Institut für Ethnologie
15.04.25: Vortrag im Ethnologischen Kolloquium von Annette Hornbacher
9. April 2025, von Christina Fastner
Annette Hornbacher (Universität Heidelberg) zum Thema:
Strange Encounters, or “What does it take to understand an esoteric tradition?”
My talk addresses a field of research that is marginal to social and cultural anthropology with its focus on cultural or social systems. Esoteric traditions, on the other hand, differ from publicly shared narratives and practices because they are not open to everyone, and they often require the initiation and guidance of a guru. By the same token, such traditions are closely associated with individuals and individualized forms of engagement and research, which are also marginalized in anthropological theory. Based on my cooperation with a few Balinese specialists on esoteric manuscript practices, I will first describe how a secret literary tradition relates to Bali’s cosmology and public ritual life, and second, I will discuss the limits of hermeneutics for the understanding of cultural systems, and reflect on the role of embodied learning and the challenges of participation.
Wir freuen uns sehr auf den Vortrag, zu dem wir alle interessierten Personen herzlich einladen.
Das Kolloquium findet immer dienstags im großen Seminarraum des Instituts statt:
Institut für Ethnologie
Seminarraum 222, 2. OG
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Westflügel
20146 Hamburg