Cas Wepener

Bio: Cas Wepener is an academic researcher from University of Pretoria. The author has contributed to research in topics: Liturgy & Worship. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 71 publications receiving 459 citations. Previous affiliations of Cas Wepener include Stellenbosch University.

Ritual and the generation of social capital in contexts of poverty : a South African exploration

Abstract: Abstract This article forms a part of a larger research project in the Paarl area of South Africa. This specific contribution comes from the field of liturgy. Ritual data were collected in several congregations by means of participatory action research. Some of the data gathered will be analyzed and interpreted here by means of ritual criticism. In this article, the theoretical foundation is briefly explained, as well as the specific way in which ritual criticism will be conducted. The concepts of social capital and poverty will first be explored, specifically with regard to the relation between the two concepts, as well as Ammerman's use of the concept of social capital in congregational studies. Following that, the so-called dimensions, processes, and qualities of ritual are presented. By making use of some of the data, the dimensions of ritual are discussed in the light of the concepts of poverty and social capital. The hypothesis with which this research works is that certain dimensions of rituals are “better” or “more adequate” with regard to the generation of social capital in contexts of poverty than other dimensions, and that, depending on the context, some dimensions may even be counter-productive in this regard. This hypothesis is then discussed in the light of the collected data by attempting to show how these rituals are functioning as generators of social capital. Zusammenfasssung Die Ergebnisse dieses Artikels sind Teil eines größeren Forschungsprojekts, das im Paarl gebiet in Südafrika durchgeführt wurde. Dieser spezifische Beitrag ist der Liturgik zuzuordnen. Mit Hilfe von ‚teilnehmender Beobachtung‘ in verschiedenen Gemeinden wurden Daten zu Ritualen erhoben. Einige dieser zusammengetragenen Daten werden hier im Sinne der ‚Ritual-Kritik‘ analysiert und interpretiert. Es wird sowohl die theoretische Grundlage als auch die genaue Art, in welcher Weise ‚Ritual-Kritik‘ durchgeführt werden kann, erklärt. Zuerst werden dazu die Konzepte ‚Soziales Kapital‘ und ‚Armut‘ untersucht, vor allem in Bezug auf das wechselseitige Verhältnis zueinander, ähnlich wie bei Ammerman's Verwendung des Begriffs ‚Soziales Kapital‘ im Rahmen der Untersuchungen in Bezug auf Gemeinden. Anschließend werden die Dimensionen, Prozesse und Eigenschaften von Ritualen präsentiert. Durch die Auswertung einiger der Daten werden die Dimensionen eines Rituals im Horizont der Konzepte von ‚Armut‘ und ‚Sozialem Kapital‘ diskutiert. Die These dieses Artikels ist es, dass gewisse Dimensionen der Rituale ‚besser‘ oder ‚angemessener‘ sind in Bezug auf die Erzeugung Sozialen Kapitals im Kontext von Armut als andere Dimensionen, und dass, je nach Zusammenhang, einige Dimensionen darauf bezogen sogar kontraproduktiv sein können. Diese These wird dann angesichts der erhobenen Daten diskutiert, mit dem Versuch darzustellen, wie diese Rituale als Generatoren des Sozialen Kapitals fungieren.

The Role of Religious Ritual in Social Capital Formation for Poverty Alleviation and Social Development. Theoretical and Methodological Points of Departure of a South African Exploration

Abstract: The article is a presentation of a South African research project in which researchers in the fields of ritual-liturgical studies and social development are collaborating to explore the role of religious ritual in the kinds of social capital formation that have a direct significance and implication for alleviating poverty and promoting social development at grassroots level. Focusing on Christian congregations in poor socio-economic contexts in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the aim of the research is to understand social capital formation through the lens of religious ritual. The research project builds on the hypothesis that social capital has a role to play in the related goals of poverty alleviation and social development, something which it seeks to conceptualise and explore in greater detail. Within this framework the discussion explores and contextualises the conceptual link between social capital and the practice of religious ritual in present-day South African society by drawing on existing research and theoretical debates, both nationally and internationally. This enables the authors to present some additional notes on the key theoretical, conceptual and methodological points of departure of the undertaken project. These are followed by a number of concluding observations about the modes of investigation and action steps through which the research topic is currently being further developed.

Liturgy on the edge of tradition

Abstract: In this article the relationship between liturgy and tradition is looked at. In the first part of the paper some processes underlying the dynamic relationship that exists between liturgy and tradition is scrutinised, namely liturgical inculturation, the invention of tradition as well as identity formation. The second part is an exploration of how these three underlying processes function in liturgy on the edge of tradition. This is attempted by making use of the latest service book of the Dutch Reformed Church entitled Vir die erediens: 'n handleiding as a test case. An attempt is made to point out how this new service book is a good example of the relationship that exists between liturgy and tradition, and especially how it is an example of liturgy on the edge of tradition. This is done by trying to identify how the three "I"s of inculturation, invention and identity formation are discernable in the final product.

Researching rituals : on the use of participatory action research in liturgical studies

Abstract: There is an upsurge with regard to research on liturgy. Several factors played a role in the renewed interest in liturgy and liturgical research. Parallel with these deve-lopments a need for a valid methodology within this field exists. The aim of this article is to explore qualitative methodology with specific reference to participatory action research. The intention is to provisionally investigate this research methodology in terms of its usefulness for liturgical research. With this in mind several approaches within the field of liturgy are explored. Secondly, some developments within liturgical research are put on the table in order to highlight the complexity of the object that research has to deal with and the issues that the research methodology has to take into account. The research results serve as a basis for some practical proposals with regard to the use of participatory action research in liturgical research.

Anthropology as Performance

Abstract: Several years ago I saw Peter Sellers in the movie Being There. In a most convincing manner he personified a gardener tending the garden of a huge mansion. His only contact with the world outside was a Television and its remote control. His garden was real, the world beyond a metaphor. Culture, to him, was indeed the original latin cultura derived from the verb colo 'to plough; to till; to tend'. The soil, the seeds, the seasons and their harvest were his paradigm. The moment his master died he strolled into a universe he did not know; but he continued to measure even this human environment by the standards of his ecological pragmatism. His inversion of social reasoning was embraced as 'in-depth-understanding' cast into stunningly simple, lucid metaphors. For instance, he answered questions on economic recession calmly in the logic of his garden: after summer come fall and winter followed again by spring. Decay and seeming barrenness are absolutely necessary for the renewal of nature. His answer was simple: being there, you'll understand: you'll understand what happens, you'll understand what is necessary to do; it made him president. The thrust of the argument is the observation that culture is a matter of 'being there', 'know-how', 'familiarity', 'acting skillfully and strategically'; it equals digging into the soil, planting the seeds, watching the weather, inferring the necessary and tending the processes of growth and fruition. Culture is a process, an ongoing con cern, a praxis that takes its meaning only in application, in practices that chisel the presence of culture. Human culture, the object of cultural anthropology, is such a praxis, rooted in practice and interaction as conditions for the fruition of human knowledge. In a kind of 'radical hermeneutics'1 the humanities are cultivated in the open, among fellow human beings, taking as their vehicle the four dimensions of shared presence that unite time and place. Human time and human space, man-made presence, are the only rift into 'general, physical time' and 'general, physical space' that opens up to us. All that we can achieve or know, we perform in that 'clearing'; it constitutes our garden, our stage, our opportunity. This performance is the praxis of human culture.

Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity

Abstract: Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity. Roy A. Rappaport. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.536 pp.

사회사업에서의 Participatory Action Research(PAR)와 Action Research(AR) 모델 적용 필요성에 관한 연구

Abstract: 사회사업 조사연구는 복잡하고 다양한 인간의 욕구와 문제들을 해결하고 예측하기 위하여 과학적 방법론을 적극 활용하여 왔다. 과학적 방법론은 인간행동의 기준을 설정하고 결과를 제시하는데 객관성을 제공한다는 이유로 선호되고 있다. 그러나 이러한 과학적 방법론을 사회사업실천영역에서 사용하는데 있어서 간과해서 안 될 점은 클라이언트를 중심에 놓고 조사연구를 실행할 수 있어야 한다는 것이다. 즉, 개입을 계량화하는데 초점을 두지 않고 클라이언트를 중심에 두고 역량 강화할 수 있는 방법이 필요한 것이다. 이러한 맥락에서 본 연구는 사회사업 본연의 가치인 클라이언트 중심의 조사연구 접근과 이론과 실천의 간극을 메우는 하나의 교량으로서 실행연구(AR: action research)와 참여적 실행연구(PAR: participatory action research)의 개념과 과정을 소개하고 한국 사회사업실천에의 적용가능성을 모색하였다. AR과 PAR의 개념과 역사, 실행과정을 분석하고 사회사업실천에의 필요성과 적용점을 분석해본 결과, 필요성에 있어서는 실천현장에서의 적용용이성, 지역사회기반의 일반주의 실천접근과의 적합성, 조사연구와 실천의 통합, AR기술의 실천기술로서의 활용성 등으로 나타났다. 적용상의 이점으로는 클라이언트 문제와 욕구에 대한 보다 깊은 이해, 다각적인 맥락에 의거한 해결방법 모색, 조사자 곧 실천가 자신의 반성과 성장, 임파워먼트 실행의 촉매제로서의 기능, 조사연구의 확대가능성, 지역사회기반의 조사연구 확대, 효과적인 사회복지 조직관리에 있어서의 적용 등인 것으로 나타났다. 마지막으로 한국 현장에 AR을 도입하기 위해서 유의할 점으로 조사연구자로서의 실천가의 역량강화, 공동협력연구의 필요, 현장과 실천중심 연구를 강조하는 인센티브 제공, 구체적인 액션리서치의 한국형 모델 구축 등 4개의 과제를 제언하였다.

Transforming Mission Paradigm Shifts In Theology Of Mission

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