REL 360–our one credit hour course–is hosting its final movie night of the semester! We’ll be viewing two films–one created by one of our own profs, Dr. Suma Ikeuchi. […]
Tag: Suma Ikeuchi
Pagan Rites in Space
Yes, cosmonauts apparently all pee on the back right tire of the bus that carries them to the launch pad, before they take off. At least the guys do; but the ladies are said to bring a vial of urine to pour on the tire. It’s a ritual. […]
Ar·ti·facts with Prof. Ikeuchi
The second episode in our third season of ar·ti·facts features our new prof, Dr. Ikeuchi, and a fond memento from a pilgrimage she took with her father. Be sure to watch it! Ar·ti·facts: Taking the Scenic Route with Prof. Suma Ikeuchi from UA Religious Studies. […]
Why Do They Touch the Phallus? Or, Diverging Theories of Ritual
One night during my fieldwork among Brazilian migrant communities in Japan, I was invited to a dinner at Daniel’s apartment. He and his girlfriend frequented a local Brazilian evangelical church that I was studying. After the dinner, they started talking about the “strange festival” in Komaki, a city one-hour drive away from where they lived. The festival took place the previous week (on March 15 2014) and they came across its footage online. The Hōnen Festival at Tagata Shrine is best known […]
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Messing Up at Starbucks, or the Ritual Order of Choice
I’m a regular customer at Starbucks. Several times a week, I walk into one, order a drink, wait for it, say thank you, and walk out. I’m sure many of you do the same thing pretty often, if not every day, without even thinking about it. But I once failed miserably at this banal procedure. It was my first year in the US and I had just arrived from Japan, so many things were still new to me. But Starbucks […]
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Backstory: Prof. Suma Ikeuchi
“Backstory” is a series that asks the REL Faculty to tell us a little bit about themselves, to explore how they became interested in the academic study of religion and their own specialty, elaborating on their current work both within and outside the University. […]
Prof. Ikeuchi to Screen Her Research
Our newest addition to the REL faculty, Prof. Suma Ikeuchi will screen her ethnographic film “In Leila’s Room” at the 2016 Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival. Here’s a brief description of the film: A young Brazilian migrant woman, Leila, runs a small make-up salon in her apartment in Toyota City, Japan. Most of her clients are, like herself, Brazilians of Japanese descent who have return migrated to the land of their ancestors. Her small salon is also a […]
New Hire in REL
We’re extremely pleased to announce that, as of August 2016, we will have another new colleague in REL. Suma Ikeuchi is currently a doctoral candidate at Emory University, where she will receive her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology in May 2016. She also has an M.A. in Anthropology from Brandeis University and a B.A. in both History and Anthropology from Hokkaido University, Japan. […]