Aleksandra (Sasha) Restifo

Bio

Dr. Restifo researches emotion and its role in ritual and social culture in South Asian religions with a focus on Jainism. Her current book project, “The Theater of Renunciation: Aesthetics of Emotion in Medieval Jainism,” examines the ways in which emotion participates in Jain metaphysical theories, ritual practice, devotional expression, and community formation. Through an exploration of emotional concepts and perceptions of emotional experience in medieval Prakrit and Sanskrit sources, Restifo’s work offers a new understanding of the processes that underlie change and continuity in Jainism. More broadly, she is interested in medieval and early modern Jain literary and intellectual culture.  

Professor Restifo has received fellowships from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Arts and Humanities Master’s Scholarship at SOAS, American Institute of Indian Studies, and South Asian Studies Council at Yale. Her work has been published in the Journal of Indian Philosophy, Sikh Formations, Religions, and the International Journal of Jaina Studies. She held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Oxford and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Education

Bhagwan Mahavir Professorship in Jain Studies

Ph.D., Religious Studies, Yale University
M.A., Religions, SOAS University of London
M.A., Hindi, Hyderabad Central University
B.A., Indology, St. Petersburg State University