周代士婚礼对中国古代王室婚礼的影响

中国传统婚礼礼仪来源于儒家礼学经典著作《仪礼·士昏礼》中所反映的周代婚姻六礼,但这些礼仪是怎样影响中国古代的王室婚礼,时至今日没有任何学者对此作过全面系统的解释并得出令人信服的结论。文章运用比较研究的方法,从议婚到结婚过程中的文辞话语和仪式要素两个方面,全面深入地比较了周代士婚礼与秦汉以后部分朝代王室婚礼的共同性和差异性。就此认为,中国古代以汉族为主的历代王室婚礼的基本范式均来自于周代的士婚礼,以其他民族为主建立政权而形成的王室婚礼则具有各自的区域民族特色,从而使得中国古代的王室婚礼在总体上形成了一种具有二元结构的仪式象征符号体系。     

Hindu Women,Destiny and Stridharma

Ideas about destiny —about how and why things occur and what they promise for the future —have rarely been discussed in relation to gender. By discussing the sociological and anthropological literature on karma and other sources of misfortune, andstridharma, I provide a context for examining the views of Hindu women on destiny, particularly those living in Britain. In addition to examining their references to a variety of spiritual forces which influence events and to their duties as daughters, wives and mothers, I consider the issues of resistance, intervention, agency and autonomy. It is my contention that when contemporary Hindu women speak about fate, karma, divine agency and freewill what they say can only be understood with reference to their dharma as women.     

The Houston Conference: The Road More Traveled

Neuropsychology Review -     

The Houston Conference: The Need for More Discussion

Neuropsychology Review -     

Technology, Methodology and Intervention: Performing Nanoethics in Portugal

During the last few decades we have witnessed a proliferation of exercises dealing with the public participation of citizens in various different dimensions of their societies, including issues of science and technology. On the one hand, these mechanisms provide more robust forms of public engagement with matters that were traditionally dealt with by experts; on the other hand, they raise concerns relating to their design, efficiency or potential for the empowerment of citizens. As part of the EC-funded project DEEPEN (Deepening Ethical Engagement and Participation in Emerging Nanotechnologies) a research team in Coimbra, Portugal, was put in charge of identifying the ethical and social “impacts” of emerging nanotechnologies, transforming the traditional focus groups through the incorporation of two methodological innovations: the Pedagogy of the Oppressed and the Theatre of the Oppressed. This article reflects on the outcomes and complexities of the introduction of these two methodologies. Since the participants had little or no information on nanotechnologies, we reflect on the politics of these focus groups by exploring how issues of intervention, subjectivity, representation and agency were interconnected during this exercise of public participation in Science and Technology, analyzing the role of social sciences in developing nanoethics.     

Myth as Metaphysics: The Christian Saviour and the Hindu Gods

A distinction which is often rehearsed in some strands of Christian writing on the ??Eastern?? religions, especially Hinduism, is that while they are full of ??mythological?? fancies, Biblical faith is based on the solid rock of ??historical?? truth. I argue that the sharp contours of this antithesis are softened when we consider two issues regarding the relation between ??myth?? and ??history??. First, the decades?Clong attempts to separate the ??historical?? facts about Jesus Christ from the interpretive elements in the Biblical narrative highlight the presence of ??mythical?? imagination in Christian thought. Second, a comparative study of the Christian understanding of Jesus Christ as the Incarnate God and the Hindu conception of avat??ras reveals a highly significant set of differences and analogies, and shows how the supposed equivalences between ??historical as real?? and ??mythological as unreal?? need to be reformulated.     

The identity of Guanyin: Religion,convention and subversion

This paper explores the visual representation of Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) and argues that this, understood in relation to the traditions and devotion to him/her, allows her to be read as a figure of subversive religiosity. Indeed, it is argued that, rather than being a symbol of tradition and convention, a subversive reading of her is not only more potent, but also inherent within her portrayals. To begin, the transformation of him/her from a figure of mainstream Mahayana tradition, in the Pure Land School and texts such as the Lotus Sutra, to the ‘Chinese Goddess of Compassion’ is explored, paying particular attention to the legends of Miaoshan. This is then extended to consider both why he/she may be considered a conventional figure, but also how and why he/she offers the potential for subversive readings centred around ideas of gender, identity, patriarchy and morality.     

The missing link: leadership, identity, and the social brain

How the cohesion of a social network is being maintained in spite of having different layers of social interaction is an important question. I argue that the evolution of both (political) hierarchy and social identity play a crucial role in scaling up and bonding social networks. Together they are missing links in the social brain hypothesis, and further research is needed to understand the functions of leadership and social identity.     

Divine Mother, Blessed Mother: Hindu Goddesses and the Virgin Mary

Book reviewed:
Divine Mother, Blessed Mother: Hindu Goddesses and the Virgin Mary by Francis Xavier Clooney (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) xiv + 264 pp. Reviewed by Michelle Voss Roberts Graduate Division of Religion Emory University 687 Cather Court Stone Mountain, GA 30088 USA     

The emergence, structure and development of ethnic identity during childhood: the case of Roma identity

This study investigates the emergence, development and structure of ethnic identity during childhood. Forty Roma children living in Greece aged between 2.8 and 11.9 years answered questions about their awareness/recognition of four aspects of their ethnic identity-namely place of habitation, traditional costumes, the Roma language, and early betrothal of children-their identity and their sense of stability and constancy. The study also investigates how the children feel about the abandonment of those four aspects. The evidence from the current data supports the hypothesis that awareness of ethnic identity emerges before the age of 4. Moreover, this study offers direct empirical evidence of the multidimensionality of ethnic identity. A model of three concentric rings is proposed, extending from a core containing the most highly valued aspects of ethnic identity to the outer annulus that comprises the nonpermanent and nonstable aspects of ethnic identity. The aspects in each annulus differ in terms of the development of the sense of stability and constancy and the feelings associated with loss of the aspects in question. Even the youngest participants considered the aspects in the core to be stable and constant as well as emotionally charged; and even the 11-year-olds did not consider the aspects contained in the outer, more fluid annulus as stable and constant aspects of their ethnic identity. The development of an aspect is determined by what the majority of adults in a society, at a particular time in history, consider to be most important.