The challenge of defining a woman's Tantric history

2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Danielle Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Social Reality ◽  
Religious History ◽  
Early History ◽  
High Status ◽  
The Social ◽  
Tantric Buddhism ◽  
History Of ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
First Time

In this paper I reflect on methodological problems that arise in the construction of women's religious history. I look to Miranda Shaw's Passionate Enlightenment, one of the first investigations into the lives of women in the early history of Tantric Buddhism, to initiate this discussion. Shaw introduces, in some instances for the first time, texts written by and about women in early Tantric communities in order to offer an authentic Tantric Buddhism where women occupied a high status as founders, teachers and practitioners. I suggest that such a history accepts the idealized constructions of gender, particularly as expressed through the category of experience, as evidence for the social reality of women. This reflects a larger trend in some feminist histories and I am interested in problematizing the search for authentic or "true". forms of religion.

Americanization of Karl August Rauschenbusch, 1816–1899

1955 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
Carl E. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Religious History ◽  
Early History ◽  
Social Gospel ◽  
Theological Seminary ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

An interest in August Rauschenbusch may be motivated by the hope that perchance in the life of the father we could discover factors which would illuminate the social-gospel interests of his more famous son. The importance of Rauschenbusch in the early history of German Baptists in North America, particularly as founder and virtual head of the “German Department” of Rochester Theological Seminary for thirty-two years (1858–90), should alone, it could be urged, establish his significance for the religious history of that day. However, it is the primary and less ambitious purpose of this paper to place Rauschenbusch within the framework of the German and American religious situation of the mid-19th century on the basis, largely, of twenty-two of his unpublished letters and a smaller number addressed to him, running from April 12, 1845 to September 27, 1854. These were recently discovered in the archives of the Rhenish Missionary Institute, Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany.

Presentation

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Redacción CEIICH
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Body ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Social ◽  
Feminist Theories ◽  
History Of

<p class="p1">The third number of <span class="s1"><strong>INTER</strong></span><span class="s2"><strong>disciplina </strong></span>underscores this generic reference of <em>Bodies </em>as an approach to a key issue in the understanding of social reality from a humanistic perspective, and to understand, from the social point of view, the contributions of the research in philosophy of the body, cultural history of the anatomy, as well as the approximations queer, feminist theories and the psychoanalytical, and literary studies.</p>

scholarly journals Blockchain: Capabilities, Economic Viability, and the Socio-Technical Environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Braun-Dubler ◽  
Hans-Peter Gier ◽  
Tetiana Bulatnikova ◽  
Manuel Langhart ◽  
Manuela Merki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Spaces ◽  
Early History ◽  
Economic Viability ◽  
Economic Potential ◽  
Key Technology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Real World Applications ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Information ◽  
The Impact

Blockchain is widely considered a new key technology. The Foundation for Technology Assessment (TA-SWISS) has proposed a comprehensive assessment of blockchain technologies. With this publication, TA-SWISS provides the much-needed social contextualisation of blockchain. The first, more technical part of the study takes an in-depth look at how blockchain functions and examines the economic potential of this technology. By analysing multiple real-world applications, the study sheds light on where the blockchain has advantages over traditional applications and where existing technologies continue to be the better solution. The second part of the study examines how blockchain became mainstream. It explores the origins of blockchain in the early history of information technology and computer networks. The study also reveals the impact blockchain has on industrial and public spaces. Finally, it discusses the social implications and challenges of blockchain against the background of a new socio-technical environment.

The Second Royal Society Nuffield Lecture Anthropological models and social reality

1966 ◽  
Vol 165 (998) ◽  
pp. 20-34 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Social Anthropology ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Human Social Life

In trying to show you the character of social anthropology as an academic discipline, I might try to sketch some substantive and perhaps intriguing findings in the field, or the history of its development, or some of its major intellectual problems today. I have chosen the last of these alternatives, because by showing the general problems we are grappling with I hope to reveal to you, in part no doubt inadvertently, the ways that anthropologists think, and also how our difficulties in part arise from the character of the social reality itself, which we confront and try to understand. The fundamental questions which social anthropology asks are about the forms, the nature, and the extent of order in human social life, as it can be observed in the different parts of the world. There is no need to prejudge the extent of this order; as members of one society we know how unpredictable social life can be. But concretely, human life varies greatly around the world, and it seems possible to characterize its forms to some extent. We seek means systematically to discover, record and understand these forms.

The social context of iron forging on the Kenya coast

Africa ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chapurukha M. Kusimba
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Power ◽  
High Status ◽  
Detailed Understanding ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ambiguous Position

Ironsmiths occupy an important yet ambiguous position in many African societies. They are both revered and feared, because they wield social power which arises from their access to occult knowledge, not only of metallurgy but of healing, divination, circumcision and peacemaking. In some societies smiths enjoy high status and are the wealthiest people. In others they are feared, covertly maligned, and blamed for societal misfortunes. In still others the smiths' position is often marginal except when they are needed to intercede on their society's behalf to solve natural or cultural predicaments. The forge or smithy plays a central role in the community as tool-making centre, a place of refuge from violence, of purification, and for healing. This article examines the social context of iron forging among the ironsmiths of the Kenya coast, focusing on the role of iron forging in the coastal economy, the forge, the smiths' life cycle, the institution of apprenticeship, the ritual and technical power of smiths, the role of women in the smiths' community, and the future of iron forging on the coast. It is argued that, while coastal smiths are marginal and despised, they hold important ritual and spiritual powers in coastal society. The article concludes that a detailed understanding of the traditional crafts historically practised on the coast can do much to illuminate the complex history of coastal society.

Before Kṛṣṇa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanika Kishore Saxena
Keyword(s):  
Historical Data ◽  
Religious History ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Coherent Picture

Mathura is famous for its association with Vāsudeva‒Kṛṣṇa, an important deity of the Hindu pantheon. However, apart from the sanctity attached to this place by Hindus, it has also provided conditions for the nurturing of Buddhist, Jaina, nāga and yakṣa traditions. This book engages in a wide range of epigraphic, archaeological and art historical data from the various sites in the Mathura area and weaves this to present a coherent picture of the variegated religious history of the area from c.600 CE to c.1000 CE, which witnessed various religions/cults/sects competing for attention and patronage. The chapters in this book have been divided according to religious traditions, namely, Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism, along with the Kṛṣṇa, yakṣa, nāga, and mātṛkā cults. It raises many important issues related to Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism as well as older cults of the yakṣas and nāgas. The objects of donation ranged from images, stūpas, temples to tanks and gardens. Donations by monks and nuns; together with laity from different locations within and beyond Mathura, amply reflect on the social mosaic of the time. The role of monastics and laity, the nature of patronage, and the social and political underpinnings of the religious history are also examined, all within a long, diachronic frame. This book reveals the complexity of the religious history of Mathura to provide the reader a taste of its diversity and plurality.

Protogeometric Vases from Amorgos in the Museum of the British School

1989 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
pp. 177-185
Author(s):  
R.W.V. Catling ◽  
R.E. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Analysis ◽  
Early History ◽  
The Other ◽  
The South ◽  
South West ◽  
British School ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

Two vases, a cup and an oinochoe, from Arkesine in south-west Amorgos are published for the first time. It is argued that both are probably Middle Protogeometric, one an import from Euboia, the other from the south-east Aegean; chemical analysis supports both attributions. Their implications for the early history of Amorgos are discussed.

scholarly journals Human, not too Human: Technology, Rites, and Identity

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-202
Author(s):  
Stefania Operto
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Cultural Models ◽  
Conceptual Category ◽  
Human Behaviors ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract In the social sciences, the term “rite” identifies a set of practices and knowledge that contribute to forming the cultural models of a given society and has the aim of transmitting values and norms, institutionalization of roles, recognition of identity and social cohesion. This article examines the relationship between technology and ritual and the transformations in society resulting from the diffusion of new technologies. Technological progress is not a novelty in human development; though it is the first time in the history of humanity that technology has pervaded the lives of individuals and their relationships. The analyses conducted seem to show that the ritual is not intended to disappear but to change; to change forms and places. Postmodern societies have undergone profound modifications, but the conceptual category of ritual continues to be applicable to many human behaviors and it would be a mistake to support the idea that rituals are weakening.

New Light on the History of Isaac Newton's Library

The Library ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-97
Author(s):  
Karen Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Early History ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time ◽  
Plausible Reason

Abstract In the standard scholarly work, The Library of Isaac Newton published by CUP in 1978, John Harrison makes two significant assumptions about the library’s early history which are incorrect. This paper highlights the necessary revisions, including the unnoticed role played by Mrs Jane Musgrave, Jane Austen’s godmother, in the library’s preservation. It also proposes for the first time a plausible reason why John Huggins, Warden of the Fleet Prison, bought the library from the executors immediately after Newton’s death.

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