Entangled Histories: at the Intersection of Religion and Politics in premodern Societies
GB 5/150–152 „Ruhrpott“
The workshop, "Entangled Histories: At the Intersection of Religion and Politics in Premodern Societies", aims to shed light on the dynamics of the interaction between religion and politics in premodern Eastern Central Asia and explore how these interactions shaped the connections between the societies involved.
The workshop builds on the CERES research project INCENTER, which examines rival power centres, such as the Khitan Empire, the Chinese Song dynasty, the Tangut Empire and local Tibetan principalities, to explore how they used religion - especially Buddhism - to establish legitimacy, compete with one another and forge cross-cultural ties between the 10th and 13th centuries.The workshop topic is closely aligned with CERES's overarching research priority of examining the social and political efficacy of religion across historical and cultural contexts.
The workshop will facilitate discussion amongst researchers on these dynamics through comparative work on Chinese, Tibetan and other regional sources - textual, epigraphic and visual - over two days at CERES on 6 and 7 October. Although the case studies focus on Eastern Central Asia in the premodern period, the subject matter addresses issues of contemporary relevance, such as the interweaving of religion and politics, the use of religion to legitimise state authority, and the study of cultural and religious pluralism. These subjects permeate current political and social discourse, encompassing religious nationalism and disputes concerning religious authority throughout Asia and beyond.
Programme
October 6th
13:45 Registration of participants 14:00 Introductory welcome remarks 14:15-15:45 First session – moderator Lewis Doney 14:15-15:00 Carmen Meinert: Religious Exchange in Multicultural Premodern Eastern Central Asia 15:00-15:45 Bianca Horlemann: The Sacred (Stranger-)King of 11th Century Tsongkha in a Global and Central Asian Context 15:45-16:15 Coffee break 16:15-17:45 Second session – moderator Henry Albery 16:15-17:00 Amy Heller: Reflections on the rigs gsum mgon po in the phyi ‘dar 17:00-17:45 Diane Wen Zhang-Goldberg: The stele of the Heishui river: Tangut identity between ancient beliefs and Buddhism 17:45-18:15 Break 18:15-19:00 Keynote lecture by Naomi Standen: The power of the powerless: devotions, politics, and ordinary people as the engines of history 19:15 Dinner at Q West*
October 7th 9:00-10:30 Third session – moderator Kianoosh Rezania 9:00-9:45 Lewis Doney: Buddhism and Empire around 9th-/10th-century Dunhuang 9:45-10:30 Emanuela Garatti: Counting Embassies, Mapping Courts: Envoys, Rituals and Scriptures in the Multipolar World of Khitan, Song, Tangut and the Tibetan Principalities 10:30-11:00 Coffee break 11:00-12:30 Fourth session – moderator Carmen Meinert 11:00-11:45 Romain Lefebvre: Power and the Sacred in Tangut Texts: A Philological Perspective 11:45-12:30 Alla Sizova: Lawcodes and Liturgy: Tibetan Buddhism and State Ideology in the Tangut Empire 12:30 Lunch at Rote Beete* 14:00 Closing discussion 15:30 Guided tour of the RUB Botanical Garden
* Dinner and lunch are provided for the participants. Audience is welcome to join upon previous inscription and at their own expenses.
