Elsewhere in the IAS’s programme, the Department of History organised a workshop to reflect on the fact that religion can often act as a conduit for the political effects of water. Water and Scripture examined the appearance and representation of water in the cultural world of Antique and Medieval Christians. As well as being a lens through which we can understand the foundations of one of the world’s major religions, the rich and evocative artistic works explored at this workshop also provide records of change in the political climate in the Middle and near East when faced with challenging environmental conditions. Early droughts led to different kinds of spiritual response and may offer an insight into the political and cultural consequences of water shortages in this complex region of the world.
Given that we cannot always predict the ways in which water will be understood or change in the future, and given the valuable evidence afforded by historical archives, it is important to continue to record the ways in which water affects us in the present for the benefit of future generations. Surajit Sarkar, a multimedia artist and historian, is working on a major digital archive to record hundreds of hours of oral history, heritage and knowledge embodied in rural communities in India. Through his Fellowship he made contact with numerous colleagues in Classics, Geography and Anthropology at Durham, who helped Sarkar to develop the technicalities for this archive. Sarkar’s work will ensure that historians in the future can look back on contemporary views of water, and appreciate the different ways in which this resource has been treated in cultural and political life. By appreciating the way water flows from past to present, we will more sympathetically and effectively overcome the challenges of climate change – and its attendant cultural effects – in the future.
Links to Surajit Sarkar’s ongoing multimedia work can be found via:
www.durham.ac.uk/ias/fellows/0910fellows/sarkar
Reflections
The keynote lecture of the Water and Scripture conference, delivered by Professor Henry Maguire of John Hopkins University, exemplified why the understanding of water in art is relevant to the politics of the near east today. He showed that early Christian mosaic art found in Jordan and Syria-Palestine makes unusual use of the pagan god of the sea, Thalassa, the source of all water. This peculiar combination of Christian and pagan imagery corresponds with records that show that the Red Sea was significantly lower than normal during this period. The mosaics, and the complex religious values they embody, illustrate what must have been an intense yearning for water at this time – and it highlights that religious beliefs, water needs and climate have always intertwined in this region.
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