CALL. 31.10.2016: Sensing Divinity. Incense, religion and the ancient sensorium / Les sens du rite.
FECHA LÍMITE/DEADLINE/SCADENZA: 31/10/2016
FECHA CONGRESO/CONGRESS DATE/DATA CONGRESSO: 23-24/06/2017
LUGAR/LOCATION/LUOGO: British School at Rome; L´École française de Rome (Rome, Italy)
ORGANIZADOR/ORGANIZER/ORGANIZZATORE: Mark Bradley (University of Nottingham); Beatrice Caseau (University of Paris-Sorbonne); Adeline Grand-Clément (University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès); Anne-Caroline Rendu-Loise (University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès); Alexandre Vincent (University of Poitiers).
INFO: mark.bradley@nottingham.ac.uk
CALL:
During the two days of the conference, incense will be interrogated as a historical phenomenon. We will explore its materiality, provenance and production, as well as the economic and commercial aspects of the incense trade. The conference will also examine the mechanics of incense use and the various ways it was integrated into various Mediterranean rituals (following the lines of enquiry set out by N. Massar and D. Frère), as well as its role within religious topography. The properties associated with the term ‘incense’ will be evaluated in the context of work by M. Detienne on The Gardens of Adonis (1989): what components of incense make them effective and potent within ritual? And what mechanisms and processes are used to release their aromas? And what was the perception of incense by the various participants of the ritual – deities, priests, assistants, spectators? These research questions will be informed by the recent research synergies of the organisers: M. Bradley, whose edited volume Smell and the Ancient Senses (Routledge, 2015) probes ‘foul’ and ‘fragrant’ odours as part of both human and divine social relations; A. Grand-Clément and A.-C. Rendu-Loisel, who lead the Toulouse research project on Synaesthesia that is dedicated to the interdisciplinary and comparative study of polysensoriality in ancient religious practice; and A. Vincent, who is engaged in the study of sensory perception in Roman ritual in his work on the Soundscapes (Paysages sonores).
This conference sets out to compare approaches across a range of disciplines in order to examine the role and significance of incense in ancient religion, and compare it to later aromatic practices within the Catholic Church. By adopting this cross-disciplinary and comparative approach, we hope to move beyond a universalist approach to religious aromatics and reach a more sophisticated understanding of the religious function of incense in the Mediterranean world: we hope to identify continuities in both the practice and interpretation of incense, as well as to identify specific features within individual historical contexts and traditions.
Although the conference is principally concerned with the use of incense in antiquity, we also welcome contributions from Byzantine and Medieval scholars, as well as church historians, to help provide a comparative perspective on the use and significance of incense within the Mediterranean world. We also hope to use the conference’s setting in Rome to examine current practice in the use of incense and aromatics in Roman Catholic contexts and other religious traditions. The conference will also provide an opportunity to examine first-hand the material properties of incense through a practical workshop around incense-production and burning (co-ordinated by A. Declercq, one of the scientific researchers on the Synaesthesia project at Toulouse), which will allow participants to handle a range of aromatic products and experience their various multi-sensory properties. The outcome of this workshop will be presented as the Musée Saint-Raymond at Toulouse in November 2017, as part of an exhibition on ‘Greek rituals: a sensible experience’, currently in preparation.
It is hoped that this conference will be of interest to scholars working in archaeology, anthropology, cultural history, literature, art history, and the history of religion, as well as local artists and members of the public. Papers should last approximately 20 minutes, and may be in English, Italian or French; they should be original and should not have been previously published or delivered at a major conference.
Paper topics might include, but are certainly not limited to, the following themes related to incense:
• Material and chemical properties • Geography and distribution • Economics and commerce
• Production and release • Religious topography • Transcendence and supernatural experience • Transition and rites of passage
• Incorruptibility and immortality • Relationship to perfumes • Sacred and profane scents • Religious experience and synaesthesia • Community and homogenous sensations • Concealment of unwashed humanity and smells of sacrifice • Fumigation and purification
• Drama and performance • Frankincense and myrrh • Censers and censing • Judaeo-Christian traditions
Abstracts of approximately 200-300 words should be submitted by 31 October 2016 to Mark Bradley (mark.bradley@nottingham.ac.uk) or Adeline Grand-Clément (adelinegc@yahoo.fr). Successful contributions may be considered for publication in a conference volume.