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- Convenors:
-
Marinella Ceravolo
(Sapienza University)
Alessandro Saggioro (Sapienza University)
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- Chair:
-
Verena Meyer
(MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society)
- Format:
- Panel
- Location:
- Iota room
- Sessions:
- Thursday 7 September, -
Time zone: Europe/Vilnius
Short Abstract:
This panel focuses on the relationship between religions and their tangible media within museums and emphasises the use of new technologies in exhibition halls. The aim is to reflect upon issues related to the re-semantisation of the materiality of religions of past and present cultures
Long Abstract:
In recent decades, in a so-called material turn, the importance of religious media, such as objects, places and bodies, is being reevaluated. In parallel, the study of religious materiality has come into contact with the processes of musealisation, which mostly emphasise an art-historical view of artifacts. As a result, museal exhibitions have often involved the "de-sacralisation" of objects, followed by their new "re-symbolisation". It can therefore be asserted that: "whilst we have developed highly sophisticated theories and techniques, in respect of the object's physical conservation, we can say that we have still not managed to conserve its significance (and its meaning) and we still do not restore the intangible" (Minucciani 2003). For these reasons, the main topic of this panel is the relationship between religions and their tangible media within museums, aimed at reflecting on issues related to the re-semantisation of the materiality of religions from both past and present cultures. Special emphasis will also be placed on the employment of new technologies in exhibition halls, asking questions about how scientific innovations can be used to convey the original religious natures of specific artifacts.
In particular, abstracts may cover the following topics:
- Types and classifications of tangible religious media exhibited in museums.
- Transformations of the meanings and agencies of religious materiality in museum settings.
- The relationship between virtual museums and concrete religious artifacts.
- The role of museums in creating peace interactions and religious dialogues.
- The intercourse between post-colonial studies and reconciliations in world museums.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 7 September, 2023, -Paper short abstract:
The paper aims to study the exhibition of religion as a critical problem insofar as it interrogates the very nature of the museum, in its inevitable de-contextualization of the objects from their original, religious contexts, and the attempt at reproducing the context.
Paper long abstract:
The exhibition of 'religion' in museums presents various epistemological problems, such as the delimitation of the "religious" objects, its de-contextualization from the original location of the objects, and the political aim underlying the exhibition. The 'mutism' of the objects (Minucciani 2013) can be perceived as a risk, insofar as it expropriates them of their proper liturgical and theological apparatus. The paper will offer a state of the art of the problem and the challenge it represents for the idea of museums itself.
The paper will then address a specific case study, namely, the Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin (Ireland). The presence of several important religious objects (illuminated manuscripts, papyrus, engravings, etc) from different religious contexts makes this museum a unicum in the European context. The museum engages with the special nature of the preserved objects with an attempt at a 're-sacralization' of the physical space of the museum, intended as a place for learning and meditation. The paper will explore the setting of the exhibition halls and the creation of a context in which the original religious natures of the artifacts preserved in the museum are re-proposed. The Chester Beatty employs a variety of in-person activities and online tools for people to engage with the collections. This application of the concept of the museum as an "infotainment theater" is particularly attentive to the religious sphere, with important implications on the concept of religion, which the paper will uncover.
Paper short abstract:
The paper reflects on the challenges and chances of exhibiting books and manuscripts from the medieval and early modern periods that were originally intended for missionary and religious educational purposes. Re-semantisation of the materiality of religions is discussed as a process of translation.
Paper long abstract:
The paper presents some thoughts on the experience of exhibiting books and images originally created in the context of religious missions and education. In 2021, I was involved in two exhibitions which focused on early modern translation cultures and were funded by a nation-wide priority program of the German Research Council. I curated the exhibition "Translated Religion: In a Forest of True Words" at Leipzig University Library. The second exhibition, "Translation is Power: Secrets, Gifts, Stories in the Early Modern Period", is a virtual exhibition (https://uebersetzenistmacht.de) and the result of a collaborative effort. The paper focuses on the challenges and chances encountered in the process of curating and exhibiting these two exhibitions. As a starting point I will reflect on the major challenges experienced by the medieval and early modern translators themselves: Translating in order to spread one's own religion requires bridging the often considerable gaps between source and target languages. The original language may even be extinct and knowledge of it is hazy. In some religious traditions, a particular language or register is reserved for holy scripture, and adherents may regard the translation of their holy book into a vernacular as reprehensible. Another challenge to the translators is posed by the wide range of writing systems and alphabets used to represent the languages involved. Translation is not limited to the written word, for religious images are also changed when they are transposed into a new context. All these have to be considered and 'translated' for the exhibition visitors. The paper also reflects on both risks and opportunities when presenting such materials. Viewing and experiencing materials from diverse, and often adverse, religions might lead to a re-consideration of the role of language and literature in religious encounters.
Paper short abstract:
This paper focuses on the dynamics of the discourses, practices, and resulting self-presentation and propaganda strategies employed by the new Tibet Museum in Dharamshala. Attention is paid to the narratives related to Tibetan Buddhism and the technologies used by the institution.
Paper long abstract:
The Tibet Museum in Dharamsala, India, is the only one in the world directly under the supervision of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile (Central Tibetan Administration, CTA). In the twenty years of its existence, it has undergone various changes - the most significant being the institution's relocation from the Tsuglagkhang temple complex (in McLeod Ganj) to the area of CTA's buildings in Dharamshala. An entirely new permanent exhibition was also created: from the original "A long look homeward", which aimed to reflect the Tibetan people's memories of the horrors of the Chinese occupation through the rhetoric of "catastrophic witnessing" (Keränen et al., 2015), a completely new one, "I am Tibetan, this is my story", emerged. This exhibition not only aims to tell the story of human rights violations, oppression and environmental destruction, but it also focuses its narratives on Tibetan identity, culture, language, history, and the experience of exile to counter the official Chinese agenda.
Drawing on data from two fieldworks (2019, 2022), which were subjected to discourse and propaganda analysis, in this paper, I aim to show how self-presentation and propaganda strategies have changed at this institution, what role themes of Tibetan Buddhism play in these narratives, and what technologies this museum uses in its efforts to influence its visitors.