Ritual Aesthetics and Social Theory
Prof. Dr. Aida Bosch
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Sociology
Research stay: October 2016 - September 2017
Ritual Aesthetics and Social Theory
In the focus of my IKGF Project is the aesthetical structure of rituals as a very profound element of prognosis. We can distinguish two types of prognostic rituals. The first is a performative one, communicating the prognosis into a social context. This type is important to gain social acceptance and validity for the prognosis. Power, politics, communication rules, effectivity are core analytical categories for this process. The second type comprises those rituals, in which the prognosis itself is generated. My thesis is that those rituals’ aesthetical structure and process is crucial for their success: The order of words, sounds, forms, colours, clothes, which are generating evidence and "truth" of sensual perceptions and suggest a way of interpretation for the experts, if not even conviction for a broader public who is in need for prognosis. Every community and society has to deal with the fundamental problem of contingency, and prognostic rituals are a profound way to deal with this problem. The aesthetical structure of rituals reduces contingency and, if successful, convey feelings of trust to social, historical and natural order. In my analysis, I am going to refer to classical sources: Helmuth Plessner, Victor Turner and Erving Goffman. Especially Helmuth Plessner and his philosophical anthropology are offering a solution to the problem of contingency, with the concept of eccentric positionality of humans. My research questions are: How are truth and evidence generated and communicated in prognostic rituals, and how is this entwined with the formal structure and aesthetics of the ritual process? What concepts of time and causality can we find in different prognostic rituals? Which rules of social acceptance and validity can be identified? Are these rules justified by political, by religious or by aesthetical criteria – and which is the role of experts and professionals, insiders or outsiders in these processes?
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