Preliminary Programme

Wed 11 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Thu 12 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.00 - 18.30

Fri 13 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Sat 14 April
    8.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

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Wednesday 11 April 2012 14.00 - 16.00
B-3 ELI16 Elites and Religion
Boyd Orr: Lecture Theatre B
Networks: Elites and forerunners , Religion Chair: Lavinia Pinzarrone
Organizers: - Discussant: Kim Bergqvist
Stefanie Beghein : Sacred Music between Confessionalization and Secularization (Antwerp, 17th-18th Centuries)
Focusing on Antwerp, a city with a pronounced confessional identity as well as a rich musical life, the proposed paper aims at assessing how the local religious musical culture was influenced by or contributed to processes of confessionalization and secularization during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It will be discussed ... (Show more)
Focusing on Antwerp, a city with a pronounced confessional identity as well as a rich musical life, the proposed paper aims at assessing how the local religious musical culture was influenced by or contributed to processes of confessionalization and secularization during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It will be discussed by whom and in what contexts sacred music was used - both as a tool within confessional strategies and as a means for distinction or representation -, and how this affected the composition and performance of music. Particular attention will be paid to the normative frames, the changing discourse on sacred music, and the music policy of the city's ecclesiastical authority. A consideration of musical and contextual aspects will allow mapping the elements that contributed to the confessional or secular character of sacred music, thus shedding some light on its different functions and evolving meanings within an urban society. (Show less)

Fabrizio D'Avenia : Making Bishops in the Malta of the Knights (1530-1798). An International Game of Parties, Patronage and Diplomacy
Charles V’s donation of Malta to the Order of St. John in 1530 also established the procedure for appointment of the bishop of the island, whose episcopal seat since the time of the Norman conquest was subject to royal patronage, and thus to the King of Sicily’s right of presentation: ... (Show more)
Charles V’s donation of Malta to the Order of St. John in 1530 also established the procedure for appointment of the bishop of the island, whose episcopal seat since the time of the Norman conquest was subject to royal patronage, and thus to the King of Sicily’s right of presentation: the Grand Master would propose to the Spanish king, through the viceroy of Sicily, a ranking of three candidates, previously approved by the Council of the Order, belonging to the rank of convent chaplain and which contained at least one Sicilian. From that time until the expulsion of the knights from the island after the French occupation (1798), 15 bishops were chosen for the Maltese episcopal see. In these nearly three centuries it is possible to identify certain phases that characterized the complex negotiations between the court and various diplomacies in Malta, Palermo, Rome, Madrid (then replaced by Vienna and Naples in the XVIIIth), regarding the selection and appointment of the bishop.
Recurring elements of these negotiations were, on the one hand, the political patronage of the Grand Masters of the Order, seeking to obtain de facto the “delegated” right of presentation to the Maltese episcopal see by imposing their most trusted men as bishops, and on the other, the “national” rivalries within the Order, particularly between French and Spanish knights, replica of the broader international conflict between the two most powerful monarchies in Europe.
It is also important to estimate the reforming activity of bishops appointed in such “non-spiritual” ways, especially through the application of some instruments provided by the Council of Trent (seminaries, diocesan synods, pastoral visits) and the comparison with Italian, Spanish and French bishops. It is worth remembering indeed that, «since all bishops owed their nominations to patronage, political appointments as such did not necessarily imply unwillingness to reform» (Po-chia Hsia 1998), because «part of the pressure on bishops to play a more interventionist role within their dioceses came from rulers concerned about religious orthodoxy as well as social order and political control» (Bergin 1999). (Show less)

Shalin Jain : ‘Religiosity', ‘Piety’ and the Jain Elites in Medieval India
This paper argues that in medieval India the Jain elites reconstituted their religious and social authority through temple building and pilgrimages; constructing temples was one way to achieve ‘good karma’ and so Jain temples were build in huge concentrations in north –western India during the period of study. Similarly, organizing ... (Show more)
This paper argues that in medieval India the Jain elites reconstituted their religious and social authority through temple building and pilgrimages; constructing temples was one way to achieve ‘good karma’ and so Jain temples were build in huge concentrations in north –western India during the period of study. Similarly, organizing pilgrimages and going to the centres of pilgrims and building of temples had an invariable connection to decide the place of the individual in the community. Jain pilgrimage narratives sought to map a landscape through the details of pilgrimages undertaken to various religious centres and praise the individuals who made such efforts. At times formation of identity and hierarchy within Jain community was dependent upon temple consecration and pilgrimages. In this process, literary and religious texts glorified the significance of the community networks and patronage both within local and larger communities. The community was identified not just on the basis of individuals abiding by the ethical norms prescribed in the religious texts but sharing of common interests and feeling of togetherness among these individual was a significant aspect of the formation of the community identity. The public works for the use of Jain community provided the occasions for identity formation by the individuals. Some times religious symbols were used as forms of social manipulation.Jain Sangha was not a break with the lay society. The relative independence of an ascetic institution was sometimes used by the Jain laity to ensure the social dominance. The materialistic considerations to sustain the identity of the group and image of the religious pontiffs certainly had its effect on norms and value systems, upon rituals, upon symbolic expressions of authority, control and hegemony. No doubt that dominant moral mechanism controlled and guided the functioning of Jain sanghas yet local role of the gacchas and temples (jinalayas) and moving ascetics in conjunction with laity was very significant. (Show less)

Ulrika Lagerlöf Nilsson : Thy Will Be Done. The Path to the Office of Bishop in the Church of Sweden during the 20th Century
This study focuses on the appointment of bishops within the Church of Sweden and analyses the patterns of this group during a period of social change which affected the station and function of the Church of Sweden in society. The concepts field, capital, elite, habitus and strategy are employed as ... (Show more)
This study focuses on the appointment of bishops within the Church of Sweden and analyses the patterns of this group during a period of social change which affected the station and function of the Church of Sweden in society. The concepts field, capital, elite, habitus and strategy are employed as a means of tying empirical findings to the question of how elite is formed and how it maintains its position in a clearly defined sphere. This particular perspective has not been explored in previous studies of church elites, and new light has thus bees shed on patterns and structures. The Church of Sweden constitutes a field where, as in all fields, competition for the leading positions exists. The objective is to gain power over the interpretation of the system of beliefs, the doxa, within the field. In this struggle various strategies evolve that build on the capital required for success. Throughout the 20th century, the scope of this field was affected by the relationship to the Swedish state. Several defence strategies evolved to protect the field’s autonomy. These strategies are evident in the bishop appointment process.

However, a duality in the logic of the Church of Sweden field stands out in connection with the recruitment of bishops: The office of bishop is a calling and the individual is unable to affect the outcome of the appointment process. An important characteristic of the attitudes of bishops toward their position has been to assume an attitude of humility with regard to their station and duties.

During most of the 20th century, power within the Church of Sweden was associated with males in positions of authority demonstrating that homosociality was an important asset to future bishops. Even though the men were competitors prior to their appointment, they were supportive in their interactions and provided each other with validation, thus confirming the hierarchic order and the gender identification of the role of bishop. (Show less)

Maria Ana Travassos Valdez : Religious Elites Dreaming of Divine Empires in the Early Modern Portuguese World
History has shown us that some of the empires drawn by elite thinkers are neither political nor geographical, insofar as they intended to encompass broader concepts and cross major boundaries. This is the case with of the eschatological empires considered by some as the most complete form of written utopia.
Within ... (Show more)
History has shown us that some of the empires drawn by elite thinkers are neither political nor geographical, insofar as they intended to encompass broader concepts and cross major boundaries. This is the case with of the eschatological empires considered by some as the most complete form of written utopia.
Within the Portuguese Early Modern world, and more broadly within the Iberian Empire, it was frequent to affirm how the Divine Empire of God would soon be established as predicted by Revelation. It is clear that political, geographical, cultural and social features influenced such readings of the biblical books, and particularly its rewriting accordingly to the 16th and 17th centuries historical events, even when one is considering the reaction of the Inquisition. Also, the overture of new worlds played a fundamental role.
It is our purpose while exploring the broad subject of Iberian constructions of divine kingdoms, to observe how the elites, in this particular case, Jesuits and Sephardim religious leaders, conveyed towards one common interpretation, one that allows us to question whether or not there was a movement towards universal religion being created in Portugal during the 17th century. At the same time, it appears important to underline the contrast played by political utopias regarding the “Fifth Empire”, particularly those concerning the late king D. Sebastião.
Therefore, based in the writings of António Vieira, SJ, Manasseh ben Israel and the report attributed to Antonio de Montezinos, we will observe how these eschatological empires were drawn, while examining the details that may allow us to speak of a joint effort between Catholics and Sephardim towards the achievement of a universal religion. (Show less)



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