Manfred Kremser

Manfred Kremser (born July 30, 1950 in Wiener Neustadt ; † March 3, 2013 in Wiesen im Burgenland ) was an Austrian ethnologist and consciousness researcher and from 2001 until his death he was an associate professor at the Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Vienna , where he previously worked in research since 1980.

His specialties were the religious culture of Africa and the Caribbean as well as religion / consciousness research , whereby he placed practical experience in ritual at the center of his research. In addition, he dealt with cyber anthropology and is considered a pioneer at the Vienna Institute, as in the religion / consciousness research he initiated . He was also jointly responsible for expanding the scientific offering at the institute in collaboration with Karl R. Wernhart and Wittigo Keller with research into the Afro-Caribbean diaspora .

career

First research & dissertation (1971–1978)

During his time in the basic military service of the Austrian Armed Forces with no alternative at the time, Kremser published reports that reproduced everyday life in the barracks. In order to avoid a threatened conviction after the end of his service, he left Austria for a year to go to South Africa . Nevertheless, in later years Kremser was a member of the social science advisory board of the science commission at the Federal Ministry for National Defense and Sport .

After his return in 1971, Kremser began to study ethnology (today cultural and social anthropology ) and psychology at the University of Vienna . In addition, he attended courses from 8 other subjects. As early as 1972, together with Armin Prinz , he undertook his first field research among the Azande in what was then Zaire . Based on these experiences, he completed his dissertation on witchcraft under Walter Hirschberg in 1978, dealing with the culture-specific concept of disease, taking into account the phenomenon of Mangu , which "bewitches" a person when they violate social norms.

University Assistant & Habilitation (1980-2001)

1980 Kremser first assistant of Karl R. Wernhart the Vienna Institute of Ethnology and worked with this on a reformulation of Vienna Ethnohistory , the enhanced focus on his field research is allocated. He also took part in Wernhart's research on the Afro-Caribbean diaspora , which was first treated at the Vienna Institute. This also resulted in a ten-year interdisciplinary cooperation in St. Lucia (1982–1992). In this context, he has been involved in the results, which have been published in a number of book publications, as a co-author, editor, or co-editor. As part of this project he dealt with the Kélé cult.

He pursued a similar project on intergenerational relationships together with the sociologist Leopold Rosenmayr in Mali , where Kremser advised and supported him with his knowledge of African cultures.

In 2001 he qualified as associate professor at the Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Vienna. In his two-volume habilitation thesis Shangó Transformations: From the traditional Yoruba god of thunder to digital thunderstorms in cyberspace , he examined the connection between transcendent spirituality and cultural creativity using the example of the Yoruba god of thunder Shangó . He highlighted Shangó's changes from the historical king of Oyo to the thunder god of the Yoruba as well as his reinterpretations in the Afro-Caribbean diaspora ( Atlantic slave trade ). He also looked at the takeover and the associated modifications of the deity in the digital diaspora .

Other activities

Austrian Society for Parapsychology and Frontier Areas of Science

In addition to his research activities at the University of Vienna , Kremser also dealt with the border areas of science , through which he came into contact with the Austrian Society for Parapsychology in the early 1970s as part of his field research with the Azande , which strongly influenced his scientific work without he would have ever claimed for himself that he had specialist knowledge of parapsychology.

In 1997, Kremser replaced the seriously ill Hellmut Hofmann as President of the Society.

At the same time, the addition " and boundary areas of the sciences " was introduced for society , especially since Kremser always endeavored to take an interdisciplinary approach. The high point of his term of office is the 47th Convention of the Parapsychological Association , the international professional association of scientifically working parapsychologists, which took place in Vienna in 2004, known as the "World Congress of Parapsychology" .

Kremser remained president until his death.

further activities

• Vice President of the Society for Caribbean Research (SOCARE) (1988-99)
• Chairman of the Association for Intercultural Work (1992–99)
• Vice President of the Society for Theater Ethnology (1997-2002)
• President of the Austrian Ethnomedical Society (2005–2009)

Sickness and death

In 2009 Kremser fell ill with cancer, which forced him to undergo numerous operations and chemotherapy in the years that followed. In 2011/12 Kremser withdrew from teaching. On March 3, 2013, Kremser died in his homeland in Wiesen in Burgenland after almost four years of illness. The farewell took place on March 22nd in the fire hall Simmering .

reception

At the Vienna Institute of Cultural and Social Anthropology, Kremser is considered a pioneer of religion / consciousness research , which he shaped through his approach of including the researchers' own experiences. Kremser was very interested in the subject of healing in rituals , specializing in shamanic societies in India , Africa and the Caribbean . He is also considered a pioneer in cyber anthropology . He also made significant and much-noticed contributions to music ethnology . He has extensively documented and examined the musical traditions of the Azande in the north of Central Africa .

On the occasion of his 60th birthday, the University of Vienna honored Manfred Kremser on November 19, 2010 with the symposium Performance - Transformation - Aesthetics , which was dedicated to the central research approaches of consciousness research from a cultural anthropological perspective and its spiritual dimensions.

Esoteric criticism of the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences (GWUP)

At the end of June 2013, three months after his death, Kremser was accused by the GWUP that under his leadership, students not only “research esotericism and mysticism , but, in complete contrast to good scientific practice , use esoteric methods themselves and use esoteric-mystical ideas of take over and propagate the cultures examined by them without criticism ”and that“ even young scientists are recruited from these students ”, resulting in a“ Vienna Hogwarts ”.

In a statement, the management of the Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology rejected the criticism of the GWUP, which belongs to the skeptical movement , as the criticism did not refer to Kremmer's work, but only to student achievements and statements taken out of context. She described the GWUP as " positivistic " and " ultrarational " and named the task of cultural and social anthropology to represent world views and practices through ethnographies without evaluating them as "true" or "false". These accusations were rejected by Ulrich Berger , the president of the Society for Critical Thinking (GdK), a regional group of the GWUP, as " ad hominem " and "[defense of] humbug with the defiant reference to the fact that science and its teaching are free" .

Selected Works

• Ay Bobo: Afro-Caribbean religions. 2 volumes. Vienna 1996, ISBN 978-3-85114-175-7 , ISBN 978-3-85114-559-5
• ADDR: African Digital Diaspora Religions . Münster 2000, ISBN 978-3-8258-3998-7
• Caribbean Genesis II: Spiritual work and ritual staging , in Hermann Mückler, Werner Zips & Manfred Kremser (eds.), Ethnohistory: Empiricism and Practice (Vienna Contributions to Ethnology and Anthropology 14) . Vienna: WUV, 2006
• African American Religions in the Caribbean. In: Bernd Hausberger & Gerhard Pfeisinger (Ed.): The Caribbean. History and Society 1492–2000 (Edition Weltregionen 11). ProMedia, Vienna 2005.
• The shamanic total work of art , in association Pacha Mama: Maresa Pirker et al. (Ed.), Health and Spirituality (Documentation of the Congress from June 23-26, 2005) . Vienna: pro literatur Verlag Robert Mayer-Scholz, 2005

Web links

• Literature by and about Manfred Kremser in the catalog of the German National Library
• Lecture by Manfred Kremser at the First European Spring Water Conference 2008 (youtube)

Individual evidence

Unless otherwise stated, the article is based on Wolfgang Kraus' obituary .

1. ^ ^{A b c} Wolfgang Kraus (using contributions by Philipp Budka, Marie-France Chevron, Thomas Fillitz, Elke Mader, Gertraud Seiser and Werner Zips): Obituary of the Institute for Cultural & Social Anthropology. (PDF; 55 kB) Archived from the original on October 21, 2013 ; Retrieved March 17, 2013 .  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology: Institute page on Manfred Kremser. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 3, 2013 ; Retrieved March 23, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Acknowledgments and reminiscences from colleagues and students (Institute for Cultural & Social Anthropology). (PDF; 113 kB) Archived from the original on July 12, 2013 ; Retrieved March 17, 2013 . 
4. ↑ Manfred Kremser: witchcraft <"Mangu"> with the Azande. A contribution to the understanding of culture-specific disease concepts of a Central African people . Vienna 1978
5. ^ Manfred Kremser: Research in Ethnography and Ethnohistory of St. Lucia: A Preliminary Report. (= Viennese contributions to ethnology and anthropology. Volume 3, 1986)
6. ↑ Manfred Kremser: Shango transformations. From the traditional Yoruba god of thunder to digital lightning thunderstorms in cyberspace. Vienna 2001.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Peter Mulacz: Obituary the Austrian Society for Parapsychology and border areas of science. Retrieved March 23, 2013 . 
8. ^ University of Vienna: Kremser's lectures at the University of Vienna since winter semester 1994/95. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016 ; Retrieved March 24, 2013 . 
9. ↑ See Gerhard Kubik : Theory of African Music. Volume 1: Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology: Intercultural music studies. University of Chicago Press 2010, ISBN 978-0-226-45691-1 , p. 89.
10. ↑ University of Vienna: cultural and social anthropologist Manfred Kremser celebrates 60s (November 12, 2010)
11. ↑ Krista Federspiel : With spirit research to the doctorate: Esoteric at the Vienna University. In: The Standard . June 24, 2013, accessed April 30, 2014.
12. ↑ Bernhard Hadolt, Wolfgang Kraus, Elke Mader, Gertraud Seiser: Does the University of Vienna need exorcisms? . In: Der Standard , June 25, 2013.
    Igor Eberhard : The golden board for pseudo-critical thinking . In: Der Standard , June 25, 2013.
13. ↑ GWUP Vienna: skeptiker.at. Retrieved June 30, 2013 . 
14. ↑ Ulrich Berger: Use of Reason as Eurocentric Ultra-Rationalism? In: Der Standard , June 28, 2013.