7/8/96
Women's History/Religious History: An Intertwining
Karlsen: How do we pick up from where Yvonne Chireau left us? Let's get a few questions out on the table.
Gallien: let's revisit the question of how we differentiate new age religion from traditional folk religion?
Lapsansky: let's revisit it later when we are in a better position to decide HOW we want to revisit
Barnes: how do we decide what is the "bottom line from Chireau's talk this morning?
Chireau: it's hard to read at the moment: many white converts to this "black" religion
Gallien: We can't help but see the shape of capitalism underlying every part of our language.
Brady: what about gender ratios in Ife?
Chireau: lots of filmmakers have been initiated...but Ifa is a male tradition. Karen Brown, Mama Lola is a good read on this subject.
Brusco: how about the functions of religion, e.g., to help comprehend conflict, to help to shape the question "is this revival?" That is: does this modern day version of religion appear as just form without function. If religion takes place in cyclical time and real life takes place in linear time, how do we understand the disjunction.
Chireau: The Way of the Arisha is book by Nymark which talks about how this white man takes this religion on and squares it up with the other parts of his life.
Rogers: these folks are functionalizing what they take. New Age religions tend to take a smorgasbord approach.
Grieder: example, the white woman converted through her drumming experience with a Cuban teacher. who was doing the rituals and didn't know the traditions, but it "works" to get her centered when her life seems frazzled.
Brusco: but "function" should have to do with sustaining community also
Rubin: use Amish as an example. In the context they have a profound set of folk religions which are taught inside the community, but he is able to use them. What drives people to this? Salvational religion is complex. Maybe a response to an overly-rationalized world is why academics may turn to it.
Rogers: Now we come to questions of authenticity and authority.
Brusco: people trying to create a usable past is part of this
Montgomery and Barnes: ..trying to get a handle on Kwanzaa as a ?religious celebration? a community-building tool?...
Little: persistence of African religious traditions tied to slave trade? How important is this to real understanding of black religion?
Chireau: good place to look at this is in Rabateau's book, the chapter on the African influences. It's the Frazier/Herskovits debate about African survivals vs. African culture being overcome by European culture
Question: can we bring Yvonne back to talk more about curriculum and technology?
Ans.: you can get to Yvonne's home page, and thereby to her: www.swarthmore.edu, go to religion dept, then to Yvonne Chireau's page, then the tutorial for how to create what she has done is available.Yvonne's page also has a link to the Center for Study of American Religion web site which will get one out to other sites. Web pagemaker software will make this process very easy. Helmer could give us the address for Native American materials.
Karlsen: Now back to Brady's issues of gender. Diary now being edited is not strictly religious history, but social history. Main interest is gender. Esther Edwards Burr diary is edited. letters from Jonathan Edwards daughter, son is Aaron Burr. gets at woman's life. Devil in Shape of a woman: issues of possessions.I am about to teach a complicated course on "spiritual encounters"
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