eprintid: 34127
rev_number: 19
eprint_status: archive
userid: 7788
dir: disk0/00/03/41/27
datestamp: 2023-12-20 14:24:05
lastmod: 2023-12-22 12:35:04
status_changed: 2023-12-20 14:24:05
type: doctoralThesis
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Koch, Christian
title: Mediating Buddhism - The Investigation of Buddha Brands in London: Resetting Realism in Religious Studies
subjects: ddc-000
subjects: ddc-100
subjects: ddc-200
subjects: ddc-290
subjects: ddc-940
subjects: ddc-990
divisions: i-72050
adv_faculty: af-07
cterms_swd: Kultur
cterms_swd: Realismus
abstract: Mediating Buddhism wants to “simply” study what the entity named “Buddhism” is and how to approach it. This leads to the following research questions:
	(1) What could be the starting point for studying Buddhism without focusing on religion 				alone, and what role could Buddhist mediators — images, concepts, or events — 				play in this?
	(2) Could the understanding of Buddhism be improved by comprehending it not as religion 			or secularism alone but also through other perspectives like science, art, technology, 			or ethics?
	(3) What impact does the study of mediational Buddhism have on religious studies as a 				discipline?
	(4) What are the implications of this study for the material religion approach, and how could 		these be improved?
	(5) Is Buddhism an object somewhere “out there,” and how can we better understand what 			Buddhism is, if it is anything?
	(6) How are actors like scientists, things, and events, gathered by Buddhist mediators, and 			vice versa?
	(7) Why was Bruno Latour (1947–2022) chosen as the theoretical background, not anyone 			else?
	(8) When studying Buddha brands, what is the relationship between religious studies and 				realism: representative, critical, or agnostic?

	The importance of Mediating Buddhism lies in its irrealist approach to studying Buddhism, which challenges traditional scientific realism in religious studies and explores the role of Buddhist mediators beyond the “religion vs. secularism” paradigm, ultimately shedding new light on understanding what Buddhism is. Mediating Buddhism aims to challenge traditional views of Buddhism by exploring its empty nature and how to approach it, with the support of Bruno Latour’s theoretical framework, which offers new perspectives and insights into this exciting field of study.
date: 2023
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00034127
ppn_swb: 1876914076
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-341273
date_accepted: 2023-10-18
advisor: HASH(0x561a62984bc8)
language: eng
bibsort: KOCHCHRISTMEDIATINGB
full_text_status: public
place_of_pub: Heidelberg
citation:   Koch, Christian  (2023) Mediating Buddhism - The Investigation of Buddha Brands in London: Resetting Realism in Religious Studies.  [Dissertation]     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/34127/1/Dissertation%20%28Christian%20Koch%29.pdf