Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät - Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät | Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften | Fach⧿Gebiete | Südostasien | Professuren | Gesellschaften und Kulturen Südostasiens | 26.05. Vortrag: Living with Shifting Sands: Social and Spiritual Impacts of Sand Mining in Southeast Asia by Paul Christensen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)

26.05. Vortrag: Living with Shifting Sands: Social and Spiritual Impacts of Sand Mining in Southeast Asia by Paul Christensen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)

  • Wann 26.05.2025 von 18:00 bis 19:00
  • iCal

Der Lehrstuhl „Gesellschaften und Kulturen Südostasiens“ freut sich, Sie zum Vortrag “Living with Shifting Sands: Social and Spiritual Impacts of Sand Mining in Southeast Asia” von Paul Christensen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) einladen zu dürfen. Der Vortrag findet am Montag 26.05 um 18 Uhr im Raum 117 in der Invalidenstr. 118 statt. Es besteht auch die Möglichkeit, per Zoom an der Vorlesung teilzunehmen.

 

Abstract:

The extraction of sand is a rapidly expanding industry in Southeast Asia, especially in the region surrounding the Mekong river and its tributaries. However, the massive extraction of sand has had a number of negative consequences, including the destruction of aquatic wildlife. For instance, the fish population in the Mekong has been reduced by 87% over the past two decades . Furthermore, the erosion of the rivercoast and the disruption of adjacent houses, roads and other infrastructure have had a severe impact on people and their precarious livelihoods.

This talk explores the social and spiritual impacts of sand mining in Cambodia, with primary findings from a pilot study in Cambodia showing that the authority of spirits and other non-human actors is being challenged by a market-based logic of exploitation. Despite the cultural significance of Cambodian spirits (Christensen 2022), they appears to be almost powerless in the face of the rigorous exploitation of natural resources (Kent 2020, Work 2023).

The above considerations form part of the anthropological research project " The Commodification of the River Landscape". The presentation offers the first data collected to address the following questions: What changes in meaning for the perception of the "natural" environment are triggered by the "slow violence" of extractivism on the Mekong? How do these massive interventions change the relationships between humans and non-humans? How do past conflicts affect social resistance against the progressive deterioration of living conditions, especially for those affected by rural poverty?

 

  • Christensen, Paul (2022): 'We will never get rich if we follow Buddhism'. The rise of Brahmanism in Cambodia from 1979 until today. In: Peter A. Jackson und Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière (Ed.): Spirit Possession in Buddhist Southeast Asia. Worlds Ever More Enchanted. Kopenhagen: NIAS Press, p 144–163.
  • Kent, Alexandra (2020): The desertion of Cambodia's spirits (New Mandala). Online available: https://www.newmandala.org/the-desertion-of-cambodias-spirits [14.06.2022].
  • Work, Courtney (2023): Prowess and Indigenous Capture. Hinges and Epistemic Propositions in the Prey Lang Forest. In: Anthropological Forum 33 (2), p 75–97. DOI: 10.1080/00664677.2023.2254009

 

Zoom-Link:

 

Zoom-Meeting beitreten
https://hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/j/66514287623?pwd=v3tOlZu6qG5btgjwuCRa71Lol1V6Zc.1

Meeting-ID: 665 1428 7623
Passwort: 810299