Epics, Orality, and the Primacy of Sound with Dr. Sundaram 2016.10.25

Non-CAS Event
Tuesday, October 25, 2016, 4:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Sturm 286

Oral modes of performance have permeated the Indian social, ritual, and political landscapes for some time. In the Sanskrit tradition, sound is the primary constitutive element of meaning. The relationship between sound and meaning undergirds the poetic, the religious, and the performative. Nearly all Indian performance modalities include agni (fire) either in prelude rituals or center stage throughout the performance. The feature central to both the ritual and political/social performance genres is the necessary interplay between “orality” and memory in both actors and spectators as a condition of the soteriological “success” of the performance. For more information, visit the event page here.