SYMPOSIUM. 50th Spalding Symposium
Registration now open for the 50th Spalding Symposium, University of Oxford
Registration for 50th Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions is now open: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/50th-annual-spalding-symposium-on-indian-religions-tickets-1234492302709
Venue: Christ Church, Oxford (in person)
Dates: 2nd May – 4th May 2025
To celebrate its 50th anniversary as the foremost UK academic event on Indian religions, this year’s symposium invites papers that address the theme of festivals and celebrations.
South Asian festivals play a pivotal role in the social and religious lives of millions. Festivals, broadly defined by Grimes as a “ritual form of celebration” (1982), often take place within the public space, and they invoke “alternative worlds that are connected with special expectations, special connections and special modes of consumption.” They occur “in separate spheres in terms of time and space” (Hüsken and Michaels, 2013), thus functioning as “a liminal time set apart from the ordinary,” (Ilkama 2023). It is in these spheres that text, ritual, material, performance and much more come together to form a “festival” that is greater than a sum of its parts. This symposium invites papers that explore public, ritualised celebrations taking place in South Asia or having South Asian origins from a variety of disciplinary approaches and methods.
The symposium this year is held over three days on the first weekend in May at Christ Church, and the conference dinner will be held at Balliol College on Saturday 3rd May.
A draft schedule is available here: www.spaldingsymposium.org
