ANU Religion Conference 2018: Sacred Sites/Sacred Stories: Global Perspectives
The study of sacred sites is a prominent feature in a number of disciplines. Sacred sites and stories and pilgrimage are the theme of the conference. Topics of enquiry range from the role of sacred sites in religious traditions, through to how sacred sites form part of the development of modern tourist industries, the role of sacred sites in international relations and the ways in which sacred sites can be the focus for disputes. At a time when many sacred sites and their stories face challenges due to economic development, environmental change and the impact of mass pilgrimage and tourism the conference offers an opportunity for wide-ranging discussions of the past, present and future of sacred sites and stories and their significance in the world today.
The conference will have the following panels:
• Pilgrimage and Tourism
• Historical Perspectives
• Visual Arts and Architecture
• Indigenous Traditions
• Competition and Contestation
PROGRAM
THURSDAY 5 APRIL
12pm - 1.15pm - Registrations
Opening Section (APCD Lecture Theatre 1) - 1.15-1.45pm
Acknowledgement of Country
Welcome Greetings Dr Peter Friedlander
Welcome Greetings Prof Michael Wesley (Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific)
Announcement: Dr David W. Kim
1: 45 pm - 2:00 pm / Break (15 mins)
Presentations
2:00 pm - 3: 30 pm / Hedley Bull Building
Parallel Session 1: Visual Arts & Architecture 1
Chair: McComas Taylor (Australian National University)
Room: Lecture Theatre 2
Paper 1: Caroline Tully (University of Melbourne)
Traces of Places: Sacred Sites in Miniature on Minoan Gold Rings
Paper 2: Margaret Chua (University of Canberra)
New Look, New Vision and Direction: A Case Study of a Buddhist Monastery in Singapore
Paper 3: Supriya Banik Pal (West Bengal, India)
Art and Cultural Heritage of Mahabharata and Ramayana: A View through the Terracotta Temples of Bishnupur, West Bengal
Parallel Session 2: Historical Perspectives 1
Chair: J. Gordon Melton (Baylor University, USA)
Room: Seminar Room 3
Paper 1: Muhammad Iqbal (National University of Modern Languages, Pakistan)
Significance of the Islamic Shrines in Pakistan: A Historical Perspective
Paper 2: Peter Friedlander (Australian National University)
The Chinese Temple in Sarnath: Global Patrons and Local Patronage
Paper 3: Mukesh Kumar (University of Technology, Sydney)
Competition and Contestation at a Hindu-Muslim Shrine: The Case of the Sant Laldas in Mewat, North India
Parallel Session 3: Competition and Contestation 1
Chair: Carole Cusack (University of Sydney)
Room: APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Paper 1: Abdurezak Abdulahi Hashi (International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia)
Jerusalem: A Sacred Site and Focus of Notable Disputes among Abrahamic Traditions
Paper 2: Duncan Wright (Australian National University)
Archaeology of a Coral Sea Ceremonial Pathway
Paper 3: Abbas Panakkal (Kozhikode, Kerala, India)
Transformation of Admiral to the Sainthood and Sacred Stories of Chinese Sanctum Sanctorum from Malabar Coast
3: 30 pm - 4: 00 pm / Coffee Break
Presentations
4: 00 pm - 5: 30 pm / Hedley Bull Building
Parallel Session 4: Daesoon Jinrihoe in Korea
Chair: David W. Kim (Australian National University)
Room: APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Paper 1: Massimo Introvigne (Centre for Studies on New Religions, Italy)
The YHTC as a Global Work of Art
Paper 2: Seon-Keun Cha (Daejin University, Korea)
The Sacred Space of Daesoon Jinrihoe: Distinctiveness and Significance
Paper 3: Rosita Šorytė (Diplomat, former Chairperson of the European Union Working Group on Humanitarian Aid)
The YHTC as a Centre for Social Welfare and Humanitarian Aid
Parallel Session 5: Pilgrimage and Tourism (Asia) 1
Chair: Yuri Takahashi (Australian National University)
Room: Lecture Theatre 2
Paper 1: Helene Connor (University of Auckland)
Piety, Perils and Place: Pilgrimage to Saint Catherine of Alexandria's Monastery
Paper 2: Lior Chen (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)
Qasr El-Yahud: Jewish-Israeli Appropriations of a Christian Baptism Site
Paper 3: Shay Rozen (Avshalom Institute, Israel)
Doors of Hope: Baha'i Western-Women Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Parallel Session 6: Indigenous Traditions & Pilgrimage
Chair: Barbara Nelson (Australian National University)
Room: Seminar Room 3
Paper 1: Obydullah Al Marjuk (Independent University, Bangladesh)
Mahbub Alam (Independent University, Bangladesh)
Mazaar: The Notion of Sacred Place, Syncretistic Tradition and Inspiration for Devotees
Paper 2: Kiran Shinde (University of Melbourne)
Everyday Places as Sacred Space: The Transit and Temporality in Palkhi Pilgrimage, India
Paper 3: Barnali Chetia (Indian Institute of Information Technology, Vadodara, India)
Rangpur's Ahoms: A Forgotten Saga of Indigenous Culture and Traditions
FRIDAY 6 APRIL - HEDLEY BULL BUILDING, ANU
9.15am - 9.45pm - Registration
Key Address (1): APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Presider: A/Prof McComas Taylor (9: 45 am - 9: 50 am)
9: 50 am - 10:40 am / Key Speaker (Prof Eileen Barker, London School of Economics, UK)
Title: Contemporary Creations and Re-cognitions of Sacred Sites
Announcement: Dr David W. Kim
10:40 am - 11: 00 am / Coffee Break
Presentations
11: 00 am - 12: 30 pm / Hedley Bull Building
Parallel Session 7: Megastatues in Contemporary Asian Religions
Chair: Tamara Jacka (Australian National University)
Room: Lecture Theatre 2
Paper 1: J. Gordon Melton (Baylor University, USA)
Guanyin Mega-statues in East Asia
Paper 2: Massimo Introvigne (Centre for Studies on New Religions, Italy)
Fiona Hsin-Fang Chang (National Cheng Chi University, Taiwan)
Remembering Guiguzi: Megastatues of a Divinized Chinese Sage
Paper 3: Edward Irons (The Hong Kong Institute for Culture, Commerce and Religion)
Maitreya's Boundless Gaze Fills the Landscape:
The Religious Implications of Maitreya Statues in the Contemporary Asia
Parallel Session 8: Historical Perspectives 2
Chair: Peter Friedlander (Australian National University)
Room: Seminar Room 3
Paper 1: Raisa Rasheeka (Independent University, Bangladesh)
Death and Hereafter: A Cross-Cultural Study of Burial Patterns and Beliefs in the Afterlife
Paper 2: Yuri Takahashi (Australian National University)
Min Thein Kha's 'Ayudaw Mingalar' Garden: An Acceptance of Theosophy in Myanmar
Paper 3: Arshad Munir (University of Gujrat, Punjab, Pakistan)
Significance of the Sacred Sites of Minorities in Punjab Province of Pakistan: A Historical Perspective
12: 30 pm - 2:00 pm / Lunch Begin
Lunch Time Book Talk (1: 00 pm - 1: 30 pm): APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Presider: Dr Yuri Takahashi (Australian National University)
Author: Dr Yasuko Claremont (University of Sydney)
Citizen Power: Postwar Reconciliation
Presentations
2:00 pm - 3: 30 pm / Hedley Bull Building
Parallel Session 9: Visual Arts & Architecture
Chair: Barbara Nelson (Australian National University)
Room: APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Paper 1: Lucie Folan (Australian National University)
Transported Home: Paintings that Enable Mental Pilgrimage by Expatriate Jain Communities
Paper 2: Louise Morris (Deakin University, Melbourne)
TIDE and the Social Sacred
Paper 3: TBA
Parallel Session 10: Indigenous Traditions 1
Chair: Virginia Hooker (Australian National University)
Room: Lecture Theatre 2
Paper 1: George Quinn (Australian National University)
The Nail that Pins Java to the Face of the Earth
Paper 2: Geoff Broughton (Charles Sturt University, Canberra)
Brooke Prentis (Aboriginal Christian Leader, Australia)
Walking on Country, Together
Paper 3: Naijing Liu (Australian National University)
Preliminary Notes on Kinship Terms in Tsum: Polyandry in Transition
Parallel Session 11: Pilgrimage and Tourism (New Age)
Chair: McComas Taylor (Australian National University)
Room: Seminar Room 3
Paper 1: Tiffany Trotman (University of Otago)
Finding One's Way: The Camino de Santiago as a Liminoid Experience
Paper 2: Saidalavi P.C. (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Australian National University)
Being Crazy and a Sufi: Making of Koyappappa as a Saint in Kerala
Paper 3: Carole M. Cusack (University of Sydney)
Sighthill Stone Circle: A Modern "Neolithic" Sacred Monument
3: 30 pm - 4: 00 pm / Coffee Break
Presentations
4: 00 pm - 5: 30 pm / Hedley Bull Building
Parallel Session 12: Indigenous Traditions 2
Chair: David W. Kim (Australian National University)
Room: APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Paper 1: Zia ur Rehman (The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan)
The Role of the Shrine of Bahauddin Zakarya in the Social Cohesion
Paper 2: Patrick Gesch (Divine Word University, Papua New Guinea)
Migrations and Visitations: Sacred Sites in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea
Paper 3: Carol Hayes (Australian National University)
The Spiritual in the Mundane: The Poetry of the Shikoku O-Henro Pilgrimage
Parallel Session 13: Competition and Contestation 2
Chair: Eileen Barker (London School of Economics, UK)
Room: Lecture Theatre 2
Paper 1: Phrasamu Phongsak Supprathum (Nantien Institute, Wollongong, Australia)
Dhammakaya Cetiya: World Inner Peace Centre in the Plights?
Paper 2: Petra Tlčimuková (University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic)
Gohonzon: Nichiren Buddhist Sacred Scroll as a Dislocated Sacred Site
Paper 3: Abdul Ghaffar Bukhari (National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan)
Role of Mosques in Human Development
Parallel Session 14: Historical Perspectives 3
Chair: George Quinn (Australian National University)
Room: Seminar Room 3
Paper 1: Basheer Ahmed (Mehran University, Pakistan)
Muhammad Nabeel Musharf (Australian Islamic Library, Australia)
Hadith Narrators from Debal and Their Services to the Hadith: A Research Enquiry
Paper 2: Karma Gyeltshen (Nan Tien Institute, NSW, Australia)
Sacred Geography: Foot Prints of Padmasambhava
Paper 3: Naseem Akhter (Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, Pakistan)
Shrine of Baba Fareed: A Source of Interfaith and International Relationship
** 5: 35 meet at Hedley Bull Building (with Dr Yuri Takahashi) to walk to conference dinner
Music Performance
Conference Dinner |
6: 00 pm - 6: 45 pm
6: 45 pm - 9: 00 pm |
Presiders: A/Prof McComas Taylor
Dr Peter Friedlander
Announcement: Dr David W. Kim |
Place:
Great Hall, University House
|
SATURDAY 7 APRIL - HEDLEY BULL BUILDING ANU
8: 45 am - 9: 00 am / Registration
Key Address (2): APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Presider: Dr Barbara Nelson (9: 00 - 9: 05 am)
9: 05 - 9: 15 Prof Simon Haberle (Head of the School of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University)
9: 15 - 9: 20 Best PhD Paper Awards
9: 20 - 10: 10 am / Key Speaker: Prof Elizabeth Minchin
Title: Commemoration and Pilgrimage in the Ancient World: Troy and the Stratigraphy of Cultural Memory
Announcement: Dr David W. Kim
10: 10 am - 10: 40 am / Coffee Break
Presentations
10: 40 am - 12: 10 pm / Hedley Bull Building
Parallel Session 15: Pilgrimage and Tourism (Asia and New Age)
Chair: Michael Schimmelpfennig (Australian National University)
Room: APCD Lecture Theatre 1
Paper 1: Midori Horiuchi (Tenri University, Japan)
What is "Jiba," the Sacred Place of Tenrikyo?
Paper 2: Gang Hyen Han (International Academy of Neohumans Culture, Korea)
The Role and Meaning of Future Tourism Toward the Most Holy Place of the Descending Holy Spirit: Focusing on the Reality of Onthophany in the Neohumans Culture
Paper 3: Alexa Blonner (University of Sydney)
Blurred Boundaries between Secular Memory and Sacred Space in Religious Tourism: Example of Two New Religions, the Mormon and Unification Faiths
Parallel Session 16: Delphoi
Chair: Massimo Introvigne (Centre for Studies on New Religions, Italy)
Room: Lecture Theatre 2
Paper 1: Peter Londey (Australian National University)
Delphoi in Imagination and Experience
Paper 2: Greta Hawes (Australian National University)
Pausanias at Delphi and the Things that aren't There
Paper 3: Sonia Pertsinidis (Australian National University)
The Scene of a Crime: Aesop at Delphi
Parallel Session 17: Constructing Sacred Sites of War and Conflict
Chair: Simon Haberle (Australian National University)
Room: Seminar Room 3
Paper 1: Elizabeth Rechniewski (University of Sydney)
Matthew Graves (Aix-Marseille University, France)
Boer Wars and Black Wars: Competing Narratives of National Origin
Paper 2: Roman Rosenbaum (University of Sydney)
Reimagining Sacrosanct Sites in the Graphic Art of Kono Fumiyo
Paper 3: Yasuko Claremont (University of Sydney)
Ishibumi: A Living Memorial to the Atomic Annihilation of 321 Schoolboys in Hiroshima
12: 10 pm - 1: 20 pm / Lunch
Free Post-Conference Trip
1: 20PM - Meeting for Field Trip with A/Prof McComas Taylor
1: 30PM - Depart ANU Coombs Building to Black Mountain Tower
2: 20PM - Depart Black Mountain Tower to Australian War Memorial
3: 30PM - Depart Australian War Memorial to Parliament House
4: 50PM - Depart Parliament House to Weston Park
5: 20PM - Depart Weston Park to ANU Coombs Building
5: 30PM - Return to Australian National University
End of the ANU Religion Conference 2018