In the last 20 years, Laos has undergone an unprecedented process of economic modernizaon that has also le its marks on Buddhism and monasc instuons. Rapid urbanizaon, rural spaal mobility and new possibilies in the educaonal sector have led to social and cultural transformaons that directly impinge on religious actors, their values and pracces. Especially the social background of Buddhist monks and novices, and the spaal locaon of temples and monasc schools are affected by these processes: Although ordinaon as a monk or novice has tradionally been one opon for social and spaal upward mobility for poor peasant sons, this process has accelerated to such a degree that monasteries in some rural areas have been almost emped, while urban temples are flooded with young novices seeking further educaon and the diversity of city life. By drawing on data from longterm fieldwork in monasteries in the Lao capital Vienane, and smaller temples in more remote province, the paper will explore the increasing gap of rural and urban Buddhism.

Patrice Ladwig studied Social Anthropology and Sociology, and obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2008. He worked at the University of Bristol, the Max Planck Instute for Social Anthropology and was vising professor at the University of Zürich and the University of Hamburg. With a regional specializaon on Laos and mainland Southeast Asia, he works on the anthropology of Theravada Buddhism, death and funeral cultures, religion & communist movements and colonialism. He is editor (with Paul Williams) of Buddhist funeral cultures of Southeast Asia and China (Cambridge University Press, 2012) and currently works on a book on Buddhist socialisms, and a monograph entled Revoluonaries and Reformers in Lao Buddhism.

Mittwoch, den 9. Dezember 2015
Zeit: 18 – 20 Uhr
Ort: Raum 122
Universität Hamburg, Asien-Afrika Instut
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Flügel Ost