Lavanya Vemsani


Lavanya Vemsani, is a scholar and professor of History specializing in Indian History and Religions, in the department of Social Sciences at Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, Ohio. She researches and publishes on subjects of ancient Indian history and religions as well as current history of India. She was a signatory for the petition in the California textbook controversy over Hindu history case.

Biography

Lavanya Vemsani was born in Hyderabad, India. She completed her B.A. in History, Politics, and Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archeology, from Osmania University in 1988. She received her Masters of Arts degree in Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archeology, also from Osmania University, 1990. In 1992, she earned her M.Phil in History from University of Hyderabad and her PhD in History in 1999 from the same university. She received her second Ph.D. in Religious Studies from McMaster University, Canada in 2004.
In April 2018, Professor Vemsani became the first Indian to be elected as Vice President and President-Elect of Ohio Academy of History. She is also a member of Association for Asian Studies and Americal Historical Association
She is the author of Hindu and Jain Mythology of Balarama and a number of articles on early History and Religions of India. Her second book Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Lord of Many Names is an encyclopedic study on Krishna. She is currently working on two book projects, India: A New History and Ancient Settlement Patterns of South India.
She is the editor-in-chief of American Journal of Indic Studies. She is the editor of International Journal of Dharma and Hindu Studies, and associate editor of Journal of South Asian Religious History.
She was awarded the Board of Trustees Distinguished Teaching Award at Shawnee State University, Ohio.

Publications