2nd Symposium on Public Festivity
Ritualising in the Times of the Corona
Charles University, Prague (18–19 September
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many festivities and public events were cancelled in 2020 – often at the last moment, without offering any time to the organisers to rethink the events frameworks. As the pandemic lingers on, we have entered yet another year of restrictions limiting public gatherings and social contact. This brings to the fore important questions about the character of transformative and ritualising dynamics of public festivities, including possible adverse cultural, political and economic impacts resulting from their absence.
The 2nd Symposium on Public Festivity, jointly organised by the Ritual in Motion Research Network and the Re-enchantment of Central-Eastern Europe research group, brings together organisers and participants of public festivities, NGOs, artists, and academics. The symposium is a vehicle of sharing practical insights into the creative processes, while also providing space for interested academics to present and share their research.
We host contributions related (but not limited to) the following questions:
Do various festivities try to adapt to these conditions? How? What does the loss or curtailment of public festivity mean for socio-cultural life? What other kinds of ritualizing emerges when collective, public forms are lost? What type of creative improvisational solutions do organisers offer? What are the biggest problems organisers face when trying to change an established framework? Are these changes only temporary adjustments, or can we expect a lasting impact? Who are the stakeholders entering into the adjustment processes? Are there examples of ritualising outside official organisational structures by the participants themselves (possibly even examples of revolt against official organisational structures)? As an academic, how did the pandemic affect your research? What methods prove most useful?
Scientific Committee: Olga Cieslarová (Charles University Prague), Laurent-Sébastien Fournier (Aix-Marseille University), Aurélie Godet (Université de Paris), Martin Pehal (Charles University Prague), Sarah M. Pike (California State University), Barry Stephenson (Memorial University New Foundland), Alessandro Testa (Charles University Prague).
The symposium will be held at Voršilská 1, Prague 1, Chapel on the 5th floor.
For for those interested in participating as spectators please contact bara.nvk@gmail.com.
Symposium website: For updates, visit the Ritual in Motion Research Network (RMRN) website.
Symposium is held under the auspices of the Creativity and Adaptability as Conditions for the Success of Europe in an Interrelated World (KREAS) project.
