Rituals necessary involve the human body, and various bodily processes are relevant to ritual. Bodies are present, they act and do things, they feel and perceive things, and they signify and communicate things. In some rituals, significant things are done to the body or through bodily functions. Although some ritual traditions focus on the body while others disregard or downplay it, there are no rituals and no ritual experiences without the body.
The human body takes many roles and has many jobs in the ritual context. The body can represent complex notions or specific structures through the symbolic meanings ascribed to it, and bodily functions and processes as well as ‘body techniques’ have considerable ritual significance. Some rituals consist of a single gesture, while others require extensive and demanding activities like prolonged dancing, pilgrimage, or ascetic abstinence. In ritual, bodily practices and functions can produce altered states of consciousness ranging from trance, extasy and spirit possession to meditative and contemplative states.
The human body offers a comprehensive entry into understanding ritual in its many forms and regarding the various functions and impactful aspects that rituals are said to involve. This seminar takes the human body as a lens for examining ritual, its efficacy, and its enduring cultural significance. The seminar addresses several fundamental theories of ritual and discusses the basic forms of ritual practice by relating them to the body.
The course language is English, but intermediary language skills will be sufficient. The seminar will include lessons, classroom discussions, and assignments consisting of research, oral presentation, and written work. Students will conduct a project of ritual ethnography to practice the central skills and competences of ritual studies: ethnographic fieldwork, analysis, and academic writing.
- Enseignant·e: Katri Marika Ratia