Rate My Professor Robert DeCaroli

Professor Robert DeCaroli is a Professor in the Department of History and Art History at George Mason University, with a specialization in Art History focusing on the arts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. He earned his Ph.D. in South and Southeast Asian art history from the University of California, Los Angeles. A specialist in the early history of Buddhism, DeCaroli has conducted fieldwork in India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. His research examines early aspects (3rd century BCE to 5th century CE) of South Asian material culture, its interactions with terrestrial gods, spirits, and regional religious practices, and the social, political, and religious factors behind the origin, codification, and spread of the Buddha image. From 2005 to 2014, he served as Director of the Art History Program and co-curated the Encountering the Buddha exhibit at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian Institution. He is a frequent speaker for the Smithsonian Associates.

DeCaroli's major publications include the books Haunting the Buddha: Indian Popular Religions and the Formation of Buddhism (Oxford University Press, 2004) and Image Problems: The Origins and Development of the Buddha's Image in Early South Asia (University of Washington Press, 2015). He co-edited Buddhism and the Senses with Donald S. Lopez Jr. (Wisdom Press, 2024) and Across the South of Asia: A Volume in Honor of Robert L. Brown with Paul A. Lavy (DK Printworld Books, 2020). Key articles feature “Snakes and Gutters: Nāga Imagery, Water Management, and Buddhist Rainmaking Rituals in Early South Asia” (Archives of Asian Art, 2019), “‘The Abode of a Naga King’: Questions of Art, Audience, and Popular Deities at the Ajanta Caves” (Ars Orientalis, 2011), and “Avoiding Eye Contact: The Negative Aspects of Sight in Early South Asian Buddhism” (in Buddhism and the Senses, 2024). His honors include the George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award, research grants from the Asian Cultural Council and Getty Research Institute, and the 2019-20 Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Research Fellowship in Buddhist Studies from the American Council of Learned Societies.