RITUAL PRACTICES IN GARDENS AND LANDSCAPES

Call for papers. Studies in Landscape Architecture at Dumbarton Oaks. This symposium will aim at exploring methods, sources and interpretive approaches that contribute to an understanding of reception of gardens and landscapes, by focusing on a limited number of ritual practices made possible by some specifically designed features of gardens or landscapes. It hopes to start discussions of the formative function of garden experiences for cultural and social life. (Discussions by Hans Robert Jauss of changing perspectives in literary history in Toward an Aesthetic of Reception [Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1982] provide stimulating parallels.) Proposals may concern lay or sacred gardens or landscapes, either designed for ritual performances such as labyrinths, meditation gardens, scenic views along parkways, or where unplanned-for ritualized practices have developed over time, such as political slandering at the echo at the Tuileries gardens, wedding trips to Niagara Falls, touring at gardens of historic sites, etc.

We expect that presentations of ritual practices in gardens and landscapes will contribute to an understanding of the role of garden or landscape experiences in the development of shared ideas, emotions or values among their users.

Those interested in presenting a paper should request more information from:
Michel Conan
Director of Studies in Landscape Architecture
Dumbarton Oaks
1703 32nd St. NW Washington, DC 20007
tel: 202-339-6460; fax: 202-625-0432; e-mail: landscape@doaks.org