Abstract

The most precious moments in our lives are often associated with experiences of love, compassion, gratitude, devotion, or joy. We use such words to express what we feel but those words – uttered in different ways across different linguistic, cultural, and religious registers – also have a way of shaping our experiences. Are we sure that we are speaking about the same experiences? This question has sparked debates for centuries, as people have explored both what makes us different and what unites us across cultural, social, and religious boundaries.

A team of researchers based at Aarhus University is revisiting this fundamental question with new and innovative methods. We invited Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and people who don’t follow a specific religious or contemplative tradition to share their experiences of love or related qualities. 

Using audiovisual and microphenomenological methods, we are closely analysing the sensory and emotional structures of the experiences that research participants shared with us. We are also using participant observation and life-story interviews to explore how these experiences emerge from and shape people’s everyday lives. In addition, we conducted interviews within our research team to explore how we, as researchers, understand and experience love and other qualities of the heart.

Our fieldwork spans diverse locations, including Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, and Egypt.

We aim to complete our work medio 2027, but several sub-projects are now being finished while others are only just beginning. In this presentation we invite you to see and discuss some examples of our work, our preliminary findings, and the new questions and ideas that emerge in the process. 

About the speakers

Christian Suhr, Professor, Department of Anthropology, Aarhus University

Heart Openings group

Free of charge - All are welcome