Date:
Location:
"Betwixt and Between Culture and Religion: Hosay as a Universal Phenomenon"
Attend this event via Zoom (advance registration required)
Speaker:
Frank J. Korom, Professor of Religion and Anthropology, Boston University.
Moderator:
Payam Mohseni, Director, Project on Shi’ism and Global Affairs. Lecturer on Government, Department of Government, Harvard University.
Contact:
Payam Mohseni
pmohseni@fas.harvard.edu
This event is online only. Please click the "Read More" link for full instructions on how to attend this seminar.
Online Access Information:
To join by computer:
https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wiFNmtlYTgyVMTAS6pw5DQ
Please note: This event requires registration in advance in order to receive the meeting link and password.
Abstract:
This talk builds on a recently published article which discusses the dynamic tension between varying interpretations of the practice of Muharram in the Caribbean, known as Hosay in Trinidad. It reflects back on more than 15 years of on-and-off fieldwork and archival research on this phenomenon in the Caribbean. The central dispute that the author has noted over the years, both in popular print and in verbal discourse, is whether the performance practices associated with this central Shi’i ritual is a religious reenactment or a cultural performance. If the latter, then it transcends Shi’ism to become an appealing and emotive tradition for a variety of religious and ethnic groups on the island, which some of my consultants in the field referred to as the performance’s “universal appeal.” For attendees interesed in background reading, a downloadable PDF of Korom's article is available to read.
Speaker Bio:
Frank J. Korom is a professor of religion and anthropology at Boston University, where he has been teaching since 1998. He has been a visiting professor at several universities both at home and abroad. He is the author and/or editor of 10 books and serves as co-editor of the journal titled Asian Ethnology, which is based at the Nanzan Anthropological Institute in Nagoya, Japan, where he is also a research associate. His interests in Islam range from Shi’ism to Sufism, especially how they are practiced and conceived in South Asia and the West. He is currently completing a book on the Tamil Sufi saint from Sri Lanka named Guru Bawa. Earlier this year he was awarded a Humboldt Prize for his overall academic achievements.
