Universität Wien

142225 UE Ritual Dynamics and Recomposition in South Asia: understanding ritual change (2024W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 14 - Orientalistik, Afrikanistik, Indologie und Tibetologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
We 04.12. 13:30-15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 17 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 02.10. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 09.10. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 16.10. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 23.10. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 30.10. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 06.11. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 13.11. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 20.11. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 27.11. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 11.12. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 08.01. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 15.01. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 22.01. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34
  • Wednesday 29.01. 13:30 - 15:00 Seminarraum 5 ISTB UniCampus Hof 4 2C-O1-34

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This UE focuses on the transformation of religious rituals, with a particular emphasis on South Asia. Firstly, it involves understanding the concept of ritual, discussed through examples from shamanic practices in the eastern Himalayas. Secondly, the course will explore discussions in the social sciences and humanities about the factors, and conditions leading to the transformation of ritual practices. Through reading this literature, the course will address the following questions:
When do rituals change? When do they change accidentally and when are they changed intentionally? Are certain types of rituals more stable or unstable than others? Which elements of rituals are prone to change, and which remain relatively stable? Who has the power or agency to change rituals? Who decides whether or not to accept a change?

Assessment and permitted materials

- Participation in text interpretation: Before each class, each student will write a short text summarising and reflecting on one of the assigned readings for that week. This exercise will begin from the third week of the seminar and will constitute 50% of the final grade.
- Presentation: Each student will deliver one detailed presentation on a relevant text or topic during the semester. This presentation should include an introduction to the author(s), an overview of the text’s topic, a step-by-step presentation of the text’s arguments, and a discussion of the wider debate related to the text or topic. This will account for the remaining 50% of the final grade.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

100-90% (1)
89-76% (2)
75-63% (3)
62-50% (4)
49-0% (5)

Examination topics

Texts studied during the UE.

Reading list

Chatterjee, I. 2013. Forgotten Friends: Monks, Marriages, and Memories of Northeast India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Grimes, R. L. 2013. The Craft of Ritual Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Handelman, D. and Lindquist, G. 2005. Ritual in Its Own Right. Exploring the Dynamics of Transformation. New York: Berghahn Books
Kreinath, J.; J.A.M. Snoek; M. Stausberg. 2006. Theorizing Rituals, Volume 1: Issues, Topics, Approaches, Concepts. Leiden, : Boston: Brill.
Kim, D. W. (ed). 2015. Religious Transformation in Modern Asia. A Transnational Movement. Leiden: Brill
Kreinath, J. et al. 2004. The dynamics of changing rituals: the transformation of religious rituals within their social and cultural context. New York, Vienna: Lang.
Michaels, A. 2010. Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual. Vol. 1. Grammars and Morphologies of Ritual Practices in Asia. Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden

Association in the course directory

IMAK3a UE B

Last modified: Mo 30.09.2024 21:26