Ashokan places in Madhya Pradesh
Maara Dass comments on her research on Ashokan places in Madhya Pradesh, India, and her trip to various archaeological sites in the Bhopal area with Susanne Rau of the Religion and Urbanity group.
Maara Dass comments on her research on Ashokan places in Madhya Pradesh, India, and her trip to various archaeological sites in the Bhopal area with Susanne Rau of the Religion and Urbanity group.
KFG post-doc Dr. Sara Keller was interviewed by Anish Behti for the Podcast “Simplifying Lives”…
Die Errichtung eines Tempels in Gispersleben läutet eine neue Ära für das interkulturelle Zusammenleben in Erfurt ein. Dieses neue Gotteshaus nahmen wir als Anlass, uns mit dem vietnamesisch-buddhistischen Leben in Erfurt genauer zu beschäftigen. Es ist erst der dritte sichtbare Tempel in den neuen deutschen Bundesländern.
At the beginning of the 2023/24 winter semester, we organised our eleventh city walk, which was dedicated to the topic of “Jewish Heritage”. The occasion was the recent designation of Erfurt’s Jewish-Medieval heritage as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 17 September 2023.
How did people try to avoid being robbed and how did they react when it happened? Wiśniewski, drawing from a complex and varied set of sources (including letters, petitions, hagiography and inscriptions) focused on the interface of religion and society, showing how people used various strategies like divination or seeking help from religious figures. Theft in his lecture appeared to us as a complex societal phenomenon, shaking the sometimes fragile trust in local communities.
Prof emeritus Jamal Malik commented on the notion of “architectural resonance” in Muslim cultural history, during the book launch of Architektonische Resonanz. Das Mausoleum des indischen Sufi-Meisters Shah Vajihudin Alvi by Sara Keller. Amongst other things, he noted how a Sufi shrine vibrantly interacts with its surrounding, transforming the Sufi convent into a Resonance oasis.
During the late Middle Ages, Erfurt was a prosperous city with a dynamic trade center, and home to one of the first universities in Europe. While its success was a result of many factors, including its geographical location, few people are aware that the colour blue had a significant impact on the development of the city.
In April 2023, Meera Dass visited a series of places linked to the Ashokan period in Madhya Pradesh, together with Susanne Rau. The initial stop was at the District Museum at Vidisha, where amongst other exhibits, Dr. Dass discussed a Yaksa and Yaski statue from the 2nd century BCE.
by Jörg Rüpke. The summer school “Roman rituals: dynamics, topography and objects: Introduction to Roman religion through the prism of its materiality” – co-organized by the “Religion and Urbanity” group in Erfurt with the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, La Sapienza, Rome, and the Université catholique de Louvain in cooperation with the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, the Ecole française de Rome, the Academia Belgica and the Museo Nazionale Etrusca Villa Giulia in September 2023 – has addressed the questions of urbanity as being reflected in and constitutive for religious objects.
Die Beschäftigung mit Sterben und Tod hat Konjunktur. Nina Kreibig hat eine wichtige Studie vorgelegt, in der sie die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Leichenhäuser in Berlin grundlegend und quellengesättigt rekonstruiert. Rezension von Carolin Kosuch.
Susanne Rau, spokesperson of the “Religion and Urbanity” research group has been honoured by France’s Minister of Education and Youth Pap Ndiaye with the “Ordre des Palmes Académiques françaises”. Congratulations!
Die Kollegforschungsgruppe „Religion und Urbanität“ (FOR 2779) an der Universität Erfurt hat im vergangenen Jahr einen Wettbewerb ins Leben gerufen mit dem Ziel, die Begeisterung für die Geisteswissenschaften zu stärken. Schülerinnen und Schüler sollten ermuntert werden, aus der Perspektive unterschiedlicher Fächer, sich ihre Stadt in ihren Wechselbeziehungen zu den darin gelebten und sie beeinflussenden Religionen zu erschließen…
Harry O. Maier discusses Mateusz Fafinski and Jakob Riemenscheider’s book, Monasticism and the City in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The book provides readers with a comprehensive exploration of ancient monastic and urban sites and their inhabitants, akin to a Lonely Planet travel guide. The authors examine monasticism from five aspects: as a genre, within and as cities, with respect to monks and nuns in urban settings, in terms of monastic learning, and as a phenomenon in Afroeurasia.
Votive objects, be it votive offerings, sacred dedications or ex voto, are gifts to the gods made by humans, set up in a sacred place for religious purpose. They are a feature of ancient and modern societies alike and are attested in diverse contexts and settings, sharing though a common scope: by setting up votive objects, the individuals seek to enter in communication with the gods.
Was assoziieren wir mit Kirchen und Kirchenräumen? Historische Orte, Ruinen oder ganz lebendige Zentren des städtischen und Gemeindelebens? Sind es Orte der Besinnung, der Ruhe, des Glaubens, vielleicht der Langeweile oder können Sie, wie jüngst in Erfurt, auch Tanzflächen sein?