11/07/2025 16:30
- 17:30
HALL: Lecture Hall 50
Proponent:
Prinesdom P.
Chair:
Deibl J.,
Mandelkow K.,
Prinesdom P.
Speaker:
Mandelkow K.,
Prinesdom P.
Serving as religious, social and business hubs by merging spiritual,
economic, and cultural influence, catholic monasteries had and have
profoundly impacted european rural areas, although their role has
evolved significantly from the Middle Ages to the present. As rural
populations gained economic and social independence through manifold
changes from feudal to more individualistic social societies, the
secularization of many states and the decline of monastic economic
dominance have further transformed the role of monasteries. Adapting
and shifting from their position in a feudal society to becoming
centers of community support and cultural preservation, monasteries
often focus on heritage conservation, tourism, and spiritual retreats,
while continuing to serve as symbols of cultural identity, often due
to architecturally significant buildings, libraries and scriptoria,
but also preserving or extending to services such as education,
healthcare, and almsgiving.
Possible fields to explore:
Did and/or do monasteries balance spiritual and economic roles in a
rural society?
Do their legacies shape and/or contribute to rural identities today?
What role do monasteries play in contemporary rural development and
how have modern social changes affected their relevance in rural life?