Rituals

Two day-PhD course at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen

2-3 May 2014

Keynote speakers

• Ronald Grimes, emer. Prof. Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada

• Piotr Michalowski, Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, University of Michigan, USA

Rituals are part of everyday life as well as religious ceremonies. They can construct social cohesion, they can legitimize, they can have clear religious purposes, they definitively structure life spans and identities, which is one reason why they often appear at liminal phases in life. Rituals take place the all time, in private as well as public domains. Recently theories on performative action and ritual patterns have become a fruitful platform for interdisciplinary exchange. The proposed course will focus on the documentation of rituals in the research process and their interpretation, as well as the possible analytical frameworks across disciplines. A particular aim is to bring together PhD students working with both historical and contemporary material, with expressive representations and social interaction.

Time:

2-3 May 2013, Friday 10.00-14.00, Saturday 10:00-17:00

Registration deadline:

9 March 2014

Course preparation: Each participant is required to present his or her research project during the course. Please submit a description of your project (at most 2 pages) no later than 9 March 2014 to kerner@hum.ku.dk

Course capacity:

Max. 10 participants.

Format:

The seminar will include public lectures, and a closed PhD seminar. The closed seminar will consist of presentation of student papers and discussions.

The PhD students will either submit a paper to be pre-circulated by April 13th (3 ECTS) or prepare discussion participation based on literature by the keynote speakers (1,5 ECTS). The presentation must include statements about the documentation, interpretation or analytical framework of rituals. During the seminar the PhD students will give a short version of their papers followed by discussion or a 5 minutes debate entry. The pre-circulated paper should be around 4000-5000 words.

Organisers

Susanne Kerner & Nicole Brisch

Further information and registration:

Susanne Kerner, kerner@hum.ku.dk
Deadline March 9th.

Program:

A detailed program and reading instructions for the course will be provided later.