medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Can I put in my 2p worth on this - we discussed it at length in a 3rd year
seminar on the ethics of our attitude to and use of the past. (It does seem
to be quite relevant to this list - the statues are perhaps a little early
for our remit, but we do include other faiths as well as western
Christianity. And the ethical and philosophical issues surrounding
iconoclasm are surely relevant to us.)
The class was pretty equally divided. Some felt the Taliban were wrong and
that the international community was right to deplore what they did. But a
number, led by a Jewish student (who admitted she was playing devil's
advocate to some extent) said what business was it of ours, particularly if
it was a matter of belief to the Islamic community.
Several students also made the point that Jussi made (and it was a point
made by the UK press as well) that it is a pity that we appear more ready
to deplore attacks on inanimate carvings than human rights abuses. However,
we also discussed the standpoint that attacks on religious and cultural
heritage are worse than attacks on individuals - being attacks not on the
body but on the spirit.
It was quite a good seminar!
Maddy
Dr Madeleine Gray, in the foothills of God's golden county of Gwent
(Department of Humanities and Science
UWCN Caerleon Campus
PO Box 179
Newport NP18 3YG
Tel: +44 (0)1633.432675
http://humanities.newport.ac.uk/history.html)
'Reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought'
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|