Doctoral School

Buddhist Material Culture

Target audience

We expect PhD students interested in religion/cultural contact and material culture to participate. The course is open to junior and senior PhD students. Some background on Asia is welcome.

Organizing and scientific committee

Ann Heirman (Fac. Arts and Philosophy)

Anna Sokolova (Ghent University, postdoctoral FWO researcher)

Abstract

This five-day course will introduce doctoral students to the possibilities for incorporating objects into research and teaching about Buddhism. We will explore not just how to use objects to illustrate ideas and practices of Buddhism, but also how objects can drive aspects of research that we might otherwise miss in the study of texts and ethnography. The bulk of the course will focus on a series of key objects—such as icons, the body, books, buildings, and ritual implements.

Objectives

Traditionally, the study of Buddhism has focused on texts, supplemented at times with ethnography. Archaeology and Art History were seen as ancillary to what the majority of “Buddhologists” did. This has changed in recent decades as scholars have discovered the value of bringing philosophy, history and ritual into conversation with material culture. The objectives of the course are to familiarize students with research that has come to be known as “material religion,” and the implications of this research for Buddhist Studies. Through lectures and group exercises, the goal of this course is to encourage students to bring objects into their work regardless of what formal discipline they feel most closely associated with. In the class we will explore areas of material religion in which the study of Buddhism has something to offer to the study of religion more generally. Finally, we will discuss the value of attention to material culture for explaining and teaching about Buddhism.

Dates and venue

26 June  - 01 July 2025 (No class on Sunday)

Room Simon Stevin (Campus Boekentoren, Plateau-Rozier)

Saturday June 28: Faculteitskamer Arts and Philosophy 

Programme

Thursday, June 26. The Big Picture: Material Culture and Material Religion

10:00-10:30 Welcome
10:30-12:00 The field of material culture studies (Kieschnick)
12:00-13:30 Lunch break
13:30-14:15: The rise of “material religion” as a field (Kieschnick)
14:15-14:30: Coffee break
14:30-15:30: What does “material culture” have to offer the study of Buddhism (discussion of Schopen, “Archaeology and Protestant Presuppositions in the Study of Indian Buddhism” in small groups and as a whole, led by Kieschnick)
15:30-15:45: Coffee break
15:45-16:30:  What is the Buddhist approach to material culture? (discussion of a brief sutra, a painting and an image, in small groups and as a whole, led by Kieschnick)

 

Friday, June 27: Museum visit

09.30-11.00: Travel by bus to the Royal Museum of Mariemont

11.15-12.15: Problems with Buddhist icons part 1: Aniconism, iconoclasm, and the digital icon
12:15-13:30: Lunch break
13:30-14:30: Problems with Buddhist icons part 2: Museums (guided discussion)
14:30-14:45: Coffee break
14:45-16.45: Small group work (Identify a Buddhist object in a museum and discuss what is gained and what is lost when it is moved into a museum), followed by general discussion

17:00-18:30: Return to Ghent

 

Saturday, June 28: The Body

10:00-11:00: The foul body, the ideal body (Kieschnick)
11:00-11:15: Coffee break
11:15-12:15: Relics (Kieschnick)
12:15:-13:45: Lunch break

13.45-14:45: Small group work: the body in monastic biography

14:45-15:00: Coffee break

15.00-16.00: Presentations by students


Sunday, June 29: No Class

 

Monday, June 30

10:00-11.00: “Strategies and Processes of Assimilation of Ordinary and Ritual Objects in Medieval China” (Hureau)

11.00-11:15: Coffee Break
11:15-12:00: Guided discussion on “Strategies and Processes of Assimilation of Ordinary and Ritual Objects in Medieval China” (Hureau)
12:00:-13:30: Lunch Break
13:30-14:30:  “Discovery of Grave Goods Across the Medieval Silk Road: Formation, Trans-mission and Adaptation of Ritual Practices” (Sokolova)
14:30-15:15: Guided discussion on “Discovery of Grave Goods Across the Medieval Silk Road” (Sokolova)
15:15-15:30: Coffee break
15:30-16:30: Presentations by students

 

Tuesday, July 1: Books, Buildings, Ritual Objects

10:00-11:00: Buddhist books (Kieschnick)
11:00-11:15: Coffee break
11:15-12:15: Buddhist buildings (Kieschnick)
12:15:-13:45: Lunch break
13:45-14:45: Ritual objects (Kieschnick)

14.45-15.00: Coffee break
15.00-16:30: Objects in teaching about Buddhism (Kieschnick) + small group work (Buddhism in 10 Objects: Kieschnick, Hureau, Sokolova, Heirman)

Registration

  • Follow this link for the registration and waiting list. We check if you are eligible to participate. Due to limited places, we give priority to PhD students. Your registration will be confirmed by separate e-mail (outlook invite).
  • Cancellation of your registration can only be performed by sending an email to doctoralschools@ugent.be.

  • The no show policy applies.

Registration fee

Free of charge for Doctoral School members.

Number of participants

Maximum 20

Language

English

Training method

Active lectures (10.15), active participation, which includes small work groups and discussion (8.45) and presentations by PhD students (2)

Evaluation method

100% attendance; active participation (small work groups and discussions)

After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis. Please note that this can take up to one to two months after completion of the course.