FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND SOCIETY | Seminar
Mindfulness as a historical and cultural phenomenon

This symposium will explore mindfulness as a historical and cultural phenomenon through talks and a roundtable discussion among invited expert researchers. From anthropological, sociological, and study of religions perspectives we will discuss questions such as:

• In which contexts is mindfulness marketed and practiced today?
• Who are those who practice mindfulness, and why do they engage in mindfulness practice?
• How do perceptions of mindfulness diverge between the “West” and Asia today?

The panel

Julia L. Cassaniti, anthropologist at Washington State University, has used a unique and extensive ethnographic material to examine the view of mindfulness among contemporary Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhists.

Ville Husgafvel, a religious studies scholar at the University of Helsinki, has studied contemporary mindfulness in the West from several perspectives, including the Buddhist sources of inspiration for Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).

Linda Woodhead, a scholar of religion at King's College London, is one of the world's leading experts on contemporary spirituality and religious change. Among other things, she has explored why women are more likely to practise different forms of alternative spirituality.

The moderator is Manon Hedenborg White, historian of religion at Malmö University.