From
the point of view of communication this set up proved to have its problem;
as each group tends to develop conceptions of their own, and communications
between the group at home and the group in the field are rare, difficulties
may arise for the integration of the whole project, difficulties which
are perhaps immanent to our concept of interdisciplinarity. The point
of departure of the present research scheme is not some interdisciplinary
method styled in advance to be exemplified on any topic, but the necessary
to analyse a certain topic, whose investigation is beyond the possibilities
of a single discipline. As it was the subject, which made interdisciplinarity
necessary, there could not be, to begin with, any special "interdisciplinary
method" to which all members of the project should subscribe. Interdisciplinarity
was on the contrary thought of as a process, in which in common accord
and permanent mutual discussion each person should apply the typical methods
of his discipline and personal viewpoint to the common subject or certain
aspects of it. In course of this work it was hoped, and that has to a
certain extent already materialized, interdisciplinary should be realized
in several different steps, from the first one- taking over critiria and
methods from other disciplines - to the last, - common elaboration and
publication of certain topics-. By this cenception of a steady interaction
between personal research work and interdisciplinary discussion it was
also thought to keep this project in between the Skylla and Charibdis
of purely abstract methodical reflections and discussions and more data
collecting . Here again the collaboration of different disciplines within
the frame of a common topic is a unique chance to test, modify and develop
theoretical concepts.
According to this conception of Interdisciplinary
as a process whose extent and intensity cannot be fixed beforehand, the
first common task is to select and develop out of the several aspects
of the central theme, topics for the individual research which should
be large enough to assure solid monographs and at the same time be closely
enough related to each other to enable or even provoke interdisciplinary
team work. These topics as they have been planned or difined so far may
be summed up under the following five main aspects:
1. The present Jagannatha Cult and its development.(Indology, History
of Religions, Art History).
2. The religious surroundings of the Jagannatha Cult ad the relations
between both. (Indology, Philosophy, Hisstory if Religions, Art History,
Ethnology).
3. The Jagannatha Cult and its relation to the political power. (History,
Political Sciences, Jurispudence).
4. The Jagannatha Temple of Puri as a religious institution. (Social Sciences,
History, Art History).
5. Sthe Jagannatha Temple of Puri as a socio-economic centre. (Social
Sciences, Economics).
It is obvious, that these aspects
are closely related to each other, so that it is sometimes difficult or
questionable to range the topics under one or the other heading.
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