In January 2024, Prof. Dr. Susanne Rau and Dr. Sara Keller (both University of Erfurt) participated in one of India’s largest events dedicated to literature, the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival.
During the festival, Sara Keller introduced her new book on historical urban architecture in Ahmedabad (India).
Dr Meera Dass, a former research fellow at the “Religion and Urbanity” Centre at Erfurt University, organised a panel on the cultural and religious meaning of water spaces in historical Indian cities.
During this session, Prof. Dr. Rau introduced Dr Keller’s research project and how it helps us to better understand urban life in past India.
In her presentation, Dr Keller focused on the emergence and transformation of the stepwell, an iconic urban water place on the Indian subcontinent.
Religion has affected dramatic developments in the history of cities - from foundations to waves of migration, from transformations to (re-)ghettoization and genocide. The specific urban qualities of religious ideas, practices and institutions are much less known, as is their role in the production of urban space.
Against this background, the Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences “Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations” was established in 2018. It is funded by the German Research Foundation DFG (FOR 2779) and affiliated to the Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt.
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