Nachrichten und Veranstaltungen

Gendered Dependence: Going beyond the usual concepts of dependency relationships located within a post-colonial state, this new research project examines in greater depth how Indian conceptions of the body (depicted in art, iconography and in performance) have been impacted by a moral, religious Western perspective imposed before, during and post-colonial rule. The ‘moralising projects of colonial and post-colonial modernity’ as Davesh Soneji has termed them remain part o f the ‘unfinished pasts’ (2012: 3) of both the place and enactment of performative ritual and performance in India, from the roles of the female temple dancers, the devadāsīs, through to the itinerant folk dance and theatrical performers, and the ‘third gender’ or transgender performers – the hirijas and kothis. In this project I investigate aspects of ‘asymmetrical relations of dependence’ (Hegewald, 2023:8) and issues of empowerment as well as erasures of memory brought about by nationalistic agendas.

Am Mittwoch, den 08.10.2025 finden unsere Einführungsveranstaltungen für alle neuen Studierenden unserer Abteilung statt: 14:00 Uhr s.t. für Bachel-Studierende und 15:00 Uhr s.t. für Masterstudierende. In den Veranstaltungen informieren wir über den Studienverlauf und Module. Es besteht die Gelegenheit, die Abteilung und das Lehrpersonal kennenzulernen und Kontakte zu Kommiliton*innen zu knüpfen.

Vortrag und Bharatanatyam Tanzdemonstration von Lakshmi Parthasarathy Athreya. Eine Veranstaltung in Kooperation mit SPIC MACAY Europe.

„Are you ok? – Eine Kunstausstellung über mentale Gesundheit“: Fünf Künstler:innen der Abteilung für Asiatische und Islamische Kunstgeschichte, Universität Bonn, zeigen persönliche Auseinandersetzungen mit psychischer Gesundheit und wie Kunst zu einem Ventil im oft herausfordernden Studienalltag – und darüber hinaus – werden kann. Zwei mitwirkende Künstlerinnen bieten für unsere Abteilung eine exklusive Führung durch die Ausstellung an. Treffpunkt: Universitätsmuseum, Regina-Pacis-Weg 1, 53113 Bonn. Wenn Sie an dieser Führung teilnehmen möchten, melden Sie sich bitte bis zum 04.11.25 bei Sandra J. Schlage an (Schlage@uni-bonn.de).

This paper has its origins in a research project, an exhibition and a book, all from the British Museum built around a remarkable textile item in the Museum’s collection that is from Assam. It is over 9.00m in length and is made up of twelve different strips of cloth now stitched together. These cloths are all figured and reflect the distinctive Vaisnava culture of Assam. The cloths are figured and also contain text, woven using the sophisticated lampas technique. They were once all separate, and their assembly today, stitched together, is testament to a period when they were used in Tibet, before being acquired by a British journalist, Perceval Landon, who was accredited to the Younghusband Expedition to Lhasa (1903-04). He had given the textile to the British Museum where it remained until discovered by curators from the V&A and displayed by me in 1993. The paper will explore the three ‘lives’ of this outstanding textile item - in Assam, in Tibet and in London.

Eyes on the Sacred: Visual Dimensions of Tibetan Pilgrimage: Tibetan pilgrimage offers a rich site for looking at the intersections of visual culture and art history. It is a space where ritualized movement, sacred geography, and devotional practices meet with the creation and circulation of images. Art historical approaches illuminate the aesthetic, symbolic, and material dimensions of pilgrimage, tracing their historical and stylistic significance of sacred architecture, statues, and ritual objects. Drawing on field observations from Tibet in summer 2025, this lecture explores how pilgrimage is both lived and visually constructed. Pilgrimage involves both the sacred act of looking and the negotiation of being looked at, whether through the respectful eyes of fellow devotees or under the eyes of others. These intertwined practices reveal how pilgrimage in Tibet is not only a journey through sacred space but also a profoundly visual experience shaped by asymmetrical relations of power.