'White Buddhist' Statue of Theosophist Henry Steel Olcott, Colombo (c. 1970s)
EMPIRE LINES21 Loka 2021

'White Buddhist' Statue of Theosophist Henry Steel Olcott, Colombo (c. 1970s)

Jessica Albrecht busts the founding myths of 19th century Buddhist revivalism, through a Statue of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott at Fort Railway Station in Sri Lanka, the former British colony of Ceylon.

Known as the 'White Buddhist', US Colonel Henry Steel Olcott is celebrated for sparking Sri Lanka's Buddhist revival movement in 1880s. Golden statues scatter across the island in tribute to the co-founder of the Theosophical Society, the source of religious and educational reform and resistance to British colonial rule in Ceylon.

But these statues also pose complex post-colonial questions, like whether Olcott's book, The Buddhist Catechism, was anything but 'Protestant Buddhism', or his schools simply new institutions of external control. Instead of pulling Olcott down, his statues invite us to figure out those silenced in the archives, whether the non-white Buddhists of the Panadura Debate, or the women behind Ceylon's girls schools - without whom Olcott would not have the same standing today.

PRESENTER: Jessica Albrecht, PhD student at the University of Heidelberg and editor at EnGender Journal. She focusses on the colonial entanglements of feminism and religion.

ART: 'White Buddhist' Statue of Theosophist Henry Steel Olcott, Colombo (c. 1970s).

IMAGE: 'Statue of HSO in front of Main Railroad Station in Colombo, Sri Lanka'.

SOUNDS: Kala Ketha.

PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.


Follow EMPIRE LINES at: twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936

Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(167)

Nobody Told Me Rivers Dream, Superflux (2025) (EMPIRE LINES x Klima Biennale Wien 2026)

Nobody Told Me Rivers Dream, Superflux (2025) (EMPIRE LINES x Klima Biennale Wien 2026)

Festival director Sithara Pathirana considers climate justice and public space in Europe, tracing the rights of the river Danube through Austria, Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, via the Kli...

7 Touko 20min

The Erasure of Palestine, Ahmad Al-Bazz (2026) (EMPIRE LINES x MuseumsEtc, Ibraaz)

The Erasure of Palestine, Ahmad Al-Bazz (2026) (EMPIRE LINES x MuseumsEtc, Ibraaz)

Journalist, photographer, and filmmaker Ahmad Al-Bazz captures the depopulation and destruction of Palestinian villages and towns, and the continuation of colonial histories into the present, through ...

23 Huhti 24min

Human Being and Animals, Karel Appel (1949) (EMPIRE LINES x Galerie Max Hetzler)

Human Being and Animals, Karel Appel (1949) (EMPIRE LINES x Galerie Max Hetzler)

Curator Franz W. Kaiser considers the avant-garde paintings of Karel Appel, in relation to the historic CoBrA Movement and contemporary ecologies, via Human Being and Animals (1949).Karel Appel: Varia...

9 Huhti 15min

The Thing About Making Rocks, Sovay Berriman (2026), with Marie-Anne McQuay (EMPIRE LINES Live at Flamm 2026, Liverpool Biennial 2025)

The Thing About Making Rocks, Sovay Berriman (2026), with Marie-Anne McQuay (EMPIRE LINES Live at Flamm 2026, Liverpool Biennial 2025)

In this special episode, artist Sovay Berriman and curator Marie-Anne McQuay join EMPIRE LINES live, to unearth histories of extractivism in Cornwall and Liverpool, and the relations between coloniali...

26 Maalis 56min

Revolutionary Roads. Destination: Comradeship, with Ahmet Öğüt (2025) (EMPIRE LINES x Moderna galerija, Art on the Underground)

Revolutionary Roads. Destination: Comradeship, with Ahmet Öğüt (2025) (EMPIRE LINES x Moderna galerija, Art on the Underground)

In this episode, conceptual artist Ahmet Öğüt travels by train through Ottoman Turkey, the former Yugoslavia and Western Balkans, to the London Underground, navigating histories and contemporary expre...

12 Maalis 17min

I Am a Man and a Brother (2021-Now), with Chris Day and Gabriella Gay (EMPIRE LINES Live at V&A Wedgwood)

I Am a Man and a Brother (2021-Now), with Chris Day and Gabriella Gay (EMPIRE LINES Live at V&A Wedgwood)

In this special episode, glass artist Chris Day and poet and creative producer Gabriella Gay join EMPIRE LINES live, to reflect on the complex histories of the Wedgwood Anti-Slavery Medallion, and the...

26 Helmi 59min

Hidden Histories, with Wormcasts, from the Chelsea Physic Garden

Hidden Histories, with Wormcasts, from the Chelsea Physic Garden

Wormcasts is a podcast from Chelsea Physic Garden, created by the Young Producers – a group of 16 – 24 year olds working to engage more young people with the garden.  This series explores the global h...

16 Helmi 5min

The Foreign Invention of British Art: From Renaissance to Enlightenment, Leslie Primo (2025), with Miranda Kaufmann (EMPIRE LINES Live at the National Gallery, London)

The Foreign Invention of British Art: From Renaissance to Enlightenment, Leslie Primo (2025), with Miranda Kaufmann (EMPIRE LINES Live at the National Gallery, London)

In this special episode, authors and historians Leslie Primo and Miranda Kaufmann join EMPIRE LINES live, to discuss migration, national identity, and the many heritages of Britain’s best-known artwor...

29 Tammi 58min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
seitseman
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
ihme-ja-kumma
i-dont-like-mondays
hupiklubi
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
kolme-kaannekohtaa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
aikalisa
kummitusjuttuja
lahko