# Dr. Christopher L. Diamond
> **Conference Organiser - Chair**
>
>![[christopher.diamond.jpg|400]]
>
>*he/they* - *वह करता है* - وہ کرتا ہے۔
>
> **Senior Lecturer in Hindi & South Asian Studies**
> School of Culture, History and Language
> College of Asia & the Pacific
> The Australian National University
## Conference Participation
- **Paper:** [[Sonic Cartographies - Locana Dās' Rāgataraṅgiṇī and the Construction of Maithili Literary Identity]]
- **Session:** [[Session 6. Lyrical & Dramatic Circulation]]
- **Presentation Mode:** *in-person*
- **Panel Chair:** [[Session 10. Linguistic & Aesthetic Interactions]]
## Profile
Christopher is a Senior Lecturer in Hindi & South Asian Studies at the [School of Culture, History, and Language (CHL)](https://chl.anu.edu.au/) in the [College of Asia and the Pacific (CAP)](https://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/) at the [Australian National University (ANU)](https://www.anu.edu.au/). Their current project concerns the literary legacy of a medieval multi-lingual poet from the North Indian region of Mithila, Vidyapati (c. 1370-1450). His, at the time, new vernacular language of song and poetry became a standardised classical style across Nepal, the Eastern Gangetic Plains, Bengal, and further afield. Christopher is currently working on a new edition and translation of some of the oldest manuscript that contain this poet's songs and a critical analysis of the ways kings and brahmins in Nepal and Bihar employed them to project their own power and prestige. Christopher is also interested in devotional (bhakti) literature in North and East India more generally. Projects on the eastern Indian renditions of Epic and Puranic literature are on the horizon (e.g., Kashi Das and Sarala Das' *Mahābhārata*-s, etc.). Christopher has lived and conducted research in India, off-and-on, for the past 10 years. He has traveled all over the subcontinent, but finds himself regularly in West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh (North & East India). Christopher works with texts, traditions, and culture in Hindi (including Braj Bhasa and Avadhi), Urdu, Bengali, Maithili, Sanskrit, Persian, and Apabhramsa.
## Links
- [Researcher's Profile](https://researchportalplus.anu.edu.au/en/persons/christopher-diamond)
- [The ANUBhasha Project](https://anubhasha.org/)
- [The Mithila Studies Network](https://mithilastudies.org/)
### Contact
[email protected]