Andrew Lattas: Technology, Death and Cargo Cults

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN
Department Seminar

This paper will explore how in their dreams, folk tales and cults, Melanesians took up modern western technology as a powerful material realm for uncovering new meanings, identities and relationships. Not having access to cameras, televisions, videos, telephones, wirelesses and planes did not stop Melanesians entering into a love relationship with the utopian promise of transcendence encoded in modern technology. In taking up the Whiteman’s ways of augmenting seeing, hearing and moving, people sought to take up the position of a dominant Other which they merged with the perspective and position of the dead. Both Whites and the dead offered outside vantage points for escaping current ways of being anchored in the world. Here technology was reworked via a local ontology of mirror worlds, where the surface world and the underground world were mapped onto each other in a redoubling of existence that also offered new utopian ways of policing Melanesian subjects.

Thursday, 31. January, 14.15-16.00
Seminar room, 8th floor
Fosswinckelsgt. 6

Seminar chair: Knut Rio

Everybody is welcome!

AHKR Nyhetsbrev

De nye hjemmesidene til AHKR har begynt å forme seg. Foruten kontaktinformasjon kan man også følge med på et nyhetsbrev, som også er relevant for studenter. Det finnes for eksempel en del informasjon om hva som vil skje kommende semester. En del av disse sakene, som f.eks diskusjoner om studieplansordninger og spesialiseringsfag, er eksempler på saker der det er viktig at vi følger med. Fagutvalg og studentrepresentanter vil diskutere og gi innspill til disse tingene som har direkte innvirkning på hvordan studiehverdagen vil se ut.

Brudgommen Kristus: Metafor eller symbol?

Senter for kvinne- og kjønnsforskning (SKOK) inviterer til seminar onsdag 12. desember.

Seminar: Brudgommen Kristus – Metafor eller idol?
Med utgangspunkt i den metaforiske omskrivingen av Kristus som brudgom og kirken som hans brud (Efeserbrevet 5:21-33) vil Jostein Børtnes diskutere om det er en sammenheng mellom den katolske kirkes absolutte avvisning av tanken om kvinnelige prester og dens likeså absolutte antihomoseksualisme.

Foredragsholder: Professor Jostein Børtnes , Institutt for fremmedspråk

Tid: Onsdag 12. desember 2007, kl. 14.15-16.00
Sted: SKOK, Allégaten 34, seminarrom 3.etg.

Les mer:.pdf

Disputas: Liv Ingeborg Lied

Liv Ingeborg Lied disputerer fredag 7. desember for dr. art.-graden ved Universitetet i Bergen med avhandlinga:

The Other Lands of Israel: A Study of the Land Theme in 2 Baruch”.

Lieds avhandling er eit studium av jødiske forestillingar om Israels land slik dei kjem til uttrykk i den antikke teksten 2. Baruk (2. århundre e.v.t.). På bakgrunn av stads-teoriane til den amerikanske geografen Edward W. Soja diskuterer Lied om konseptet Israels land først og fremst refererer til eit gitt geografisk område mellom Jordan-elva og Middelhavet i denne teksten, eller om 2. Baruk også kunne framstille Israels land som det området der det rettskafne folket til ei kvar tid levde i tråd med den pakta forfedrene hadde inngått med Gud. Avhandlinga argumenterer for at det først og fremst er dei rettskafne sine handlingar som skaper Israels land som stad i denne teksten, og at konseptet Israels land dermed kan bli brukt fleksibelt om fleire territorier og romlege storleikar i frelseshistoria, mellom dei Judea, Jerusalem og den himmelske verda. I 2. Baruk framstår derfor Israels land som ein sentral frelsesstad som garanterer både samtidig beskyttelse og framtidig triumf for det rettskafne folket.

Tid og stad for disputasen:
07.12.2007, kl. 09:30, Auditorium B, Sydneshaugen skule

Sakset fra uib.no

Samfunnsvitenskap og Krig

I høst har det blitt diskutert hvorvidt religionsvitere er tilbakeholdne i samfunnsdebatten, og det har blitt satt spørsmål om hva som skal forventes av de som driver med – i dette tilfellet – religionsvitenskap.  Diskusjonen om (samfunns)vitenskapens rolle, og eventuelle ansvar ovenfor samfunnet og de menneskene som studeres, har blitt «obligatorisk».Det tas for eksempel opp i metodologisk litteratur, men også som argumenter mot analytiske perspektiver. Det viser seg imidlertid at denne problematikken ikke begrenser seg til «intellektuell innflytelse», hvor akademikere gjennom publikasjoner, masse-medier og andre fora, antas å påvirke normative holdninger til leseren av Dagbladet eller tilhørere i en politisk komité. Vi ser f.eks i innlegget om/av Scott Atran, at det også blant religionsvitere finnes en vilje til å påvirke holdninger.

Selv om det tilsynelatende ikke er noen religionsvitere innvolvert, vil jeg allikevel vise til tre artikler som belyser problematikken fra en liten annen side.  Det amerikanske militæret har tatt i bruk antropologer og samfunnsvitere i det de kaller Human Terrain Teams, med den hensikt å bruke fagpersonens innsikt for å bedre kunne «imøtekomme kulturelle hensyn». Dette har følgelig ført til debatt og kontrovers i de amerikanske fagmiljøene. På den ene siden kan det virke som en fordel i militært «forebyggende» arbeid å kunne dra nytte av samfunnsviteres kompetanse og innsikt i konfliktsonene. På den andre siden er det ytret bekymringer hvorvidt denne kompetansen kan brukes i mot lokalbefolkning, og om en slik deltakelse kan få negative konsekvenser for samfunnsvitenskapene.

Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones  (New York Times)
Antropologer i terrorkrigens frontlinjer?  (På Høyden)
Army Social Scientists Calm Afghanistan, Make Enemies at Home  (Wired)

Call for Papers: "Talking about Religion"

Attached you will find a Call for Papers for a March 7-9, 2008
undergraduate student conference being organized by NAASR (= North American Association for the Study of Religion) Vice President, Bryan Rennie, at Westminster College (and co-sponsored by NAASR). Abstracts are due January 14, 2008 and full submissions are due in Feb 11, 2008. NAASR members with motivated undergraduate students are encouraged to get them to make a submission.

North American Undergraduate Conference in Religion and Philosophy (.pdf)

Utlyst stilling i religionsdidaktikk – prøveforelesning

Program:
09:15 – 10:00 prøveforelesning Karina Hestad Skeie
10:15 – 11:00 prøveforelesning Liv-Ingeborg Lied
11:15 – 12:00 prøveforelesning Wanda Alberts

Alle kandidater foreleser om samme tema:
” Sentrale utfordringer i religionsvitenskapelig fagdidaktikk” /
”Key challenges for didactics of the study of religion”

Sted: aud. M på Sydneshaugen skole
Tid: Fredag, 26.10.2007

Alle studenter på alle grader er varmt velkomne.

– Michael Stausberg, fagkoordinator

Human Biotechnology and Reproductive Technologies in Cultural and Religious Contexts

We welcome researchers as well as PhD-students and Master-students to a two-days workshop where various aspects of human biotechnology and reproductive technologies will be explored in cultural and religious contexts.

Programme:

Marcia Inhorn (University of Michigan): Studying reproductive technologies in cultural contexts
Ole Brekke & Thorvald Sirnes (UiB): Religion and Human Biotechnology
Merethe lie (NTNU): Egg donation within the context of equal
Marcia Inhorn: Report from a Study of Reproduction-tourism. The case of the United Arab Emirates.
Marit Melhuss (UiO): The moral status of the embryo in a Christian perspective
Silje Sivertsen & Thorvald Sirnes (UiB): Substances of the Body: The Making of a Social Person.

29. – 30. October
Seminar room at Stein Rokkan Centre, 6th floor. Nygårdsgt. 5

Organized by Stein Rokkan Centre, Centre for Women’s and Gender Research (SKOK), Centre for the Study of Science and the Humanities and Centre for International Health, UiB

Download programme (.pdf)

PhD scholarships and fellowships

The Graduate School of Theology and the Study of Religion at the Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus announces new PhD scholarships and fellowships available as per 1 February 2008 or as soon as possible thereafter for study in the faculty’s research areas.

General
The PhD scholarships and fellowships are granted for individuals pursuing a PhD degree. Enrolment as a PhD student at the Graduate School is therefore a prerequi¬site for being granted a PhD scholarship or fellowship. Information about the PhD degree programme is contained in the faculty’s PhD regulations, which are available on http://www.teo.au.dk/en/graduateschool/prospectivestudents

Successful candidates to PhD scholarships will be enrolled in the PhD degree programme according to the 4+4 model, i.e. prior to passing a Master’s degree final examination and typically after completing the first year of a Master’s degree (see regulations, section 2.2.2).

Successful candidates to PhD fellowships will be enrolled in the PhD degree programme according to the 5+3 model, i.e. after completing a Master’s degree final examination (see regulations, section 2.2.1).

Further information may be obtained from Chair of the Graduate School, Troels Nørager, e-mail tn@teo.au.dk  or telephone +45 8942 2243.

Qualification requirements
•    PhD scholarships are valid for two years and can be applied for by students enrolled in a Master’s degree programme relevant to the faculty’s subject areas. The PhD scholarships can only be held by students who have satisfactorily completed the first year of a Master’s degree programme. Students who expect to complete the first year of their Master’s degree programme prior to 1 February 2008 may also apply.
•    PhD fellowships are valid for three years and can be applied for by graduates with a Master’s degree relevant to the faculty’s subject areas. Students who expect to complete their Master’s degree programme prior to 1 February 2008 may also apply.

Conditions
Remuneration of PhD Scholars prior to completion of their Master’s degree will be covered by section II of the ministerial order on state education grant (SU-bekendtgørelsen). The scholarship will be paid in the form of maximum 48 PhD grants (SU-klip), disbursed with two grants per month. After completion of the Master’s degree, remuneration will be in accordance with the rules about paid PhD Fellows laid down in the protocol on PhD Fellows attached as an appendix to the agreement covering staff with university degrees in the public sector signed between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Organizations (AC).

Remuneration of PhD Fellows will be in accordance with the protocol on PhD Fellows attached as an appendix to the agreement covering staff with university degrees in the public sector signed between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Organizations (AC). A fellowship recipient will be expected to carry out work, corresponding to 840 working hours, such as teaching activities, communication of research and participation in research projects, etc.

Formalities
Applications must be submitted electronically via https://mit.au.dk/endex.cfm  Guidelines on the electronic application procedure is available on http://www.teo.au.dk/en/graduateschool/prospectivestudents/applicationguidelines

Deadline for electronic submissions: Thursday 15 November 2007, 12.00h noon.

Please mark your application: 2007-218/4-18

The University of Aarhus has 34,000 students, 10,000 staff, and a turnover of DKK 4.5 billion. The University consists of nine main areas: six faculties (Humanities, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Theology, Science and Agricultural Sciences), two schools (the Aarhus School of Business and the Danish School of Education), and the National Environmental Research Institute. The University’s activities are based at more than 20 locations all over Denmark.