History and Anthropology of Religion, Lund University

Welcome to a Nordic conference which explores ritual practices in Indian religions and contexts. The conference is arranged by the seminars of Indian Religions and Ritual Studies at the Department of History and Anthropology of Religion, Lund University, in cooperation with the academic journal Chakra – Tidskrift för indiska religioner. We invite scholars and Ph D students who are engaged in research concerning Indian religions and rituals to take part in the conference.  Presented papers will be considered for publication in the journal Chakra. The conference will take place in the medieval city of Lund, in southern Sweden, December 9–11, 2004.

Conference outline
The conference aims at initiating an interdisciplinary conversation on various aspects of Indian religions and ritual practices. Indian religions are mostly associated with the major world religions originating from India – Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. The conference also aims to include religions practiced in India today and Indian religions in other contexts, such as diaspora communities outside Asia. The conference wants to emphasize different perspectives of ritual practices in various research studies of Indian religions, and encourage new theoretical and methodological approaches in the field. Therefore, we are now inviting scholars and Ph D students from various disciplines to contribute to a new dialogue concerning Indian religions and rituals.

The conference will include keynote speakers and five panels, where scholars and Ph.D. students will present papers covering the following themes:

1. Ritual Theories and Methods
2. Rituals and History
3. Rituals and Modernity
4. Rituals and Texts
5. Rituals and Daily life

Participants presenting papers should plan to give a short introduction of maximum 15 minutes each, followed by panel discussions. A chairperson will supervise each panel discussion.

In order to create constructive scholarly discussions, registered participants will receive all papers in advance. To reach out to a broader audience, the conference proceedings will be in English.

Registration and fee
Participants should register for the conference and submit their abstracts for papers by April 30, 2004 at the latest. A registration form is available here:

Registration form (PDF-document)

Please send the application form and your abstract to:

Chakra
Centre for Theology and Religious Studies
Lund University
Allhelgona kyrkogata 8
S-223 62 Lund
Sweden

The conference fee is 700 SEK (about 80 Euro) and includes 3 lunches, 1 dinner and coffee. Participants residing in Sweden should pay to Postgiro 1 56 50-5, Lunds universitet by September 3, 2003 at the latest. Please note the following information must be included in the Postgiro information: cost centre: 55 10 21, Chakra at CTR, your name. Participants from outside Sweden should pay in cash on the registration day.

Papers should be submitted by November 12, 2004 at the latest.

Practicalities
The conference will take place in the beautiful city of Lund in the south of Sweden. Each participant has to arrange and pay for her/his own accommodation. Prices for a single night range between 500 to 1500 SEK and hotel accommodations should be booked well in advance.  More information on Lund is available at the website for Lund University and the city of Lund.

Welcome to Lund!

Organizing committee

Tord Olsson | Professor in History of Religions
Olle Qvarnström | Associate Professor in Indian Religions
Anne-Christine Hornborg | Assistant Professor in Ritual Studies
Kristina Myrvold | PhD Candidate in History of Religions, editor of Chakra
Katarina Plank | PhD Candidate in History of Religions, editor of Chakra  

For additional information, please contact Kristina Myrvold & Katarina Plank at chakra@teol.lu.se