|
Conference
Report American
Academy of Religion Annual Meeting IRSSS 19/12/2005 From
Friday, November 18 through Monday, November 21, Professors Jiang Sheng 姜生
and Louis Komjathy (Kang Siqi 康思奇) attended the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (www.aarweb.org)
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was a historic occasion because it
was the first time that the AAR approved and supported an independent
group for the study of Daoism. Louis Komjathy went as Chair of the
Daoist Studies Consultation and Jiang Sheng was invited to present as a
guest speaker. The formation of the Daoist Studies Consultation was spear-headed by Louis Komjathy, who served as Chair during 2004-2005 and who currently serves as Co-chair. The Steering Committee consists of Suzanne Cahill (University of California, San Diego), Jonathan Herman (Georgia State University), James Miller (Queen’s University), Harold Roth (Brown University), and Elijah Siegler (College of Charleston). The guiding motivation for the Daoist Studies Consultation is to create an independent gathering place for the field of Daoist Studies, for investigating the religious tradition which is Daoism and related topics (www.aarweb.org/programunit). This year the AAR Daoist Studies Consultation sponsored two panels. The first panel, entitled “Ritual, Temple, and Power in Later Daoism,” was co-sponsored with the Chinese Religions Group. It took place on Saturday, November 19 from 4:00pm-6:30pm and consisted of the following schedule: Stephen Eskildsen,
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Shin-yi Chao, Rutgers
University, Camden David Mozina, Harvard
University Randall Nadeau of Trinity University served as the presider, and the panel had two respondents: Stephen Bokenkamp of Indiana University, Bloomington and Robert Hymes of Columbia University. Over sixty people attended this panel. The papers were well received, and the discussion which followed was lively and fruitful. The second panel was the first independent meeting of the Daoist Studies Consultation, and thus represented the formal inauguration of the DSC. Organized by Louis Komjathy, the panel was entitled “Daoist Studies: Problems and Prospects.” It took place on Sunday, November 20 from 9:00am-11:30am and consisted of the following schedule: Thomas Michael, George
Washington University Jason Steuber,
University of Missouri-Kansas City & Nelson-Atkins Museum James Miller, Queen's
University Dominic LaRochelle,
Université Laval Jiang Sheng, Shandong
University The panel commenced with a brief inaugural address by Louis Komjathy. This was followed by some opening remarks by Norman Girardot of Lehigh University, who served as presider. The panel was followed by critical responses from Livia Kohn of Boston University and an open discussion period. Approximately fifty-five people attended this panel, including members from Taiwan’s Academia Sinica and from disciplines outside of Daoist Studies strictly defined. This diversity added to the significance of the occasion. The overall atmosphere was one of enthusiasm and sincere support. Following the discussion period, the Daoist Studies Consultation held its first business meeting, for which Louis Komjathy served as presider. The first order of business was an announcement that the Daoist Studies Consultation intended to apply for Group status in 2008, the year that marks the formal split between the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). This was followed by taking nominations for a Steering Committee member to replace Jonathan Herman, who began serving as Co-chair following the meeting. Four individuals were nominated, and the subsequent email poll and vote resulted in the election of Gil Raz of Dartmouth College. The third order of business was taking suggestions for possible panels to be included in the 2006 Call for Papers. The following possible topics were approved: Daoism and Mystical Experience (Co-sponsored with the Mysticism Group), Daoism(s) in North America (including popular culture) (Co-sponsored with the Asian North American Religion Group), Daoism in East Asia, and Daoist Material Culture. The final order of business was an announcement by James Miller concerning various projects related to the Daoist Studies Website (www.daoiststudies.org). It was also decided that the AAR DSC would establish and maintain a webpage on the Daoist Studies Website. In terms of the members of the Institute of Religion, Science and Social Studies who attended the conference, a number of noteworthy characteristics stand out. First, Louis Komjathy’s appointment in and participation with the IRSSS, and the attendance of the conference by Jiang Sheng and Louis Komjathy, represents a new level of Chinese-American involvement in Daoist Studies and perhaps a new model for cooperative scholarship. We look forward to the fruition of this cooperation in the years to come. Second, Jiang Sheng’s inclusion as a prominent member of the field of Daoist Studies in China added an important dimension to a conference often dominated by Euro-American and European scholars. It enabled members of American Daoist Studies to gain insights into the current state of the field in China. In addition, it provided Jiang Sheng with some new ideas about other possible research questions and programs. Jiang Sheng’s presentation also included information on the current status of the institute’s study of Daoism in Shandong, including newly discovered sacred sites and material culture. Many members in attendance discussed these exciting dimensions of Daoist Studies with Jiang Sheng following his presentation. It seems likely that this will lead to many opportunities for academic and cultural exchange in the future. For Louis Komjathy, the inaugural meeting of the Daoist Studies Consultation represented a new milestone for the field. In addition to creating a formal, annual and independent meeting place for members of Daoist Studies, it also signaled a possible sea-change: new methodologies were presented and discussed, and broader parameters for the field were proposed and advocated. As stated in his inaugural address: “Daoism is a Chinese religious tradition which has been continually modified and transformed for some two thousand years and which is currently in the process of globalization….The field of Daoist Studies, conventionally associated with Sinology, textual study and Chinese area studies, is now expanding to include other theoretical and methodological approaches: anthropology, archaeology, comparative religious studies, cultural studies, intellectual history, material culture studies, philosophy, sociology, women’s studies, and so forth…In addition to historical and textual approaches, the Daoist Studies Consultation recognizes the importance of considering Daoism as a global religion, the history of the study of Daoism, as well as dominant and alternative interpretative models.” For Louis Komjathy, and for many members of the Steering Committee, the DSC embodies an important forum for presenting, exploring, and discussing alternative and innovative approaches to the study of “Daoism” beyond the often stagnant confines of hyper-historicism and textualism. With the participation and support of members of the field, it is hoped that the AAR Daoist Studies Consultation will become one of the main gathering places for the emerging field of Daoist Studies, both in North America and throughout the world.
|