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Events Archive 2013

Religion Seminar, Semester 2, 2013

In semester 2, 2013, the Religion seminar takes the form of a speaker series. All seminars meet at 1pm in room 4C11 in the Arts Building, and all are welcome to join the discussions.

For further information on the Religion seminar series please contact Taneli Kukkonen.

1 July

Rick Weiss, Victoria University of Wellington

"Print and the Transformation of Religion in Colonial India"

26 July

Vayalkara Jayarajan, University of Otago, William Evans Fellow

"The Elevation of Performing Communities (Lower castes) to the Status of Gods"

9 Aug

Tenzin Mullin, University of Otago, M.A. graduate

"Contemporary narratives of Baoguo monastery: Behind the facade"

6 Sep

Yaghoob Faroutan, Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Waikato

"Demography of Religion in Australasia: Global Comparisons"

20 Sep

Zainal Abidin Bagir, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

"Managing Diversity in a Transitional Democracy: The Case of Indonesia"

4 Oct

Nicole Aaron, University of Otago, Ph.D. Candidate

"Where sex work and religion meet: Devadasi practice in Karnataka, India"

Open Lectures

Professor Thomas Trautmann

Thomas Trautmann, Marshall Sahlins Collegiate Professor of History and Anthropology, Emeritus, University of Michigan will deliver an open lecture entitled, "The Persistence of Elephants" on May 2, at 5.15pm (Archway 2).

Professor A. R. Venkatachalapathy

A. R. Venkatachalapathy Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies will deliver an open lecture entitled, "The Birth of the Tamil Author" on September 2, at 5.15pm (Archway 2). Professor Venkatachalapathy is in New Zealand as a guest of the New Zealand India Research Institute.

Professor Mark Mullins

Mark R. Mullins, Professor of Japanese, University of Auckland will deliver an open lecture entitled, "Indigenization, Immigration, and the Cultural Transformation of Japanese Christianity" on November 15, at 5.15p (Burns 2).

Film screening

On Thursday, 19 September 2013 at 5:15pm in Archway 3 there will be a screening of the film "Souls of Zen - Buddhism, Ancestors and the 2011 Tsunami in Japan" which will be followed by a discussion with the direction, Tim Graf (Research Associate at the Institute of Religious Studies and the Collaborative Research Centre "Ritual Dynamics" at Heidelberg University).

Moore Lectures 2013

The first series of Albert Moore Memorial Lectures, were delivered by Professor Jonathan Mane-Wheoki, Professor of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, from 23-25 July. The theme of the lectures was Christianity and Maori art and architecture.

Religion Seminar, Semester 1, 2013

In semester 1, the Religion seminar took the form of a reading group. The book under discussion was Robert Bellah's Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age (Cambridge: The Belknap Press, 2011).

8 Mar

Chs. 1 & 2

pp. 1-116

'Religion and Reality'

'Religion and Evolution'

22 Mar

Ch. 3

pp. 117-74

'Tribal Religion: The Production of Meaning'

19 Apr

Chs. 4 & 5

pp. 175-264

'From Tribal to Archaic Religion'

'Archaic Religion'

3 May

Chs. 6 & 7

pp. 265-398

'The Axial Age I

'The Axial Age II'

17 May

Ch. 8

pp. 399-480

'The Axial Age III: China in the Late First Millennium BCE'

31 May

Chs. 9 & 10

pp. 481-606

'The Axial Age IV: Ancient India'

'Conclusion'

Events Archive

University of Otago Religious Studies Programme