Claire Vidal
PhD Student in Anthropology
Université Paris Ouest
Nanterre La Defense,
Laboratoire d’Ethnologie
et de Sociologie Comparative
[email protected]
www.mae.u-paris10.fr/lesc/spip.php?article141
26 years – French nationality
Research activities
geographic areas
China (mainland, Taiwan, Hong-Kong),
Zhejiang province, Zhoushan archipelago (舟山市), Mount Putuo (普陀山)
fields of research
Anthropology of religion (Buddhism, pilgrimage, rituals, ascetic practices) and processes of religious revival (spread of religious knowledge and practices, religious propaganda); cultural and tourism policies; heritage politics; cosmopolitanism/globalization
PhD Thesis (since 2009)
title
supervisor
description
Putuoshan, a cosmopolitan site.
The Buddhist cult of Guanyin in contemporary China
Brigitte Baptandier ([email protected]),
Centre for Ethnology and Comparative Sociology (LESC, CNRS–UMR 7186)
Paris West Nanterre La Defense (UPO)
A study of the Buddhist pilgrimage in the Putuoshan (Zhoushan, Zhejiang) to analyze
the revival of Buddhism in contemporary China, as a social, political and economic
phenomenon.
Fieldworks in China (mainland, Hong-Kong, Taiwan)
2012
2011
2010
2009
Putuoshan (Zhoushan, Zhejiang), Shanghai, Hangzhou (Zhejiang), 3 months
Mainland China (Putuoshan, Shanghai); Taiwan (Taipei, Foguangshan), 6 months
Putuoshan, Shanghai, Nanjing (Jiangsu), 4 months
Putuoshan, 1 month
Visiting Fellowships
2012
Grant for visiting scholar at the Chinese University of Hong-Kong 香港中文大学,
Doctoral School 395 (Milieux, Cultures, Sociétés du Passé et du Présent), 1 month
2010
Grant for International student mobility for an exchange program with the Nanjing
University of Aeronautics and Astronautics 南京航空航天大学, CRIF (Conseil Régional d’Ile-de-France), 4 months
Research funding and fellowships
2012
2011
2010
PhD fieldwork grant, EFEO, 4 months
Grant for fieldwork and international student mobility, CRIF, 3 months
PhD fieldwork grant, LESC, 7 months
2010
Grant for fieldwork awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research of
France, Program ”Bourses Aires culturelles”
Collaborative international research programs
2013-2015
”Elder masters and new generations of religious specialists in China today : Ethnographic fieldwork on daily life and anthropology of social change”, ANR project, coordinated by Adeline Herrou, Laboratoire d’Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative
2010-2013
”Buddhism after Mao”, Emergence(s) programme funded by the City of Paris, coordinated by Ji Zhe and Vincent Goossaert, Groupe Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités (GSRL)
Conference organization
2013/06/17-18
Annual workshop for PhD students (three panels, 2 days). LESC, Nanterre (France)
2013/06/04/
Stand ”Emergence(s) 2010 : Buddhism after Mao”, coordinated by Ji Zhe. Congress
Research in Paris, Paris (France)
2012/11/04
Conference on ”Writing Anthropology” (in French, 6 hours). Participants : Sophie
Houdart, Sylvaine Camelin, Laurence Caillet. LESC, Nanterre (France)
2010–2013
Workshop for PhD students ”Writing Anthropology” (in French, 24 hours/year).
LESC, Nanterre (France): www.mae.u-paris10.fr/lesc/spip.php?rubrique60
Reports (in French)
2012/12/20
AERES report (French Evaluation Agency), LESC PhD activities (2007-2012),
written with Azita Bathaïe, LESC (4p)
2012/11/13
Field report, Putuoshan, a cosmopolitan site. The Buddhist cult of Guanyin in
contemporary China, EFEO (15p)
2012/10/07
Workshop report, Emergences project, Xiamen Workshop (15-17/07/2012), ”Study
on Buddhism in Contemporary China : Fields, Methods, and Sources”, GSRL (Groupe
Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités) (3p)
Publications and Research presentations
Book chapter
Forthcoming
”Touch the intimate heart of world. Chinese Buddhism and the World Expo in
Shanghai 2010” (in French), Ethnography of the Universal. Shanghai World Exhibition
2010, editors : Brigitte Baptandier and Sophie Houdart
Unpublished papers
2008-2009
Article (in French), Mont Saint Odile and the Holy Patron of Alsace (Master 2,
23p)
2007-2008
Master thesis (in French), The cult of Guanyin, otherness and locality in China,
master supervisor : Brigitte Baptandier (Master 1, with distinction, 110p)
International workshops and congress
2012/04/17
Workshop ”Young Researchers”, French Association of Chinese Studies (AFEC), Collège de France, Paris (France) : ”Religious knowledge in contemporary China. Study
of the short film ”The Pilgrimage of Putuoshan” (in French)
2013/04/12
Workshop ”Comparative Anthropology of Buddhism”, organized by Nicolas Sihlé
(Centre d’études himalayennes) and Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière (Centre Asie du
Sud-Est), EHESS, Paris (France) : ”Power relations in Chinese Buddhism. Ethnographic perspective on the opening-day ceremony in the Buddhist Academy of Putuoshan” (in French)
2013/01/3102/04
Internal scientific workshop ”Masters of Putuoshan”, organized by Adeline Herrou and
Georges Favraud, LESC, Paris (France): ”Elder masters and new generations of religious specialists in China today : Ethnographic fieldwork on daily life and anthropology
of social change” (in French)
2012/11/29
Workshop ”New Perspectives on the History of Chinese Buddhism: 1900-2012”, organized by Vincent Goossaert et Ji Zhe, GSRL (Groupe, Sociétés, Religions, Laïcités),
Paris (France): ”Revival, reinvention, modernization. Chinese Buddhism since 1900:
How to describe the transformations?”
2012/07/15-17
Workshop Emergence(s) ”Study on Buddhism in Contemporary China : Fields, Methods, and Sources 当代中国佛教研究：田野、方法与资源”, organized by Ji Zhe,
Taipingyan Temple, Xiamen (China): ”Mount Putuo and Buddhist cult of Guanyin.
The Buddhist revival in contemporary China 普陀山与观音信仰 · 当代中国佛教的
复兴”
2011/09/21-24
First Congress of the French Association of Ethnology and Anthropology (AFEA),
EHESS, Paris (France): ”An universalist alternative” (in French)
Regular presentations: B.Baptandier’s Seminar, ”China Workshop” (in French)
2013/06/28
”PhD Dissertation : Mount Putuo, a cosmopolitan site. The Buddhist cult of Guanyin
in contemporary China”
2012/12/21
”From the Department of Philosophy of Huashida to Buddhist Academy of Putuoshan:
new research perspectives (2012)”
2012/04/10
”Doing a fieldwork in Mount Putuo. Inside an insular microcosm and a Buddhist
pilgrimage site”
2012/03/30
”PhD Thesis presentation: Mount Putuo, a cosmopolitan site. The Buddhist cult of
Guanyin in contemporary China”
2011/01/14
”Buddhism of the Putuoshan during the World Expo Shanghai 2010”
Presentations: LESC Workshops for PhD Students (in French)
2013/05/29
Writing Anthropology workshop : A chapter ”Putuoshan : a mountain on the South
China Sea”
2012/01/25
Writing Anthropology workshop: An article ”Buddhism and the World Expo Shanghai
2010. The conceptualization of the harmonious world”
2011/11/30
PhD Collaborative Meetings: ”Scientific watch and visibility on the internet”
Teaching activities
Occasional presentations for university courses (in French)
2013/12/05
Paris West University Nanterre La Defense (UPO), Department of Anthropology. Gregory Delaplace’s seminar on ”Asian field” (Master) : ”From fieldwork to dissertation:
Buddhist pilgrimage in contemporary China” (2 hours)
2012/05/03
National Institute of Oriental Language and Civilization (Inalco), Department of Chinese studies. Ji Zhe’s seminar on ”The Chinese Religions” (undergraduate): ”Putuo
Island : reinvention of pilgrimage practices and Buddhist knowledge in contemporary
China” (2 hours)
2010/12/09
Paris West University Nanterre La Defense (UPO), Department of Anthropology.
Raphaël Voix’s seminar on ”Introduction to the anthropology of religion” (undergraduate): ”An anthropology of pilgrimage” (2 hours)
Part-time Guest lecturer
1st
semester
2012-2013
INALCO, Courses of the social sciences methodolody (18 hours), ”Methods for Social
Sciences and Humanities” (undergraduate)
1st semester
2012-2013
UPO, Department of Psychology (24 hours), ”Introduction to sociology and social
anthropology”(undergraduate)
2nd semester
2011-2012
UPO, Department of Psychology (36 hours), ”Transformations of Contemporary Societies” (undergraduate)
1st semester
2011-2012
INALCO, Courses of the social sciences methodolody (15 hours), ”Methods for Social
Sciences and Humanities” (undergraduate)
1st semester
2010-2011
UPO, Department of Anthropology (40 hours), ”Basic texts of French anthropology”
and ”Fieldworks methodolody” (undergraduate)
University Education
2010
Certificate of Chinese Language, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) 南京航空航天大学, Nankin, Jiangsu, Chine.
2007–2009
Master in Anthropology and Comparative Sociology, Paris West University
(UPO), Nanterre, France
2007–2008
Degree in Chinese Language for beginners, National Institute of Oriental Language
and Civilization (INALCO), Paris, France
2004–2007
Bachelor in Humanities, Anthropology-Ethnology, Toulouse-le Mirail University
(UTM), Toulouse, France
Skills and Interests
Languages
french
english
chinese
native language
european level B2-C1
european level B1 (stays and studies in China)
Computer
office
bibliographical
research
LATEX (Linux), LibreOffice, Microsoft Office
BibTeX
library catalogues and online databases
Documentary research jobs
2010-2011
2009-2010
Contribution to the database of the academic researches (OGURE)
Documentary research training at the University Library of Nanterre (6 months)
Affiliation
2012-2013
since sept.2012
since feb.2013
LESC PhD Students Representative elected for a one year
Member of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS)
Member of the French Association for Chinese Studies (AFEC)