Dissertation
EXBODIMENT: TRANSFORMED SUBJECTIVITIES IN A THAI BHIKKHUNI TEMPLE
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
05/2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006539
Abstract
This dissertation examines the process of subjective change among Thai Female Monks, formally known as bhikkhunis. Bhikkhunis are not socially recognized by broader institutions of Theravāda Buddhism, making their experiences an ideal study in how change happens. I present my idea of ExBodiment to analyze the process of change starting externally that the individual gradually internalizes. Through a presentation of multiple case studies, I am to shift ethnographic attention to the lived experiences of practitioners, significantly addressing what monastic ordination ‘did’ for them. These case studies highlight the profound impact of social perceptions on embodied practice, especially for a practice as controversial as bhikkhunis. I argue that the bhikkhunis’ teachings centered on bodily impermanence and nonself with gendered significance accompanies the external, affective change toward subjectivities. I analyze emotion as the pivotal mechanism for subjective change, as emotionality is situated both socially and personally. This dissertation offers implications for gender studies, Buddhist studies, affect theory, and theory of self. By unpacking the intricate process of change through ExBodiment, it advances our understanding of how external social forces intersect with internalized embodied practices to engender profound shifts in individual subjectivities among female monastics in the Thai Bhikkhuni Movement.
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Details
- Title
- EXBODIMENT
- Creators
- Daphne Weber
- Contributors
- Julia Cassaniti (Chair)Joanna Cook (Committee Member)Marsha Quinlan (Committee Member)Clare Wilkinson (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 271
- Identifiers
- 99901121437001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation