Outstanding Faculty” by Residence Hall Association (May 6)

2013 & 2014 Nominated for Distinguished Teaching Award by UCSB Students

http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=597238

At Columbia University (2015-2016)
G 8515 “Bhakti Texts of North India” (With Prof. J.S. Hawley, Fall 2015)

G 9902 “Readings in Baba Farid” (Spring 2016)

1999- Associated with 18 doctoral dissertations in supervisory / examiner capacity
(CU, Bathinda: 2; CU, NYC: 2; GNDU: 4; Lund: 1; Otego: 1; UCLA: 1; UCSB: 7)

1999- 111 invited lectures at 67 institutions: AAR; Anacapa School, Santa Barbara; American Society

for the Study of Religion; Asia Society, NYC; Asian Art Museum, SF; Bard College, NY; Barnard

College; Bergen County Community College, Paramus; Boston University; Cal Lutheran University,

Thousand Oaks; California State University, Northridge; Carthage College, Kenosha; City College,

Chicago; Claremont Graduate University; Claremont Lincoln University; Columbia University;

Coventry University; Dasmesh School, Abbotsford; Elizabethtown College, PA; Harvard University;

Hofstra University; Human Rights Commission, Montreal; Institute of Languages, Singapore; Library

of Congress, Washington, D.C.; London University; Lund University; Lutheran Marymount University;

Museum of Art, San Diego; National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.; Pioneers' Museum,

Imperial Valley, CA; Punjab Research Group, Oxford University; Rutgers University; Simon Fraser

University, Vancouver; Stanford University; State University of New York, Binghamton; Syracuse

University; UC Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, & Santa Cruz; University

of Florida, Gainesville; University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor;

University of Ohio, Athens; University of Toronto; University of Wisconsin, Madison, & Milwaukee;

Valparaiso University; Yale University.

In the Punjab area: Baring College, Batala; Central University, Bathinda; Delhi University; GNDU,

Amritsar; Gurmat College, Patiala; Indian History Congress, Patiala; IIT, Ropar; Institute of Sikh Studies,

Chandigarh; Khalsa College, Amritsar; Khalsa College of Education, Amritsar; National Institute of Punjab

Studies, New Delhi; Panjab University, Chandigarh; Punjab Art Council, Chandigarh; Punjabi Academy,

New Delhi; Punjabi University, Patiala.

1997-2009 Directed a six-week intensive Summer Program in Punjab Studies held in Chandigarh.

Activities included the teaching of Punjabi; lectures by scholars in history, art, and culture; meetings with

artists, religious heads, and community workers; and weekend field trips to sites in the Punjab plains and hills.

During its operation, 182 scholars from 71 universities in 10 countries participated.

Conferences Organized

At Columbia University

March 25, 1989 “Sikh Studies: The American Agenda”

March 31, 1990 “Sikh Theology”

April 3, 1993 “Sikh Diaspora”

April 30, 1994 “Post-1947 Punjabi Literature”

March 18, 1995 “Parvasi Punjabi Sahitt”

April 1, 1995 “Agriculture of the Punjab”

At UC Santa Barbara

November 7, 1998 “Sikh Studies: Toward the American Agenda”

December 4-5, 1999 “Guru Gobind Singh: Life and Legacy”

May 12, 2000 “Canon Formation in the Sikh Tradition”

April 21-22, 2001 “The Sikh Diaspora”

May 4, 2004 “Debates in Sikh Studies”

May 29, 2004 “Punjabi Culture”

December 2, 2005 “South Asian Studies in the United States”

November 14-15, 2009 “Expanding Horizons: Sikh Studies around 2000”

May 16-17, 2014 “Sikh Studies in the 21st Century”

Co-sponsored Events

December 13-15, 2003 “Sikh Studies,” University of Otego, Dunedin, New Zealand

March 19, 2005 “Workshop on Sikh Studies,” Lund University, Lund, Sweden

March 19-21, 2009 “State of Sikh Studies since 1947,” GNDU, Amritsar, Punjab

March 15-16, 2010 “Sanghol and Punjab Archeology,” JNU, New Delhi, India

November 17, 2011 “Textuality, Religious Difference, Embodied Practices, and a Bit of
Bhakti: A Day(’s Very) Long Symposium in Honor of Prof. John S.
Hawley Convened by His Students,” at UCSB

Service to the Field

1988- Member American Academy of Religion
1991- Collected 50+ portraits by Sikh painters belonging to Amritsar School of Art (1900-1950)

1991- Photographed over 250 pre-1800 Gurmukhi manuscripts

1991- Advisor, Pluralism Project, Harvard University

2003 Keynote address at the first fundraiser for Chair in Sikhs studies at UC Riverside (June 11)
2004-15 Principal applicant for Title VI grant ($286,000) to develop Punjabi materials to teach Punjabi online

2004-15 Raised $250,000+ to help fund the Sikh studies activities at UCSB

2007-10 Served on a three-member committee responsible for organizing Ahluwalia Memorial Lectures,
Center for South Asian Studies, UC Berkeley

2007- Advisor, Center for Advanced Research and Lang. Acquisition, University of Minnesota

2008 Held a weekend workshop for 100+ teachers of Punjabi, Singapore School Board (December)

2009 “W. H. McLeod: An Obituary” appeared in several academic journals

2009 “The Sikhs of the Punjab,” a three-hour workshop with the Immigration and Naturalization Service
officials at San Francisco (September 16)

2009-11 Facilitated the gift of Gurmukhi manuscripts in the custody of the Bansal family of Sangrur to

Punjabi University, Patiala. This was the largest single gift of rare documents donated to any

university library in the Punjab.

2010 Reviewed the appointment of the Aurora Chair in Sikh Studies at UC Santa Cruz

2011- Appointed advisor, Center for Guru Granth Studies, GNDU, Amritsar, Punjab

2013- Helped the Sikh Coalition, a New York–based Sikh advocacy group, in its effort to improve
the accuracy of information about the Sikhs in school books in the U.S.

2014 Contributor, “The Pluralism Project,” a NEH initiative based at CSU, Fresno (December)

2015 Member, Committee of UC scholars that prepared report for revisions required in the textbooks
published by California Department of Education (Fall)

2016 Examined “Guru Nanak to New Zealand: Mobility in the Sikh Tradition,” a doctoral thesis
submitted in the Department of History, University of Otago, Dunedin (Spring)

2016 Examined “An Architectural Evolution of Sri Harimandar Sahib Amritsar,” a doctoral thesis
submitted in the department of Architecture, GNDU, Amritsar (Fall)

2016 Reviewed the candidacy for tenure of SHK Chair in Sikh Musicology, Department of Music,
Hofstra University, Hampstead, Long Island (Fall)

2016 Manager, Journal of Sikh and Punjab Studies. Started by the Punjab Research Group, U.K.

(1994-2003), it moved to UC Santa Barbara (2004-2015), and then to GISS, New York

2017 Presided over a discussion session on “Transmission of Sikh Scriptural Traditions” led by
B.S. Dhillon of GNDU, Amritsar, at the National Institute of Punjab Studies, New Delhi (April 28)
2017 Participated in a seminar on “Language, Litt., and Gender,” Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi (May 19)
2017 Delivered 16 lectures at various academic forums in Punjabi and Delhi (Nov. 30-Dec. 27),

http://bit.ly/2lhTkPs; http://bit.ly/2H5hAxx

Service to the Community

1992-95 Volunteer teacher for a two-hour seminar (Friday evenings) on Sikh history and religion for young
Sikh adults at Richmond Hill Sikh temple, Queens, New York

1993 “Ethics and Values: A Sikh Perspective,” Parliament of World Religions, Chicago (Aug 29)

1994 Provided declaration on Sikh beliefs in R.S. Cheema et al. represented by the ACLU, versus
Livingston School District, CA (April 8)

1992 “The Sikh Community in the U.S.” a question-and-answer session with the police officers working
in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York (August 30)

1994-96 Participated in the activity of the Temple of Understanding, Saint John the Divine, New York

1997 Led a two-day workshop on “The Current Situation in the Punjab” for the employees of
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Montreal (January 24-25)

1999 Deposed on the significance of the kirpan in the Sikh tradition, in a civil suit, Anand-Gurdas Singh
vs. City of Oakland, Santa Barbara, (October 8)

1999 Helped Michel Foot, Santa Ana Police Commander, in mediating a conflict between the Sikh
temple and the local community, (October 13)

1999 Founding member of the Board of Trustees of Sikh Temple, Ventura, CA (September)

2000 Helped prepare a special issue of Faces: People, Places, and Cultures (NH: Cobblestone), a magazine for
elementary school children

2002-04 External Reviewer, “Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab,” an exhibition held at the National Museum of Natural
History, Smithsonian Institution, from 2004 to 2007

2004-15 Co-editor, Journal of Punjab Studies (UCSB)

2010 Worked closely with Hardit Singh Aurora of San Antonio that eventually resulted in the establishment
of the Aurora Chair in Sikh Studies at UC Santa Cruz.

2011 “The Sikh Community,” an address to the Indo-Canadian Business Association, and people from
the University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC (350+ people attended, April 12)

2011 “The Sikh Heritage,” a lecture at Dasmesh School, Abbotsford, BC (April 12)

2012 “From Stockton to Oak Creek” (with Ami P. Shah), Santa Barbara News-Press (July 12)

2012 Interview with KPFK, an NPR affiliate regarding the shooting at the Oak Creek Sikh Temple and
Sikh attitude toward death and living in the United States (August 6)

2012 Keynote speaker (with B. N. Goswamy) at the release of Sikh Heritage, India International Center,
New Delhi, presided over by Mrs. Gursharan Kaur (December 24)

2012-14 External reviewer, Development of Punjabi language teaching materials under the auspices of

Language Commission, Government of Singapore

2013 One of the two keynote speakers (with Surjit Patar) at the inauguration of D.S. Kalepani Museum,

Chandigarh, presided over by Mr. P.S. Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab (Dec. 23)

2014 “The Sikhs of the Punjab,” a lecture at Anacapa School, Santa Barbara, accompanied by a visit to

the Sikh temple, Ventura (January 28)

2014 “Paul L. Love,” in Love in Madurai, a publication of the American College, Madurai

2015 “J.S. Ahluwalia: From Petroleum Industry to Sikh Studies,” San Jose (October 3)

2016 “The Khalsa Panth,” Souvenir, Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill, (April 23)

2016 “Guru Gobind Singh,” at the International Sikh Conclave organized by the State govt. of Bihar,

Patna, to commemorate the 350th birth anniversary of the Guru, September 22-24

2017 “Narinder Singh Kapany,” in Sikh Art in the Kapany Collection, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 27-35.

2017 “Remembering Baring College,” at a dinner meeting, Press Club, Chandigarh (May 16)

2017 Participated in a discussion on Walking with Nanak, NIPS, New Delhi (May 20)

2017 Participated in Daljit Mokha's posthumous release of Jianuna, Glen Oaks (July 8)

2017 Participated in two discussions on building database for early Sikh texts, and the effective ways to

start Sikh Studies at University of California, Merced, Bay Area, CA (Sept. 7-8)

2018 Led a discussion attended by leadership of the DGPC and Sikh Forum on envisioning the

future of International Institute of Sikh Studies at Gurdvara Rakabganj, New Delhi (January 1)

2018 Panelist in Interfaith celebration “Pursuing Faith in Challenging Times,” Bergen County Community

College, Paramus, NJ (February 19)

2018 Participated in the “Annual Faith LEeders Breakfast,” hosted by Chirlane McCray, the First Lady of

New York City (April 11)

Acknowledgments

1992 Appointed assistant professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (unable to accept)

1995 Recognized for helping initiate Sikh studies at Columbia University, by G.S. Tohra, President,

SGPC, Manji Sahib, Darbar Sahib, Amritsar (December 20)

1996 Recognized for service to Sikh education at Takhat Harimandir, Patna (December 15)

1998 Appointed to Dhaliwal Chair in Sikhism, U. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (unable to accept)

1999 Recognized for work in Sikh studies by Sikh Educational Foundation, Singapore (Jan. 14)

1999 Invited by Prince Charles to a reception organized to mark the inauguration of “The Arts of the
Sikh Kingdom,” V&A Museum, London (unable to attend)

1999 Awarded “Maharaj Puraskar” for the Goindval Pothis (HOS, 51) in a public function chaired by
Piara Singh Padam of Kalagidhar Foundation, Patiala (October 10)

2000 Recognized for “dedication toward developing Sikh Studies at Columbia University” by Sikh
Organization of New York at a function chaired by Mr. T. S. Bindra (May 17)

2003 Recognized for distinguished achievements and services to the community” by the Sikh Foundation,
Palo Alto, at a function presided over by W. Brown, Mayor of San Francisco

2004 Approached to consider Saini Professorship in Sikhism, UC Riverside (declined)

2004 Recognized for “selfless service to humanity” by Sikh Dharma International and the Sikh community
of California at the Vaisakhi function, Convention Center, LA (April 11)

2004 Certification of appreciation for services in the development of Punjabi language by the California
Commission on Teacher Credentials

2006- Admitted to the American Society for the Study of Religion

2009 Invited to review the Sikh studies program at the AAR (unable to accept)

2009 Invited to attend a luncheon in honor of Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, hosted by
Vice President Biden and Secretary Clinton (November 19 [unable to join])

2012 Recognized for community service by Oak Creek gurdvara, Wisconsin, (November 1)

2013 Recognized for “creating and running the Summer Program in Punjab Studies for 13 years”

by Sikh Studies Program, University of California, Santa Cruz (March 29)

2016 Recognized for service to Sikh studies by Sri Guru Ravidas gurdvara, The Hague, (July 2)

2016 Recognized for service to the Sikh Panth by the gurdvara in Ventura, CA (November 6)
2017   Recognized for services to Sikh Studies, Guru Granth Studies Center, GNDU, Amritsar (May 5)
2017   Recognized for services to Sikh Studies, Layallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar (May 6)
2017   “A gift for generations to come.” (May 28)
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/spectrum/a-gift-for-generations-to-come/413622.html
2017 Recognized for work on Guru Gobind Singh at the Punjabi Academy, Delhi (December 9)
2017 Recognized for service to Sikh studies at Nishan-i-Khalsa, Khadur Sahib (December 16)

References

Indu Banga, History, Panjab University, Chandigarh (known since 1967)

Diana L. Eck, Religion, Harvard University (known since 1984)

John S. Hawley, Religion, Barnard College, Columbia University (known since 1987)

Mark Juergensmeyer, Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara (known since 1967)

Rachel F. McDermott, Religion, Barnard College, Columbia University (known since 1984)

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G.S. Mann

Curriculum Vitae