Social Anthropology Seminar - Dr Tom Boylston – University of Edinburgh
| Dates: | 25 February 2019 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 18:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| Speaker: | Dr Tom Boylston |
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Social Anthropology Seminar
Monday, 25th February 2019
Dr Tom Boylston – University of Edinburgh
“ Religion as a Problem of Distraction : Ecologies of Attention in Addis Ababa”
This paper discusses contemporary Orthodox Christian revival in Ethiopia from two perspectives: the ascetic cultivation of attention to God through fasting, and the capture of public attention through preaching movements, public exorcisms, and educational drives. Orthodox Christians in Addis Ababa agree that it is acceptable and necessary to use media for the promotion of religion. But they have intense debates on how to use media correctly: How to promote asceticism, humility, and attention to God, but avoid pride, showmanship, and attention to the spectacle? And how to ensure Church control over an increasingly diverse ecology of religious information?
Orthodox solutions to these problems revolve around attention. We are all worldly beings, but our attention may be directed in worldly or spiritual ways. Sin is understood above all as a product of distraction; the only way to avoid it is to regulate the body and to submit to the saints. These techniques remain the province of the Orthodox Church. I therefore suggest that the management of attention is crucial both to the understanding of religious publics, and to the broader issues of social control that surround them.
Second Floor Boardroom 2.016 / 017
Arthur Lewis Building
Time 4:15 to 6:00pm
(Tea and coffee available outside the room from 4:00pm)
ALL WELCOME!
Speaker
Dr Tom Boylston
Role: Speaker
Organisation: University of Edinburgh
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
2nd floor Boardroom - 2.016 / 017
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester
