Portfolio

Improper Religion State Deterritorialization of Popular Religious Spaces in the People's Republic of China, 1982-2023 By Omer Sharon I.D. No. 206731481 To Prof. Orna Naftali Seminary paper in "Society and Culture in China: Contemporary Issues"   Introduction My research question is as follows: " Does the post-Mao Chinese state deterritorialize popular religious spaces? If so, how do these processes of state deterritorialization occur? ". Within this inquiry, I will explore state interaction with folk religion. What local reactions, be that of resistance, submission or compromise occur in the face of attempts at state deterritorialization?  Throughout his paper, I will use state action to gauge how uniform is the state's spatial perception, and what notions of modernity are expressed in spatial interactions between the state and popular religion.  I suspect that modernity, for the post-Mao state, is not a distinctly defined idea but rather a s...

  “Human of the Forest, Are You Like Me?”: A Visit to the Biblical Zoo W hile we had many interesting experiences at the Biblical Zoo, we have chosen to focus on our experience of the visit to the orangutan enclosure. We shall describe this experience, and then analyze it based on Lockwood’s types of anthropomorphism.   Unlike most enclosures, the orangutan enclosure could be reached from the main road only through a unique path; a long series of wooden ramps and stairways surrounded by bamboo walls on which signs appeared at regular intervals, presenting pictures of orangutans and facts about them. Going up this path, which was isolated to avoid any distractions, has built tension, excitement, and anticipation for meeting the orangutans   , of which one could not get a glimpse until the very end of the climb.  The signs deserve special attention because they seemed to prompt a comparison between humans and orangutans. The first sign explained the etymol...