History & Art History

Robert DeCaroli received his Ph.D. in the field South and Southeast Asian art history from UCLA. He is a specialist in the early history of Buddhism and has conducted fieldwork in India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. He is the author of Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism (Oxford UP 2004) as well as of several articles and book chapters. The majority of this work deals with early (3rd c BCE - 5th C CE) aspects of South Asian Buddhism and its interaction with forms of popular religious practice. His more recent research interests include the origin of the Buddha image and the social, political, and religious factors that led to its codification and spread. He has received research grants from the Asian Cultural Council and the Getty Research Institute. Since 2005 he has served as Director of the Art History Program.

Asian art history, Buddhist studies