"Material Religion" is an international, peer-reviewed journal, which seeks to explore how religion happens in material culture. It is regularly published by De Gruyter Saur and provided by Taylor and Francis Online. The current issue includes a themed section of five articles which are the outcome of a panel which took place at the Cluster's Annual Conference 2016 “Making, Sustaining, Breaking – The Politics of Heritage and Culture”. The panel “Heritage in Times of Crisis: Transcultural Approaches to Reconstruction and Revaluation in Post-Earthquake Nepal” brought together several researchers that where scientifically and personally devoted to the country and dedicated to post earthquake aid and rebuilding of the cultural heritage of Nepal.
The themed section features an introduction by Prof. Christiane Brosius on the theme “Heritage Dynamics in Times of Crisis” and essays by Cluster members. Prof. Axel Michaels and Manik Bajracharya wrote an essay on ““Religious” Approaches to Heritage Restoration in Post-Earthquake Kathmandu” and Dr. Katharina Weiler contributed an essay on “Authenticity and the Re-evaluation of Cultural Heritage: The Revival of Patan Darbar Square’s Sacred Sites” and Davide Torri, Ph.D., added “Caring for Ancestral Heritage away from Home: The Hyolmo Adivasi (indigenous people) of Helambu in Kathmandu”. Furthermore, Marlène Harles and Sheelasha Rajbhandari wrote an essay on „Contemporary Artists’ Response to Heritage in Times of Crisis: 12 Baishakh and Photo Kathmandu“.
The themed section is dedicated to Dina Bangdel, who had also participated in the Nepal panel and had wanted to contribute to the current issue of the journal. She passed away on July 25, 2017.
Prof. Christiane Brosius is Professor of Visual and Media Anthropology at the Cluster "Asia and Europe" and an expert in the field of contemporary urban life and visual art in India with a focus on the middle class.
Prof. Axel Michaels is Acting Director of the Cluster of Excellence "Asia and Europe" and Senior Professor of Classical Indology at the South Asia Institute at Heidelberg University.
Davide Torri, Ph.D. and Dr. Katharina Weiler are Associate Members of the Cluster "Asia and Europe". Marlène Harles is Graduate Student at the Cluster in the Graduate Program and Manik Bajracharya is an Alumni of the Cluster.
Please find further information on the book here.