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INTERDISCIPLINARY WORKSHOP
Tradition within and beyond the framework of invention
26 January 2007
Organisers: Susanne Klien, Patrick Neveling
Venue: Max-Planck-Institute for Social Anthropology,
Advokatenweg 36, 06114 Halle (Saale), Germany
Outline
How the past is socially constructed has been explored widely across the humanities and social sciences in the past decades. The concept of the “invention of tradition” introduced by the British historians Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger has received particular attention. According to these scholars, traditions are influenced by socio-political interests rather than representing an accurate passage of historical events – i.e. ‘actual’ history. In many cases, they are deliberately constructed to serve ideological purposes such as to foster national identity and unity. Traditions are thus equated with a dubious authenticity. While the relevance of Hobsbawm’s and Ranger’s framework has been widely acknowledged, its inherently static notion of tradition as an antipode to modernity, innovation and change has been increasingly questioned.
This workshop invites social scientists from various disciplines to engage issues related to “tradition” in a variety of meanings, introducing a range of theoretical contributions and case studies. Presentations in the first session examine issues of nation building, power and identity politics in Japan and Mauritius, two countries with highly diverse colonial and postcolonial histories. The second session discusses tourism, cultural production, ‘authenticity’ and ‘tradition’ in Japan, Réunion and Germany. Theoretical contributions in the afternoon session critically compare the application of the “invented tradition” framework in different socio-political contexts and various disciplines.
Programme
09:30 – 09:45 Jürgen Paul
GSAA, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
Welcome and introduction
09:45 – 10:00 Patrick Neveling
Institute for Social Anthropology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
Introduction to the workshop
Session 1: Nation-building, power, and identity politics
Chair: Patrick Neveling
10:00 – 10:20 Susanne Klien
GSAA, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
Japan's horror vacui: The reinvention of Japanese national identity in Fujiwara Masahiko's Kokka no hinkaku (The Dignity of the State)
10:20 – 10:40 Steffen Johannessen
GSAA, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
Cultural genocide and the role of tradition in Chagossian Resistance
10:40 – 11:00 Comparative discussion
11:00 – 11:20 Coffee break
Session two: Tourism, cultural production, and ‘authenticity’
Chair: Susanne Klien
11:20 – 11:40 Carsten Wergin
Institute for Cultural Research, University of Bremen
Réunion Island Musics: Sounding out traditions that do not exist
11:40 – 12:00 René John
Institute for Social Sciences in Agriculture, University of Hohenheim
Reframing the concept of tradition from the perspective of innovation: illustrated by the example of a Berlin city theatre
12:20 – 12:40 Cornelia Reiher
Institute for Japanese Studies, University of Leipzig
Selling tradition in Japanese rural tourism
12:40 – 13:10 Comparative discussion
13:10 – 14:30 Lunch break
Session three: Theoretical approaches to traditions
Chair: Jürgen Paul
14:30 – 14:50 Christoph Brumann
Institute for Social Anthropology, University of Cologne
The limits of invention: urban tradition in Kyoto
14:50 – 15:10 Bertram Turner
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle
Reconceptualising tradition on a global scale
15:10 – 15:30 Comparative discussion
15:30 – 15:50 Coffee break
15:50 – 16:10 Jean-Yves Durand
Department of Anthropology, Universidade do Minho/Portugal
‘Invented traditions’ as local truths
16:10 – 16:45 Comparative and final discussion
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