SFB - Sonderforschungsbereich Kulturen des Performativen

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Second Phase of Project (2002-2004):

In the first phase of the project we emphasized rituals in everyday life. In its second phase we want to explore dimensions of ritual acting that, even today, have not been empirically studied in educational fields, such as macro rituality, cross-cultural aspects, religious and sacral facets, and the connection between body and power. The project aims at broadening our perspective on the performative makings of the social through rituals and ritualization in the four fields of socialization: family, school, peer group and the media. In studying the performative character of ritual action we apply and enhance methods of qualitative social research, which we also used in the first phase of our project.

First Phase of Project (1999-2001):

At the centre of the project entitled The Emergence of the Social in Rituals and Ritualisation are the performative aspects of rituals and their importance for the creation of community. In contrast to previous research in this field that has tended to focus on the symbolism of rituals, we are concerned with the organisation and dramatic aspects of ritual interaction. We are particularly interested in the effects of ritual interaction on the scenic-mimetic expressiveness, the staged, performative character and the framing of social behaviour. Rituals consist of sequences of behaviour that themselves contain ritual characteristics. The goal of our research is to achieve a precise and concise description of these ritual sequences and their importance in the process of community creation. By community we mean a system of interactions and a contextual frame, whose unity is based on principles of integration as well as on differences. In this context, rituals occur as a medium through which to process differences, overcome crises, and perform rites of passage. The performativity of rituals and ritualisation is examined in the context of the following instances of socialisation, central to modern societies: family, school, the media and peer groups. The data collected in the respective work groups is then studied in the parallel project, entitled Mimesis, under the hypothesis that ritual performance is based on mimetic processes and the practical knowledge associated with these. In our work we make use of the following methods of qualitative social research: the recording of conversations, participatory observation involving the use of video, video performances, group discussions and a central thematic interview. The collected material is then evaluated in a multi-layered process of comparative analysis.

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	B5 The Emergence of the Social in Rituals and Ritualisation
	PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Second Phase of Project (2002-2004): In the first phase of the project we emphasized rituals in everyday life. In its second phase we want to explore dimensions of ritual acting that, even today, have not been empirically studied in educational fields, such as macro rituality, cross-cultural aspects, religious and sacral facets, and the connection between body and power. The project aims at broadening our perspective on the performative makings of the social through rituals and ritualization in the four fields of socialization: family, school, peer group and the media. In studying the performative character of ritual action we apply and enhance methods of qualitative social research, which we also used in the first phase of our project. First Phase of Project (1999-2001): At the centre of the project entitled The Emergence of the Social in Rituals and Ritualisation are the performative aspects of rituals and their importance for the creation of community. In contrast to previous research in this field that has tended to focus on the symbolism of rituals, we are concerned with the organisation and dramatic aspects of ritual interaction. We are particularly interested in the effects of ritual interaction on the scenic-mimetic expressiveness, the staged, performative character and the framing of social behaviour. Rituals consist of sequences of behaviour that themselves contain ritual characteristics. The goal of our research is to achieve a precise and concise description of these ritual sequences and their importance in the process of community creation. By community we mean a system of interactions and a contextual frame, whose unity is based on principles of integration as well as on differences. In this context, rituals occur as a medium through which to process differences, overcome crises, and perform rites of passage. The performativity of rituals and ritualisation is examined in the context of the following instances of socialisation, central to modern societies: family, school, the media and peer groups. The data collected in the respective work groups is then studied in the parallel project, entitled Mimesis, under the hypothesis that ritual performance is based on mimetic processes and the practical knowledge associated with these. In our work we make use of the following methods of qualitative social research: the recording of conversations, participatory observation involving the use of video, video performances, group discussions and a central thematic interview. The collected material is then evaluated in a multi-layered process of comparative analysis. \| oben \| Projektliste \| Homepage \| SUCHEN \| Stand: 12/02