Asian Ethnology

folklore tricksters horror infanticide adaptation retelling violence The Assamese film Kothanodi (2015) radically demonstrates how film adapts to folklore, rather than the other way around. It actively contributes to the folkloric tradition, notably th…

Asian Ethnology

precarity emotions secularization Fukushima Pure Land Buddhism Since the triple disaster of 2011, parents in Fukushima Prefecture have been raising their children under a cloud of uncertainty about possible radiation in their environment. This article …

Asian Ethnology

Taiwan material religion Daoism ritual whip craft cultural improvisation Among the most ubiquitous ritual implements in modern Taiwan, the ritual whip functions to dispel demons and to summon spirit soldiers, the material embodiment of a fearsome serpe…

Toward an Ontology of Peace I

This essay is the first of two seeking to draw out an ontology of peace from Paul Ricoeur’s thought.  This first essay (Part I) argues that Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of creation provides the best starting point because of its insistence on…

Toward an Ontology of Peace II

Following Part I, this essay (Part II) continues my attempt to develop an ontology of peace by drawing resources from Ricœur’s thought. I begin with Augustine, Dionysius, and Aquinas to show that peace is not contrary to our humanity but is …

The Narrative Possiblity of Peace and Understanding

With its emphasis on action and new possibilities opened by imagination, Paul Ricœur’s narrative theory offers insights to understanding each other in a world of polarized views. His theory is helpful in describing the potential that narrati…