Workshop on:
New Directions in the Study of Material Religion

 

Date:	14-16 August 2008.
Location:	Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore @ Bukit Timah Campus 469A Tower Block, Level 10, Bukit Timah Road

• Principal Investigator: Dr. Julius Bautista

 This project seeks to put together an edited volume on the topic of material religion in Southeast Asia.  In brief, we seek to (1) trace the different ways in which the divine, in many religious traditions, is manifested in physical, tangible form and (2) to determine the ways in which scholars can effectively appreciate the wider political, social and cultural meanings that are brought to light through the study of material forms of religion in the Southeast Asian Region. 

All sorts of religious objects – from statues, to objects of offering, to architecture, to relics -- manifest the piousness of the faithful, as well as the historical, political or cultural issues of the communities which revere them.  The rich tapestry of religious traditions in Southeast Asia presents many examples of how the regard for sacred objects is more than just a matter of aesthetic appreciation.  This observation can also be made in faiths where there are proscriptions against the representation of religious personages, for which religiosity is manifested in aniconic form.  There is a need for a mode of analysis of material religion that goes beyond the mere identification of their style, provenance and production.  What discursive, ethnographic or historical frameworks can we utilise so that we can understand their continued relevance, if not their prohibition, in both global and local contexts?

We have received many proposals on and from southeast asia, and have invited a good mix of established and emergent scholars from Asia, the US and Europe who share a commitment towards material religion in Southeast Asia.   Some topics of discussion include:

• Religious icons and images
• Amulets and talismans
• Offertory objects
• Sacred relics
• Ritual objects and symbols
• Sacred spaces and architecture

The contributors to the volume will converge in Singapore in August 2008 for the International Conference tentatively entitled “New Directions in the Study of Material Religion in Southeast Asia”.  This event will be co-hosted by the Religion Cluster of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Religion and Globalisation in Asian Contexts Cluster of the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore. 

The conference is free and open to registered participants from the scholarly community and the public at large.

Convenor Dr Julius BAUTISTA Southeast Asian Studies Programme & Asia Research Institute, NUS  Email: seabj@nus.edu.sg Secretariat Ms Alyson ROZELLS Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore #10-01 Tower Block,469A Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259770 Email: ariaar@nus.edu.sg Tel: (65) 6516 8787 Fax: (65) 6779 1428 If you are interested in attending please contact Ms Alyson Adrianne Rozells at ariaar@nus.edu.sg