Vivienne Kondos

 

Vivienne Kondos was awarded a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Sydney in 1982. She taught anthropology at the University of Sydney from 1983 until her retirement in 2001. Her PhD research was on the topic of Goddess worship among Nepalese Hindus, and she has continued this interest in gender, power and ritual in Hindu societies as well as developing new research topics in the areas of Nepalese politics and the Nepali diaspora. Dr. Kondos has published extensively on Nepalese politics, culture and society based on fieldwork with Parbatya and Newar peoples in Kathmandu. Her publications include On the Ethos of Hindu Women: Issues, Taboos and Forms of Expression (2004), edited collections on The Politics of Ritual (1992) and Mabo and Australia (1995, with G. Cowlishaw), as well as articles and papers on Goddess worship, fire-walking in Northern Greece, and contemporary Nepalese politics. In 2009 Dr. Kondos was made an Honorary Member of two Nepalese association – the Newar-organised Guthi Association and the Nepalese Australian Association – in recognition of her many years of research in Nepal. She was a member of the Editorial Committee of The Australian Journal of Anthropology from 1998 to 2008, and is currently an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Sydney.