Indology

Prof. Dr. Heike Oberlin

Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies (AOI)

Dept. of Indology
Nauklerstr. 35 | room 3.07 | 72074 Tuebingen

phone: +49-7071-29-74005

Email: heike.oberlin[at]uni-tuebingen.de

Office hours:

Wednesday, 11-12 am, and on prior notice
(please register by email)

Prof. Dr. Heike Oberlin (née Moser) is currently the Head of the Department of Indology. In March 2024, she was elected as Deputy University Equal Opportunities Officer of the University of Tübingen and to the board of the German University Association (Deutscher Hochschulverband DHV) at the University of Tübingen. She has also been a member of the University Council since 2021 and since 2020 she serves as spokesperson for the "State Representation of Academic Staff at Universities in Baden-Württemberg“ (Landesvertretung Akademischer Mittelbau an den Universitäten in Baden-Württemberg) and as deputy spokesperson for the Review Board 106 "Social and Cultural Anthropology, Non-European Cultures, Jewish Studies and Religious Studies" of the German Reserach Foundation DFG (2020-2024).

Prof. Dr. Heike Oberlin studied Indology and Social and Cultural Anthropology at Tübingen University. She earned her Ph.D. with "summa cum laude" in Indology at Würzburg with a work about the Sanskrit theatre Kūṭiyāṭṭam (Naṅṅyār-Kūttu - ein Teilaspekt des Sanskrittheaterkomplexes Kūṭiyāṭṭam, Harrassowitz 2008). From 1995 to 2001 she studied and performed Kūṭiyāṭṭam and Naṅṅyār-Kūttu with P.N. Girija and Painkulam Rama Chakyar at Kerala Kalamandalam in India. Since then she is involved in studying and teaching not only Kutiyattam but also the Malayalam language. In 2015 she established in cooperation with the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University the “Gundert Chair” for Malayalam at Tübingen. In May 2013 Heike Oberlin completed her habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) and was conferred the “venia legendi” for Indology, in December 2016 she was appointed “außerplanmäßige Professorin”. Currently she is Associate Professor as well as Managing Director of the Dept. of Indology. 

Heike Oberlin was awarded the Ernst Waldschmidt Prize in 2008, was honoured as "Scholar in Residence" by the Higher Education Council of the State Government of Kerala in 2018 as part of the "Erudite Program" (flyer of the programme; article in "attempto online"and received the Gisela-Bonn-Preis of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in 2019 for special achievements in the field of Indo-German relations.

Research interests

Further information

Focus South India & Gundert Chair for Malayalam