Press Releases

October - December 2021

October

• [22.10.2021] Maltreated imperial corpses and digital cemetery events. International conference at the Cluster of Excellence on practices of caring for the dead from antiquity to the present day – byzantinist Michael Grünbart: how the dead were cared for in the past causes astonishment today, but expresses the care and reverence of the time – Well-known example: the dismembered corpse of King Barbarossa – plans for burial often began while the person was still alive.

December

• [17.12.2021] “Recent escalation of violence in Myanmar reveals complex struggles over identity”. Researchers and political activists contribute to background book on conflicts in Myanmar – Analysis of complex mix of ethnic and religious pluralities – Religious scholars: Western cliché of ever-peaceful Buddhism in need of revision
• [27.12.2021] “Looking into the future when it’s hard to bear the present”. Molybdomancy or annual horoscopes: according to historian Ulrike Ludwig, divination has always been popular during crises such as pandemics, religious conflict, and times of war – “‘Will I be happy, will I stay healthy?’ Divination has always shown the human need for security in the face of an uncertain future” – Also used to be a political instrument to combat fake news