German Indology

“Indology” is the generic title of a group of disciplines concerned with the study of India. The terms “Indologist” and “orientalist” are frequently used interchangeably within English-speaking countries. In Germany, “Indology” (Indologie) has been used to identify a subfield of “oriental sciences” (Orientalistik); specifically, that part of it concerned with the study of ancient India. There exists a new branch of Indology titled “modern Indology,” which has lately experienced an upswing in its fortunes, but wherever “Indology” is used without a qualifier, the reference is to ancient India. As a rule, German professors have tended to be dismissive of the idea of modern Indian studies, claiming a special expertise in ancient India (see Deutsche Indologie: Vom Niedergang eines Fachbereichs by Oliver Schulz, cited under Current State and Future Prospects). In this article, the expression “German Indology” is used to distinguish the history, development, and practice of this discipline from South Asian studies in other countries. This distinction is justified both in terms of linguistic usage (German scholars have used the term deutsche Indologie to characterize their specific approach to Indian studies) and historical application (German Indology has a distinct history and traditions, and unique concerns that set it apart from other forms of research into India). For the purposes of this article and in general, the expression “German” in “German Indology” does not refer to national origins; many “German” Indologists came from outside Germany’s borders (e.g., the Austrians Moriz Winternitz and Erich Frauwallner or the Norwegian-born, though lifelong citizen of Germany, Christian Lassen), or they established institutions of “German” Indology outside its borders by exporting German ideas and values (e.g., the Americans William D. Whitney and E. Washburn Hopkins; both studied under Albrecht Weber in Berlin). This article focuses on the institution, self-understanding, and historical context of German Indology. It is neither intended as a compilation of German achievements in various subfields of Hinduism nor can it hope to properly assess these achievements in the context of their respective subfields. The reader interested in the specific contributions of German Indology should rather consult the relevant OBO articles (e.g., “Atharva Veda” for German scholarship on the Veda). This article focuses more narrowly on the history of the discipline and critical scholarly treatments of it. Its primary focus is the 19th century, when enduring principles and prejudices of the discipline were first formulated, but it also examines the continuing currency of these principles and prejudices in 20th-century scholarship. Literature on German Indology after 1945 can be found under the section Current State and Future Prospects. Critical engagements with the discipline are discussed under Orientalism Debate and German Responses to National Socialist Indology.