Dr. Eva Seegers

Research Fellow

Address

Universität Hamburg

Numata Center for Buddhist Studies

Alsterterrasse 1

20354 Hamburg

Contact

Email: eseegers"AT"gmx.de

Dr. Eva Seegers, born in Austria, finished her studies in art history at the University of Graz, Austria in 2003 with a M.Phil. degree and concurrently worked as a consultant and wood conservator for the State Office for Historical Monuments of Styria for more than 10 years. Since 2006 she has worked as a curator, consultant and co-organiser for national and international exhibitions of Buddhist art and architecture.

From 2007-2012 she was doctoral researcher funded by the Canterbury Christ Church University, U.K., from which she received her Ph.D. in Theology and Religious Studies in 2012. Dr. Seegers is postdoctoral research fellow at the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Hamburg since 2012.

Her research interests center on cultural and artistic exchange and circulation processes between Asia and Europe and she therefore travels to countries like Bhutan, China (Eastern-Tibet), Japan, India, and Nepal as often as possible. Her main focus lies on Buddhist art in all its expressions, with special emphasis on contemporary religious architectonical structures (e.g. Tibetan stūpas built in Europe) and the corresponding rituals. The systematic study of sustainable innovations and possible local new interpretations play an important role. Dr. Seegers regularly presents the state of her research at national and international conferences and workshops

Publications (selection)

2015 The Innovative Stūpa-Project in Benalmadena, Spain. A Discussion on Visual Representations of Tibetan Buddhist Art in Europe, proceedings of the Annual Conference of the British Association for the Study of Religion (BASR) “Art, Religion, Performance, and ‘The Cutting Edge’”, September 3–5, 2014, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, in: DISKUS. The Open-Access Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions (forthcoming).
2015 The Getse Chorten (dGe rtse mChod rten) and Nyitse Chorten (gNyi rtse mChod rten). A Comparative Study on Two Ancient Terrace Stūpas in Khams Tibetan Area, proceedings of the 13^th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, July 21–27, 2013, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in: Journal of Comparative Cultural Studies in Architecture, Vienna (forthcoming).
Globalizing Sacred Architecture: The Principles of Contemporary Stūpa Construction, proceedings of the conference “Reading Outside the Lines: A Workshop on the Intersection of Buddhist Art and Texts”, September 13–15, 2013, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany (forthcoming).
Tibetan Stūpas in Modern Europe: The Opportunities and Risks of Constructing Buddhist Monuments in a New Cultural Context, proceedings of the conference “Icons of Impermanence: Contemporary Buddhist Art”, July 6‒7, 2012, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (forthcoming).
2012 Visual Expressions of Buddhism in Contemporary Society: Tibetan Stūpas Built by Karma Kagyu Organisations in Europe, proceedings of the conference “Vajrayana Buddhism in Russia: From Contacts to Interaction”, October 16‒18, 2010, Russian Academy of Science, Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, Russia, pp. 630-660.
2011 Visual Expressions of Buddhism in Contemporary Society: Tibetan Stūpas Built by Karma Kagyu Organisations in Europe. PhD Thesis, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, United Kingdom.

Conference Presentations (selection)

2014 "The Innovative Stūpa-Project in Benalmadena, Spain. A Discussion on Visual Representations of Tibetan Buddhist Art in Europe", Art, Religion, Performance, and 'The Cutting Edge'. Annual Conference of the British Association for the Study of Religion (BASR), September 3–5, 2014, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
2014 "Tibetan Stūpas (mchod rten) in Europe: Convert Romanticism and Worship", 17th Congress of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (IABS), August 18–23, 2014, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
2013 "Globalizing Sacred Architecture. The Principles of Contemporary Stūpa Construction", Reading Outside the Lines: A Workshop on the Intersection of Buddhist Art and Texts, September 13–15, 2013, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany
2013 "The Getse Chorten (dGe rtse mChod rten) and Nyitse Chorten (gNyi rtse mChod rten). A Comparative Study on Two Ancient Terrace Stūpas in Khams Tibetan Area", 13th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS), July 21–27, 2013, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2012 "Tibetan Stūpas in Modern Europe: The Opportunities and Risks of Constructing Buddhist Monuments in a New Cultural Context” (revised and extended paper), Icons of Impermanence: Contemporary Buddhist Art, July 6‒8, 2012, The University of British Columbia (BCS), Institute of Asian Research, Vancouver, Canada
2010 "Tibetan Stūpas in Modern Europe: The Opportunities and Risks of Constructing Buddhist Monuments in a New Cultural Context”, Annual Conference of the United Kingdom Association for Buddhist Studies (UKABS), September 8, 2011, The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, United Kingdom
2010 “Visual Expressions of Buddhism in Contemporary Society: Tibetan Stūpas Built by Karma Kagyu Organisations in Europe”, Vajrayana Buddhism in Russia: From Contacts to Interaction, October 16‒18, 2010, Russian Academy of Science (RAS), Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, Russia
2008 "From Archive to Fieldwork and Back: Methodological Ruminations from the Ongoing Research on Traditional Tibetan Buddhist Architectural Structures Built in Europe", Annual Conference of the Post Graduate Research Association (PGRA), June 12, 2008, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, United Kingdom

Exhibitions (selection)

2015: National Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia
2012: Imperial Hofburg, Innsbruck, Austria
2012: The Spring, Lambeth, London, U.K.
2010: Novas Contemporary Urban Centre, London, U.K.
2010: Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
2009: Conference Centre Botanical Garden, Linz, Austria
2008: European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium
2008: Europa Passage, Hamburg, Germany
2007: Kurhaus Wiesbaden, Germany
2007: Teatro del Carmen, Vélez-Málaga, Spain
2007: West Bohemia Museum, Pilsen, Czech Republic