Summer School

of the International Max Planck Research School

for the Anthropology, Archaeology and History of Eurasia
(IMPRS ANARCHIE)

Religion and Ritual: A Matter of Power

Interdisciplinary Approaches

Erfurt, 1719 July 2015

PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME

Friday, 17 July

10:0011:30 Cultural programme (optional)

11:3011:45 Welcome Address

tba

Section 1: Power Transitions and Religion

11:4513:15 Laurent Berger (Laboratoire dAnthropologie Sociale, Paris)

Hegemony, Ritual and Power in Madagascar
Chair: Giuseppe Tateo

13:1515:00 Lunch

15:0016:30 Michael Mller (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg)

Stefan Pfeiffer (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg)
Power Transitions and Religion Historical perspectives

16:3017:00 Coffee break

17:0019:00 Meeting Principal Faculty

Meeting Ph.D. students

19:00 Dinner

Saturday, 18 July

Section 2: The Power of (Religious) Architecture

08:0009:30 Breakfast

09:3011:00 Alexei Lidov (Moscow State University)

Hierotopy as a new field of Historical Studies
Chair: tba

11:0011:30 Coffee break

11:3012:30 tba (Archaeologist):

tba
Chair: tba

12:3013:15 Christoph Brumann (Max Planck Institute for Social

Anthropology)
The Power of (Religious) Architecture Anthropological
Perspectives

13:1515:00 Lunch

Section 3: Powerful Rituals?

15:0016:30 Jos Jaime Garca Bernal (University of Seville)

Dimensions of power in public rituals in Habsburg Spain
Chair: tba

16:3017:00 Coffee break

17:0018:30 Kirsten Endres (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology)

Franois Bertemes (Martin Luther University Halle-
Wittenberg)
Powerful Rituals? Anthropological and Archaeological
Perspectives

18:30 Dinner

Sunday, 19 July

08:0009:30 Breakfast

09:3011:00 Closing Session

tba

11:0011:30 Coffee break

11:3013:00 General Assembly

13:0014:30 Lunch (optional)

14:30 Cultural programme (optional)

The three sections are planned as follows:

1 Power Transitions and Religion

Keynote lecture: Laurent Berger
Hegemony, Ritual and Power in Madagascar

additional talks by Michael Mller and Stefan Pfeiffer

2 The Power of (Religious) Architecture

Keynote lecture: Alexei Lidov
Hierotopy as a new field of Historical studies

additional talks by [tba] and Christoph Brumann

3 Powerful Rituals?
Keynote lecture: Jos Jaime Garca Bernal
Dimensions of power in public rituals in Habsburg Spain

additional talks by Kirsten Endres and Franois Bertemes

We would like to invite two representatives of each discipline from the Principal
Faculty to present on one of the aforementioned topics. These short presentations
could be inspired by individual research interests, theoretical/methodological
insights, practical experiences, critical inquiries etc. relating to the sections topic.
In this way we hope to achieve further interdisciplinary dialogue and exchange.
 ANARCHIE Summer School

RELIGION AND RITUAL: A MATTER OF POWER

INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES
Erfurt, 1719 July 2015

Whether through institutionality, symbolic aspects or precisely in the form of

counter culture, religion and power have always been entangled realms. Disciplinary
discourses to both religion and power have differed to a large extent, regardless of
the sheer impossibility of asking questions without the involvement of methods of
one another. There are tipping points in any research project, where general yet
indispensable questions of social research force us to reflect on our own disciplinary
trespasses, be it either methodologically or theoretically. Questions concerning
power offer such tipping points.

While archaeology started from a focus on monumentality, history from the focus on
the ruling elite and empires and anthropology from comparative studies of remote
societies, in recent decades all three disciplines have found it increasingly important
to contextualize their research data. These new, more fluid boundaries between the
three subjects allow, and even call for joint investigations.

We invite speakers to engage in such contextualisations. We understand power to

be manifest in material culture, social relationships and geopolitical settings.
Through sacred architecture, hierarchies of religious positions, or beliefs as
exportable commodities, religion is inherently present in most instances of power.
We can see religion, be it institutionalized or performed, being at work in and
through diverse power structures, simultaneously influenced by and influencing
globally and locally constructed gender, political or economic relations of power. We
aim to tackle this through the following three panels:

1 Power Transitions and Religion

2 The Power of (Religious) Architecture

3 Powerful Rituals?
 DRAFT FOR INVITATIONS

Dear Professor Humphrey,

The International Max Planck Research School for the Anthropology, Archaeology
and History of Eurasia (IMPRS ANARCHIE) would like to invite you as our honoured
guest to present a paper at our Summer School in Erfurt, taking place the 17 th19th
July 2015.

Our research group is devoted to the transnational and comparative study of

diachronic socio-cultural processes in many locations of the Eurasian landmass. The
Summer School itself will consist of a series of lectures, built around the topic of
Religion and Ritual: A Matter of Power.

Archaeology, Anthropology and History will all be represented throughout each of

the three panels, all organized around a specific theme. Considering your work in
the field of post-socialist religion and urbanity, we would greatly appreciate if you
could deliver the lead talk at the panel Transitions of Power. The panel will
comprise of three talks, each approximately 30 minutes long, followed by
discussions of the same length.

We hope that you will find our suggestion to be of interest to you, and we would be
most appreciative if you would kindly accept our invitation and speak in July.

Please find attached the detailed description of the themes.

Kind regards,

PhD candidates IMPRS ANARCHIE