The Alana Bowden Memorial Symposium: On Rituals, Rites and Ceremonies

October 27 | 8:30am doors for 8:50am start

An important academic event is being arranged by Studies in Religion and Performance Studies. It is a day of scholarship to honour our former PhD student Alana Bowden who passed away in 2021. The day will comprise a range of performances, the presentation of academic papers in Alana’s honour, and the announcement of a new PhD scholarship in Alana’s name. The funding for the day and the scholarship have been generously supplied by Alana’s family and her brother Mr Tom Bowden. Attendance is free, with lunch, morning and afternoon tea, and an after-event function in the museum provided. The venue will be the spectacular new Chau Chak Wing Museum located on the front drive of the University’s Camperdown Campus. Places are strictly limited and your RSVP is essential.

SCHEDULE

8:30am – Doors Open

8:50am – Welcome to Country/Smoking Ceremony

9:10am – Introduction by Associate Professor, Ian Maxwell

9:15am –  Message from the Family – Tom Bowden

9:20am – On Alana – Dr Christopher Hartney, Mr Matte Rochford and Brett Brown.

10:05am – Break

10:15am – Keynote by Prof Adrian Franklin

11:15am – Morning tea

11:25am – Session 1:

Vernacular of the emphemeral: Threshold Ritual of South Asian Diaspora as a contemporary creative practice- Paper by Varuni Kanagsundaram
Ritual and Rasa – Paper by Dr Rakini Devi

12:15pm – Break

12:25pm – Session 2:
Fashioning time: Ritual styling in Rajasthan – Paper by PhD candidate Meherose Borthwick
PIck-up-needle-bottom-of-sea – Screenings by Dr Jenny Brown

1:05pm – Lunch

1:45pm – Session 3:
Chukchi ritual practices and transmissions of ethno-cultural codes – Paper by PhD Candidate, Diane Tippett
“It’s just like communion!”: Ritual and Ritual-Like Performances of the Multifaith Movement in Australia – Paper by Geraldine Smith

2:35pm – Break

2:45pm – Session 4:

Gurdjieff, Ritual, and the Sacred Dances – Paper by Dr Joseph Azize
Psychotherapy and Ritual – Performance/Lecture by Dr Tom Isaccs

3:35pm – Afternoon Tea

3:45pm – Session 5:
Ritual, Resistance and Social Transformation: Politics and Poetics of the Gaijatra Festival – Paper by Jiva Nath Lamsal
Affective Cartographies of/with Tarot – Performance by Anastasia Murney

2:35pm – Break

2:35pm – Plenary

5:00pm – Final Performance by Tess de Quincey of DE QUINCEY CO

5:30pm – Drinks reception in Sounds Cafe

When

Friday 27 October 2023, 8:30am – 5:30pm

Where

To be held on Campus at the Chau Chak Wing Museum. Please click here for CCW map.

Registration

Registrations are essential. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

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