Prof. Emeritus Daniel Gold, Asian studies and religious studies, died on Feb. 16 at age of 78, at the Ithaca Hospicare Residence.
Gold taught at the College of Arts and Sciences from 1986 until his retirement in 2021, specializing in South Asian religion and culture. While at Cornell, Gold served as the chair of the Department of Asian Studies and the director of the South Asia Program at the Einaudi Center for International Studies.
During his time as director of the South Asia Program, Gold played a key role in the program’s growth, said Daniel Bass, senior program manager of the Einaudi Center, in an interview with the Cornell Chronicle.
Gold graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in Slavic languages and Latin. He discovered his interest in South Asian studies after participating in the Peace Corps training English teachers in India and in 1982, he received a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Throughout his career, Gold published research over a wide variety of topics in journals such as the International Journal of Hindu Studies and the Journal of Asian Studies. He had a research specialization in old Hindi poetry, early modern North Indian devotional cultures and contemporary religious life, according to his biography for Cornell’s Religious Studies Program.
In addition to written media, Gold worked on several documentaries, including two set in Gwalior, India, on religion and community and the Sindhi ethnic group.
“Dan’s keen insights into devotional practices made his scholarship a rare addition to the field of the study of holy personages in India,” said Prof. Jane-Marie Law, Asian studies and religious studies, in an interview with the Chronicle. “One of Dan’s finest qualities was his unwavering kindness and his ability to never take the drama of academia too seriously, allowing dust to settle where it may.”
Prof. Brett de Bary, Asian studies emerita, also commented on Gold’s character in an interview with the Chronicle.
“I think of Dan Gold as that rare example of a person who adhered to the same set of principles across all the spheres of his activities and commitments,” de Bary said. “Subtlety, rigor, tolerance and self-discipline were not only topics of his prolific research on Indian religions – they also characterized his presence as a departmental colleague, as well as his personal life, in which he maintained the meditation practices he learned in India through its final months.”
In addition to his research interests, Gold had passions for travel, cooking, hiking and concerts.
Gold is survived by his wife Ann, his two sons Jonah and Eli, his grandson Emery and his sister Arna.
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Coral Platt is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the News department and can be reached at cplatt@cornellsun.com.
