CO-SPONSORSHIP: Religion, Holocaust, and Genocide Unit and Ritual Studies Unit

Rituals and Mass Violence: We invite papers that explore the intersections between ritualization and mass violence. Approaches to this topic may include themes such as rituals and victimhood, rituals and perpetration, and rituals and memories of mass violence. For example, how do communities facing violent persecution maintain rituals in situations of extreme disruption or develop rituals as a form of resilience and resistance? How do the perpetrators of large-scale violent acts ritualize their behaviours? What rituals develop for collective memory of violent histories and how do they draw on earlier traditions and/or create new innovations in community practice?