The annual CSAS lecture series honoring Thomas Trautmann, an American historian, cultural anthropologist, and U-M Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology, took place in January this year. Trautmann is a leading expert on the Arthashastra, the ancient Hindu text on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy. He has mentored many students during his tenure at U-M, and his studies focus on ancient India, the history of anthropology, and other related subjects.
Why are there no elephants in China? And, by way of contrast, why have there been and continue to be large numbers of elephants in the Indian subcontinent across its geography and throughout its recorded history? Why are these two largest countries of Asia so different in their attitudes towards the elephant?
These questions are addressed in Thomas Trautmann’s groundbreaking masterpiece Elephants and Kings: An Environmental History. In explaining the divergent ecological histories of the two countries, Trautmann introduces the concept of ‘land ethic.’
Patrick Olivelle, from the University of Texas and this year's speaker, aimed to help us further understand the Indian land ethic, based on Trautmann’s definition focused on the Indian war elephant and the establishment of elephant forests.
"My topic today is not Ashoka, a topic close to my heart, but elephants, a topic close to Tom's heart," opened Olivelle.
"And, when I asked Tom if it was ok to cover, as not to step on any toes, he said, 'Elephants are always welcome in Ann Arbor.'"
Patrick Olivelle was the chair of Religious Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Asian Studies at the University of Texas, where he is currently Professor Emeritus. He also was the past President of the American Oriental Society and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received the honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Chicago in 2016 and the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996. His recent book Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King was included in The New Yorker’s The Best Books of 2024.
Olivelle presented four further facets of the land ethic: economic, recreational, religious, and aesthetic.
"Trautmann's deep history of the Indian war elephant and its impact on Indian ecology over the past three thousand years is a singular achievement, a veritable tour de force," added Olivelle.
"It opens up through the eyes of the elephant and the totality of the Indian ecological landscape. The book is a fitting culmination to a long and distinguished scholarly career, which, fortunately, is far from over. And in terms of the category land ethic, it opens up new and fruitful avenues of research into India's environment and environmental history."
The generosity of individuals and institutions—including that of Martha and Inderpal Bhatia—has made possible the endowment that supports the Trautmann lecture series. As one of two annual endowed lectures, the Trautmann lecture series has become a bedrock of CSAS events each year.
