The CEH Worskhop is pleased to welcome
Ehud Halperin, associate professor, Department of East Asian Studies, Tel-Aviv University
Winds of Change: Religion and Climate in the Western Himalayas
Global climate change can also affect the human ecology of religious traditions. An especially striking example of the changing physical and cultural climate can be found in the rural Kullu Valley of the western Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh, India), where the effects of meteorological changes are concomitant with the rapid advance of capitalist modernity. In this talk I examine how villagers interpret these dramatic changes in a religious register and attempt to counter the climatic disturbances through ritual actions. Their responses reveal a strong commitment to older religious beliefs, alongside growing doubts about human and divine agency, as well as their traditional holistic understanding of the natural and supernatural world.
The Workshop will be held online via the following link:
https://zoom.us/j/99925600262?pwd=WHlqYTFwZXM2aEl0eitJVWxSOEtXZz09