Herrmann-Fertig, Lisa
Congratulations on passing the colloquium on 25 June 2019.
Dissertation topic: "Intercultural communication in the mission. 'Music as a tool' of the Jesuits in South India from the end of the 17th century until their expulsion in 1759."
Assistant to the Chair of Ethnomusicology.
Contact address at the University of Würzburg:
Institute of Music Research
Domerschulstraße 13
97070 Würzburg
Tel. 0931 / 31 - 8 28 28
First supervisor: Prof. Dr Ulrich Konrad
Second supervisor:
Prof. Dr Philip V. Bohlman (University of Chicago)
Class in the Graduate School: "Philosophy, Languages, Arts"
Doctorate in the Graduate School from SS 2015.
Abstract:
The extraordinary missionary successes of the Society of Jesus are based above all on the psychologically well thought-out missionary methodology and the well-considered adaptation to the lifestyles and educational level of the people to be converted. Thus, artistic and aesthetic forms of expression such as music, dance and theatre were also used by the missionaries to spread the Catholic message, especially in the main field of pastoral care and education, and formed a possible tool in the context of intercultural communication. This resulted in musical cultural change, as the music of the European missionaries and the indigenous music of those being proselytised influenced each other. The different categories of musical material, the performers and the occasions of performances are particularly worthy of investigation.
As the members of the order were committed to worldwide mobility, they were also active in South India. This area had been under the control of the Portuguese crown since the end of the 15th century, which meant that the majority of the missionaries came from Portugal at the beginning of their work there. German-speaking Jesuits can be traced to have provided increased support from the end of the 17th century until the expulsion of the Society of Jesus from Portugal and the Portuguese colonies in 1759.
A special feature with regard to the communication of the members of the order are their letters and reports, which soon formed a global information exchange system, some of which were published in contemporary publications, but most of which still lie unprocessed in various archives. The topics dealt with in them are considered to have been written by experts and were written directly on the pulse of the times at the respective location. They should also be analysed as an important source for music research. However, unlike the Paraquaria mission, for example, the results for South India have not yet been finalised; so far, only hypotheses based on research results from other regions can be formulated.
The fact that the consequences of this missionary activity can still be felt in the field of music has recently been demonstrated by scientific endeavours in the field of ethnomusicological workshops, ethnodoxology, ethno-worship and work at the Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music.
