In her dissertation Revealing Śiva’s Superiority by Retelling Viṣṇu’s Deeds – Viṣnu’s Manifestation Myths in the Skandapurāṇa, Sanne Dokter-Mersch examines three myths in the Skandapurāṇa, a... Show moreIn her dissertation Revealing Śiva’s Superiority by Retelling Viṣṇu’s Deeds – Viṣnu’s Manifestation Myths in the Skandapurāṇa, Sanne Dokter-Mersch examines three myths in the Skandapurāṇa, a Sanskrit Purāṇa composed in the sixth to seventh century. Although myths about god Śiva and devotion to him are central in the text, it also contains narratives about other gods. This dissertation focusses on those myths in which god Viṣṇu manifests himself as Man-Lion (Narasiṃha), Boar (Varāha) and Dwarf (Vāmana) in order to conquer the enemies of the gods. At the time of composition of the Skandapurāṇa, Śiva and Viṣṇu each had their own religious ideology and devotees, which raises the questions why the composers of this Śaiva Purāṇa dedicated so much attention to Viṣṇu and how these manifestation myths are retold. With the help of different (narratological) methods, Dokter-Mersch addresses these questions by looking at the manifestation myths as part of a literary genre, the Purāṇas. Show less
This study is an investigation of the relationship between Sri Lankan engineering and Sinhala nationalism, the nationalism of the Sinhalese, the majority community living in the island. It... Show moreThis study is an investigation of the relationship between Sri Lankan engineering and Sinhala nationalism, the nationalism of the Sinhalese, the majority community living in the island. It attempts to understand why the Sinhalese regard themselves as masters in engineering although the actual level of technological development of the island remains very low, and how this particular narrative of Sri Lankan engineering has been held to be legitimate over a long period of time. In order to achieve the above objective this study concentrates on three sites: the Aberdeen Laxapana Hydro Electric Scheme (1900-1936) and the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project (1978-1985), two important engineering projects commissioned during the twentieth century, as the first two sites, and as the third site - a mythical engineering site, the recent surge of interest among the Sinhalese in Ravana, the ancient king and his technological dynasty (2000-2016). Show less
Kurdish dengbêjs are singer-poets who are trained in singing and telling stories. For a long time, the dengbêjs and their art were suppressed and forgotten, and only recently did they return into... Show moreKurdish dengbêjs are singer-poets who are trained in singing and telling stories. For a long time, the dengbêjs and their art were suppressed and forgotten, and only recently did they return into public life. Today the dengbêjs are seen as guardians of Kurdish history and culture. This vision tells much about recent socio-political developments and should be understood in the context of the evolving story of Kurdish nationalism. The dengbêjs and their songs create a Kurdish home set within the landscape of Turkey and the surrounding (nation-)states. Since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the political landscape of the Kurdistan region was marked by conflict and turmoil that greatly affected the lives of millions of people. The art the dengbêjs, and the negotiation about what it means to be a dengbêj today, reflect this difficult history. From a theoretical perspective the dissertation gives an ethnographic account of narrative. The variety of narratives circulating in a society at a particular time and place are presented and analyzed. The narratives do not only tell us a story about Kurdish society in Turkey, but also about the larger global stories of modernity, nationalism, and Orientalism. This gives the study a wider relevance. Show less
This book is about what happens when two people meet. Its main aim is to present an account of intersubjectivity. Most contemporary explanations of intersubjectivity fall into two main categories... Show moreThis book is about what happens when two people meet. Its main aim is to present an account of intersubjectivity. Most contemporary explanations of intersubjectivity fall into two main categories: theory theory and simulation theory. This book seeks to undermine the picture of intersubjectivity taken for granted by these accounts, and instead shows what social sense-making looks like from a pragmatic point of view. It proposes that intersubjectivity is enabled through a large range of second-person practices: (i) embodied practices allow us to employ various innate or early developing capacities that constitute a base-line for social understanding, (ii) embedded practices enable us to understand others within a broader social and pragmatic context, and (iii) narrative practices provide us with stories about self and other in order to further fine-tune and sophisticate our intersubjective interactions. Show less
