Harry Oldmeadow was born in India in 1947. His parents were Christian missionaries in India where he spent nine years of his childhood, developing an early interest in the civilizations of the East. He studied history, politics and literature at the Australian National University in Canberra, and after further studies at Sydney University he worked in the History Department at La Trobe University in Melbourne. In 1971 a Commonwealth Overseas Research Scholarship led to further studies at St. John’s College, Oxford, followed by travels in Europe, North Africa and the sub-continent.
Dr. Harry Oldmeadow
Academic Life and Scholarly Work
In 1981 Oldmeadow completed a Masters research degree in Religious Studies at Sydney University; the subject of his dissertation was Frithjof Schuon and the other principal traditionalist writers. This study, one of the earliest of its kind, was awarded a Sydney University Research Medal and later published by the Sri Lanka Institute of Traditional Studies as Traditionalism: Religion in the light of the Perennial Philosophy (Colombo, 2000). Under the auspices of this Institute, in 1990 Dr. Oldmeadow delivered the inaugural Ananda Coomaraswamy Memorial Lecture in Colombo, on ‘The Religious Tradition of the Australian Aborigines’.
From 1990 until his retirement Oldmeadow was Coordinator of Philosophy & Religious Studies at La Trobe University Bendigo where he also taught courses in Literature and Cinema Studies. He completed a doctorate in Cinema Studies at the university’s metropolitan campus, and was awarded a Research Medal for his dissertation. In 2004 he received another university award for his book Journeys East: 20th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions. Oldmeadow has published widely in Sacred Web, Sophia, Eye of the Heart and other traditionalist and scholarly journals, and has delivered public lectures on perennialist themes in the sub-continent, the U.K., U.S.A. and Canada. In late 2001, he was a key speaker at a large inter-faith gathering in Sydney, organized by the Australian Centre for Sufism; the theme of the meeting was the need for inter-religious understanding in the wake of 9/11.
Oldmeadow’s primary interests are perennialist philosophy, particularly as expounded by Frithjof Schuon, critiques of modernity, the spiritual and intellectual encounter of East and West, the primordial traditions of nomadic and non-literate peoples, especially the Plains Indians of North America and the indigenous peoples of Australia, and the environmental crisis in the light of traditional cosmologies. He is the author of fifteen books and has edited another dozen including five of Frithjof Schuon’s works in the new annotated translations by World Wisdom. He edited three anthologies published by World Wisdom: The Betrayal of Tradition, Light from the East and Crossing Religious Frontiers, as well as The Essential Whitall Perry. His other publications include Frithjof Schuon and the Perennial Philosophy; A Christian Pilgrim in India: the Spiritual Journey of Swami Abhishiktananda; Mediations: Essays on Religious Pluralism & the Perennial Philosophy; Touchstones of the Spirit: Essays on Religion, Tradition and Modernity; Black Elk, Lakota Visionary; and Timeless Truths and Modern Delusions: the Perennial Philosophy as a guide for contemporary Buddhists.
Since his formal retirement Oldmeadow has continued his research and writing, maintained contact with scholars and seekers from around the world, has pursued his interest in photography, and has traveled widely to visit sacred sites and pilgrimage centers, and to hike in wilderness areas. He lives with his wife and a small dog in Bendigo. Many of his essays, reviews and talks can be found on the Academia, World Wisdom and Matheson Trust websites:
latrobe.academia.edu/HarryOldmeadow
worldwisdom.com/public/authors
themathesontrust.org/authors/harry-oldmeadow
themathesontrust.org/authors/kenneth-oldmeadow