Minority Studies
The research group is dedicated to the study of minorities in the widest sense: ethnic, linguistic, religious, of gender, of sexuality, and of race.
Main content
The research group is dedicated to the study of minorities in the widest sense: ethnic, linguistic, religious, of gender, of sexuality, and of race.
Every society has communities that differ in one of these aspects from the majority (defined in numbers and/or in power) of its citizens. These differences are often expressed in terms of hierarchy, practices of exclusion, coercion to assimilate, attempts to include, and in subtler ways such as aesthetic preferences. These ways in which majorities and minorities encounter and interact expose both in majorities and in minorities deep-seated attitudes, values, and mentalities that tend to be invisible until evoked by the encounter between the two.
We explore such theoretical questions and practical and political questions that the minority-majority encounter raises. Other examples of themes we explore are: minority as an identity 鈥� real or imagined; minorities as a social and discursive category; and of social dynamics between minorities and majorities and within minorities themselves; minorities within minorities; minority policy issues.
Coorporation
The research group is interdisciplinary. It includes specialists from the different disciplines and fields from the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, from the Faculty of Humanities, and other faculties at the University of Bergen as well as two faculty members from other academic institutions. Moreover, the research group aims to recruit also members in early stages of their careers: Ph.D. candidates and B.A. and M.A. students working on projects on minorities.
Its activities will be geared toward strengthening both the university鈥檚 research activities, academic ties across the disciplines, and its educational goals by giving faculty, students, and PhD candidates an inspiring environment to support their work.
Activities spring 2025
21.05.听R茅ka Szil谩rdi on Hungarian Neopaganism
On Wednsday 21 May, from 12:15-13:45 will听R茅ka Szil谩rdi (University of Szeged/Hungary) speak about "The New Paths听of Hungarian Neopaganism. Room 130, Sydnesplassen 12-13.听
Abstract
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, local versions of Neopagan religious groups appeared in Central-Eastern Europe, and so also in Hungary, which tried to reconstruct different forms of pre-Christian ancient cults. However, in contrast to the Western and Anglo-Saxon tendencies of neo-Paganism, the local versions were initially strongly intertwined with nationalism, extreme right-wing politics and various conspiracy theories.The presentation will focus on the changes these groups have undergone from the 1990s to the present.
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24.02. J眉rgen Schaflechner on Philanthrobusiness
On Monday 24 February, from 15:30 to 16:30 Oslo time, will speak about Philanthrobusiness听and the Ethics of Mediating Persecuted Christians in Pakistan.鈥澨�
Dr. Schaflechner is research leader at the Freie Universit盲t in Berlin as well as filmmaker, having made among others the film on Pakistan Thrust in Heaven (2016). His research focus is on religious minority movements in South Asia in the digital age.
The presentation will take place on zoom. To receive the zoom link of the discussion, please contact Alexander van der Haven (alexander.haven@uib.no).
For those interested in reading a draft on Philanthrobusiness, please also contact Alexander van der Haven.
Abstract
The aims of this presentation are threefold. Firstly, I seek to illustrate how specific faith-based organizations, such as听鈥淜irche in Not," and their mediators on the ground exploit instances of non-Muslim suffering in Pakistan, perpetuating and reinforcing communalism in the process. Secondly, I aim to explore how a human rights market saturated with depictions of Christian persecution necessitates local mediators to engage in actions that blur the boundaries between philanthropy and business opportunities. I describe this phenomenon with the neologism "philanthrobusiness.鈥澨齌hirdly, I demonstrate how Christian mediators鈥攐ften individuals with high ethical standards鈥攃onceal the inherent power dynamic embedded within the Christian rights market by judging others for their alleged lack of ethical behavior.
Activities autumn 2024
17.12 Istv谩n Keul on ethno-religious stereotypes and minorities within minorities: Transylvanian case studies
On 17 December, at 脴ysteinsgate 3 room 418, 15:00-16:30, Istv谩n Keul will discuss his research on religious minorities in Transylvania. The presentation inquires into ethno-religious diversification and majority-minority relations on an intermediary, intra-group level. The selected case studies discuss differentiation processes within an ethno-religious community often perceived as largely homogenous and socio-culturally predominantly static, the Lutheran Transylvanian Saxons. These instances of internal diversification question widespread assumptions regarding the religious affiliation of the Transylvanian Saxons on the one hand, and the ethnic composition of the Lutheran Church in Romania on the other.
3.12: Alexander van der Haven on religious minorities in Israel
On Tuesday 3 December, 15:00-16:30, Seminarrom 418 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysteinsgate 3) Alexander van der Haven will discuss his draft article 鈥淩eligious Minorities鈥� in Israel for .
Within its borders 鈥撎齩n where they lie or should lie there is some disagreement 鈥撎齮he State of Israel governs not only over a variety of Israelite communities 鈥� Samaritans, Karaites, Black Hebrews, Messianic Jews, and a wide range of communities within the rabbinical Jewish majority, but also over others: Sunni Muslims (Palestinian, Bedouin, Circassians), Ahmadiyya, Druze, Bah谩'铆, Jains, a great variety of Christian communities, New Religious Movements (among which the only Scientology center independent from the Scientology Church) as well as the religious of immigrants and temporary workers from all over the world. Having inherited it from the Ottomans and then the British, the State manages a 鈥榤illet system鈥� that awards recognized religious communities a certain extent of independence in religious matters, which also extends to civil legal aspects, such as birth, marriage, divorce, and burial. All of Israel鈥檚 Jewish residence fall under the Jewish millet led by Orthodox leadership. The article analyzes the adoption, implementation, and changes in this system as well as other changes regarding to religious minorities, from the beginning of the State to the present.
26.11 Sivan Balslev: Children in the Iranian听Constitutional听Revolution
On Tuesday 26 November, 15.00鈥�16.30, Seminarrom 1, 脴ysteinsgate 3, will assistant professor Sivan Balslev present Children in the Iranian听Constitutional听Revolution: Intersections of Age, Class and Gender in Political Activism. The lecture is co-organized with the Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.
For more information on the lecture and Sivan Balslev, please click here.
30.10: J眉rgen Schaflechner on emerging Jewish Life in Pakistan
On Wednesday 30 October, from 15:00-16:30 Oslo time, will discuss his forthcoming book on religious minorities in Pakistan (Columbia University Press, 2025). This chapter discusses the Bene Ephraim, a community that regards itself as Jewish.
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Dr. Schaflechner is research leader at the Freie Universit盲t in Berlin as well as filmmaker, having made among others the film on Pakistan Thrust in Heaven (2016). His research focus is on religious minority movements in South Asia in the digital age.
The presentation will take place on zoom. To receive the zoom link of the discussion, please contact Alexander van der Haven (alexander.haven@uib.no).
For those interested in reading one of the book chapters which we will use for听 of his book that we will discuss, please also contact Alexander van der Haven.
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03.09: The Thai Bhikkhun墨 Movement: Conversation with Bhikkhun墨 Dhammananda, Thailand鈥檚 first fully ordained Theravada Buddhist nun
On Tuesday 3 September, 14:00-15:00, Seminarrom 418 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysteinsgate 3): Manuel Italien in Conversation with Bhikkhun墨 Dhammananda, Updates from the Land of the Smiling Faces
Come and get introduced to Thailand鈥檚 first fully ordained Theravada Buddhist nun, . The event will take the form of an interview format between Associate Prof. who is visiting AHKR from Nipissing University, Canada, and (on zoom) Bhikkhun墨 Dhammananda, and a discussion between the audience and Dhammananda. Dr. Litalien has followed the development of the Bhikkhun墨 movement in the kingdom since the early 2000 (for a background article on the movement click ). The event will help you understand how Bhikkhun墨 Dhammananda managed to promote gender equality in an environment where religious orthodoxy is dominated by a patriarchal state Buddhism. As the year 2022 saw the celebration of Bhikkhun墨 (fully ordained nuns) in Thai society moving toward its third decade, we are taking this opportunity to delve deeper into what has been accomplished thus far, and what are some of the current projects, along with a reflection on what lies ahead in three distinct spheres, religious, political, and international.
It is also possible to attend the meeting through zoom. Please contact Alexander.Haven@uib.no for the zoom link
Activities spring 2024
16.05:听Sissel Undheim: Material Religion and Processions in the City
On Thursday 16 May, 14:00-15:00, Sydnesplassen 12-13, room 210, Sissel Undheim will lecture on Material Religion and Processions in the City. This lecture is also part of the course RELV 215/315 Religious Bergen: A Field Course
15.05:听Bernadett Bigalke and Katharina Neef (University of Leipzig), Victoria Vitanova-Kerber (University of Freiburg), Rasa Pranskeviciute-Amoson (University of Vilnius), Mario Vassallo (University of Malta): Comparative Frames: Leipzig, Malta, Vilnius, Switzerland
On Wednesday 15 May, 11:00-13:00, Sydnesplassen 12-13, room 210, Bernadett Bigalke and Katharina Neef (University of Leipzig), Victoria Vitanova-Kerber (University of Freiburg), Rasa Pranskeviciute-Amoson (University of Vilnius), and Mario Vassallo (University of Malta) will present on religions and the city in Leipzig, Malta, Vilnius and Switzerland. This forum is also part of the course RELV 215/315 Religious Bergen: A Field Course.
14.05: Michael Stausberg: Bergen, Introducing the Field
On Tuesday 14 May, 18:00-19:00, Sydnesplassen 12-13, room 208/209, Michael Stausberg will give the lecture Bergen, Introducing the Field. This lecture is also part of the course RELV 215/315 Religious Bergen: A Field Course
24.04:听Arkotong听Longkumer: The Sonic Guru: Rewben Mashangva Sings the Blues
On Wednesday April 24, at 14:00-15:00, Sydnesplass 12/13 , room 130.
Minority studies and Fagforum Religionsvitenskap hosts Arkotong听Longkumer of the University of Edinburgh, School of Divinity.
The presentation charts the work of guru Mashangva, an indigenous rock-fusion artist in the Northeastern Indian state of Manipur. It explores the听notion of 鈥榓coustemology鈥� as 鈥榓 sonic epistemology of emplacement鈥� that highlights how guru is texturing the contours of sound as听ecologies of creation听鈥� a creative process that is charged with energy, knowledge, place-making, and imagination.听
11.04: Bookseminar about Pinky Hota's听Violence and Recognition: Adivasi Indigeneity and Anti-Dalitness in India
On Thursdag April 11, at 16:00-17:00, 脴ysteinsgate 3, room 418.听We will have a book seminar about Pinky Hota's Violence and Recognition: Adivasi Indigeneity and Anti-Dalitness in India (U of Penn Press, 2023), with our guest Erica Baffelli of Manchester University.
10.04: Erica Baffelli: "Networks, volunteers and precarity: a case study of a Buddhist organisation in Tokyo during the Covid-19 pandemic"
On Wednesday April 10,听at 14:00-15:30, 脴ysteinsgate 3 room 418.听Professor , professor of Japanese Studies of Manchester University, will give a guest lecture 鈥淣etworks, volunteers and precarity: a case study of a Buddhist organisation in a Tokyo during the covid-19 pandemic鈥�. This meeting serves also as the fagforum for the section of the study of religion.
09.04: Erica Baffelli: Religious Minorities in Japan
On Tuesday April 9,听at 15:00-17:00, 脴ysteinsgate 3, seminarroom 1.听Professor , professor of Japanese Studies of Manchester University, will present a draft of her chapter on religious minorities in Japan, to be published in Religious Minorities Online. Please contact Alexander.Haven@uib.no for a draft of the article
15.02听Thomas Solomon on The musical aestheticization of exile: Zaza (Kurdish-Alevi) musicians between Turkey and Germany
On 15 February, 15:00-17:00, Dokkeveien 2 B 鈥� hj酶rnerommet, Thomas Solomon will present The musical aestheticization of exile: Zaza (Kurdish-Alevi) musicians between Turkey and Germany. The presentation and discussion will be in English.
In his 1984 essay 鈥淩eflections on Exile,鈥� the late Palestianian literary scholar and cultural critic Edward Said discussed some aspects of the politics and aesthetics of exilic cultural production. Said draws primarily on examples from literature (novels, poetry), with the result that the asethetic issues he discusses remained primarily at the textual level. This paper puts some of Said鈥檚 ideas in dialog with questions more specifically related to the musical production of exilic subjects. As deeply embodied forms of cultural expression combining sound, language, and moving bodies in performance, musical evocations of exile offer other kinds of possibilities for the aesthetic exploration of the condition of exile. Such possibilities are further extended in multimedia productions such as videoclips, in which the musical and the visual interact to produce complex audiovisual texts, apt for the exploration of the contradictions of exile and exilic identity. Musical performance events can be sites for the constitution of exilic subjects and subjectivities, sometimes in unexpected ways, as when exiled musicians are absent from performances of their music in the homeland they have been exiled and displaced from. In such cases, one can speak of a present-absence which powerfully, if paradoxically, embodies the exilic condition.
This presentation uses the music of Metin and Kemal Kahraman as a case study to explore these issues. The Kahraman brothers are from Dersim, a region in southeastern Anatolia that was historically largely autonomous, though it is now incorporated into the Turkish state. The people of Dersim, the majority of whom belong to the heterodox religious group known as the Alevi, constitute an ethnolinguistic and religious minority in Turkey. While they are often included within the more encompassing categories 鈥淜urdish鈥� or 鈥淜urdish-Alevi,鈥� the Zaza have a distinct language, culture and historical sense of identity from the Kurdish-speaking populations that surround them; this identity is profoundly grounded in the sacred geography of their Dersim homeland. For nearly two decades, Kemal Kahraman lived in stateless exile in Berlin, unable to return to Turkey or Dersim. In the music he makes with his brother, Kemal鈥檚 personal experience of exile is closely articulated with collective historical exiles and displacements his people have experienced during the early Turkish republican period and more recently during the civil war in the southeast. The brothers鈥� music explicitly reflects upon and aestheticizes the exilic experience of displacement and longing for home. The paper explores how their music translates the experience of exile into aesthetic form, drawing on the Kahraman brothers鈥� sound recordings, videos, and a concert the author attended in Istanbul.
Activities 2023
01.02: Discussion of draft of the conceptual introduction to the Religious Minorities Online project
On Wednesday February 1,听at 16:15-17:30, Seminarrom 418 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysyeinsgate 3), followed by a social gathering.听
17.04: Lunch event 鈥楻ecognizing religious minorities鈥� with Teemu Taira
On Monday April 17, at 12:00-13:00, Seminarrom 1 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysteinsgate 3), the Minority Studies research group will host professor Teemu Taira from the University of Helsinki.听
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The lunch event will concentrate on the roles of legislation, media, and expert knowledge connected to the registration of religious organisations, especially relating to religious minorities. Dr Taira will draw on his research in connection with Finnish cases and draw on more general discussions on the legislative challenges religious minorities face in the Nordics, and beyond. The participants will be able to bring their research interests or particular cases to the discussion.
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Recommended reading: Teemu Taira (2022) Chapter 4 The Art of Becoming a Religion: Law, Media and Experts In: Taking 鈥楻eligion鈥� Seriously: Essays on the Discursive Study of Religion.
22.05: Poster session junior member research projects
On Monday 22 May, at 9:00-10:30, Seminarrom 418 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysteinsgate 3), we will have a poster session to discuss, comment on, and ask about the minority projects of several of our junior members, namely the MA students and PhD candidates Henriette Flaaten, Joanna Zofia Spyra, Fredrik Kolstad Rongved, and Raphael Michaeli.
25.08: Guest lecture: Marisol de la Cadena
On Friday 25 August, at 12:15-14:00, Sydneshaugen skole Auditorium D. For details see:听/ahkr/164156/guest-lecture-marisol-de-la-cadena
30.08: Discussion about 鈥楩ritak鈥� in Norwegian schools, with Lomsdalen, von der Lippe, and Undheim
On Wednesday August 30, 14:15- 15:30, at Seminarrom 418 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysteinsgate 3), Christian Lomsdalen, Marie von der Lippe, and Sissel Undheim will present 芦Hva 酶nsker religi酶se minoriteter fritak fra i norsk skole 鈥� og hvorfor?禄. The presentation will be in Norwegian.
12.09: Discrimination of Religious Minorities, with Michael Stausberg
On Tuesday September 12, 16:15-17:30, Seminarrom 418 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysteinsgate 3), followed by a social gathering. A draft of the article will be distributed to members beforehand. Non-members interesting to join please write to Alexander.haven@uib.no to receive a copy.听
02.11: Hege Markussen on organising as Alevi in Turkey Today. Reflections from Recent Fieldwork in Ankara
On Thursday 2 November, 16:00-17:30, seminarrom 418 at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (脴ysteinsgate 3), Hege Markussen will present her project in the Alevis. For more information see event.
07.11: Discussing听Religious Minorities at Risk: A Book Seminar
On Tuesday 7 November, 15:30-17:00, 脴ysteinsgt. 3, rom 418, we will be discussing a recent publication, namely:
Basedau, Matthias, Jonathan Fox, and Ariel Zellman,听Religious Minorities at Risk听(New York,听2023),听. The book is digitally available through our library website.
13.11: A viewing and discussion of听Elsewhere,听a documentary on the Turkish D枚nmeh, with documentary maker Melis Birder
On Monday 13 November, 16:00-18:00 in Sem. rom 1, 脴ysteinsgate 3, the research group Minority Studies has organized together with Det j酶diske samfunn Bergen a screening of parts of the documentary that the Turkish documentary maker Melis Birder is making on the D枚nmeh, a small Turkish religious minorities descended from Jews who in the late seventeenth century converted to Islam but still follow their Jewish Messiah, Sabbatai Tsevi. Introduction and response by Alexander van der Haven, followed by a discussion. The presentation and discussion will be held in English.
For more information check out event.
14.11: Guest lecture: Ragnhild Johnsrud Zorgati on Islam in contemporary Scandinavian literature and rap
On Tuesday 14 November, 14:30-15:30, in HF building room 400, professor Ragnhild Johnsrud Zorgati (UiO) will hold a guest lecture on Islam in contemporary Scandinavian literature and rap. The lecture will be in Norwegian. The lecture is offered by the Religion and Literature research group and Minority Studies.
14.11:听A viewing and discussion of Baglar, a documentary on a Kurdish basketball team in Southeastern Turkey
On Tuesday 14 November, 16:00-18:00, in Sem. rom 1, 脴ysteinsgate 3, we will watch and discuss with the Turkish documentary maker Melis Birder the documentary Baglar, directed by Berke Bas and Melis Birder, about how 鈥渁n underdog basketball team from hard scrabble Diyarbakir in Southeastern Turkey goes beyond winning games in their mission to rise above prejudice, poverty and political turmoil created by the decades long conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish rebels who are fighting for local autonomy and cultural rights.鈥� The presentation and discussion will be held in English.
For more information check out event.
22.11 Guest lecture: Nauroz Khan on Swedish Afghan Pashtuns
On Wednesday 22 november, 16:15-17:30, in听脴ysteinsgate 3, rom 418, Nauroz Khan, doctoral researcher from Kingston University London, will present 鈥淭he Transnational Lives of Swedish Afghan Pashtuns:听The Challenges of Double Migration, Cultural and Kinship Maintenance and Integration in Swedish Society.鈥� A Selections of writings will be distributed. Associate Professor Aziz Hakimi (HVL), will be the respondent. The presentation and discussion will be held in English.
15.12听Istv谩n Keul on Ethno-Religious Communities in East-Central Europe: Structures and Processes of Minoritization
On 15 December, 15:00-17:00, at Dokkeveien 2B - hj酶rnerommet. Istv谩n Keul will look at consequences of changing statal configurations and shifting political structures for the majority-minority relations of religious communities living in a region that was successively part of the medieval kingdom of Hungary (up to 1526), the Transylvanian Principality (1526-1687), the Habsburg Empire (1687-1867), Hungary (1867-1918), and Romania (1918 to the present). The main focus lies on the Romanian communities in the region and the connected processes of religious institutionalization and differentiation from the early modern period to the present. The presentation and discussion will be in English.
Student group members
- Fredrik Kolstad Rongved, M.A. student Religious Minorities, 幸运飞艇计划
- Thomas Snell, M.A. student Religious Minorities, 幸运飞艇计划
- Henriette Flaaten, M.A. student teachers鈥� program Study of Religion, 幸运飞艇计划
- Lyudmila Klasanova