Dr Diego Maria Malara: Pious Demons and Sinful Christians: Mimesis, Historicity, and the Demonization of Protestantism in Ethiopian Orthodox Exorcism
| Dates: | 26 April 2021 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 17:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| How much: | Free |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, General public |
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| Speaker: | Diego Maria Malara |
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Dr Diego Maria Malara, University of Glasgow
Chaired by Sebastien Bachelet
Title: Pious Demons and Sinful Christians: Mimesis, Historicity, and the Demonization of Protestantism in Ethiopian Orthodox Exorcism
Abstract: This talk will examine the exorcism of Protestant spirits from Ethiopian Orthodox hosts in Addis Ababa. This controversial ritual practice is animated by the necessity to draw clear distinctions and boundaries between Protestantism and Orthodoxy, at a time of intense religious liberalisation. At first sight, the exorcism of Protestant spirits seems to provide an occasion to reaffirm the centrality of local Orthodoxy to Ethiopian identity, construing Protestantism as a foreign religion at odds with the country’s ancient Christian history. However, this ritual project is marked by profound ambiguities, as the means, aesthetics and themes of exorcism appear suspiciously similar to Protestant ones. By foregrounding ambiguity and mimesis, I aim to illustrate how exorcism publicly exposes and vividly magnifies the irreparable permeability of the very inter-religious boundaries that it seeks to demarcate. In contrast to understandings of ritual as an ordering process, I suggest that exorcism is a hazardous event that balances uncertainly on the edge of the ever-present risk of becoming the other, producing its own excessive forms of indeterminacy and disorder.
Access Here: https://zoom.us/j/94209216674
Meeting ID: 942 0921 6674
Passcode: 114642
Speaker
Diego Maria Malara
Organisation: University of Glasgow
Travel and Contact Information
