Fonds MG 4275 - Arvind Sharma Fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Arvind Sharma Fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record
  • Graphic material
  • Moving images
  • Object

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  • Source of title proper: Title based on contents of the fonds.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA MUA MG 4275

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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Physical description area

Physical description

2.28 m of textual records
55 photographs
17 magnetic tapes
20 disks
1 floppy disk
29 objects

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1940-)

Biographical history

Arvind Sharma was born in Varanasi, India, on the 13th of January 1940. Son of a father who worked in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), he followed the family tradition after earning a BA from Allahabad University in 1958 and worked for the IAS between 1962 and 1968.

In the late 60s, he moved to the United States of America to pursue a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Syracuse in New York, which he earned in 1970. There, he found much appreciation for religious studies and decided to resign from his IAS career in order to focus on his newly found vocation.

Right after this, he signed up for a Master in Theological Studies at the Harvard Divinity School and was met there with great academic and professional success. He followed his Master (1974) with a PhD in Sanskrit & Indian Studies (1978).

His first full-time teaching appointment came in 1976 when he was appointed as lecturer in Asian Religions at the University of Queensland’s Department of Studies in Religion. He held this position until 1980, when he was offered another appointment as a lecturer, but this time at the University of Sydney’s Department of Religious Studies. Between 1976 and 1987, he was a very prolific author in religious studies, having published while living in Australia more than 375 works, his peak year being 1981 with 55 works.

In 1987, he was appointed as Associate Professor at McGill University’s Faculty of Religious Studies and was a Full Professor by 1989. He was also given the Birks chair of Comparative Religion in 1994, a position he held ever since. As of 2017, he has worked with McGill University for 30 years.

Custodial history

Records were directly donated to McGill University Archives (MUA) by Arvind Sharma.

Scope and content

The fonds contains professional and person records created or compiled by Arvind Sharma, divided into 7 series:
A. Biographical records
B. Writings
C. Public addresses
D. Teachings
E. Distinctions
F. Correspondence
G. Photographs

The fonds contain textual material such as correspondence, unpublished and published material, notes, research and teaching material, as well as photographs of Sharma and acquaintances. It also contains visual and audio recordings of Sharma from events in addition to objects having belonged to Sharma.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Deposited by Arvind Sharma, 17 October 2017

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Language and script note

Material in German, Indian, Japanese, Latin, Sanskrit and Spanish

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Until the last will of Arvind Sharma is in effect, McGill University Archives has all rights on records.

Finding aids

Finding aid available

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Accruals

General note

Inventory list available

Alternative identifier(s)

Accession nos.

2017-0052

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Level of detail

Small

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Lori Podolsky 05/12/2017

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