Largest Collective Event in the World
| Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Discipline | Social Psychology, Health Psychology | ||
| Participants | Academics, Health Practitioners and Science Journalists | ||
| Purpose | Policy and Practice Engagement | ||
| Who? | Dr Nick Hopkins | ||
| What? | A series of conferences and dissemination events | ||
| Why? | To examine the experience and impact of participating in the world’s largest collective event | ||
| Where? | The first major event was a two day International Conference on Social Identity and Health in Exeter in June. The second event was a one day symposium in St Andrews in June on groups, cultural practices and well-being. The third will be a two day event in Allahabad, India in January 2013 | ||
Context and Background
Funded by the ESRC, Dr Nick Hopkins has been studying the largest collective event in the world. Every year, in the Hindu month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February), pilgrims gather at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers at Allahabad (India) to perform a series of sacred rituals - notably to bathe in the rivers. Each year, millions attend, and hundreds of thousands undertake to remain for the full month, living in rudimentary tents and experiencing night-time temperatures approaching zero centigrade. The event is also very crowded and noisy. All in all, life in the Mela is difficult and demanding.
He has been investigating how pilgrims experience the event and has sought to disseminate the findings to a diverse audience – including academics (e.g., social psychologists, health psychologists, human geographers, etc) and practitioners (e.g., health practitioners, those involved in the planning and managements of collective events).
The research involves a longitudinal survey of pilgrims (before, during and after their pilgrimage), interviews, and, ethnographic observation. He found those participating in this collective event reported a longitudinal increase in well-being and that their strength of identification as a Hindu also increased. An important feature of the event in producing these effects seems to be the shared sense of identity that pilgrims develop during the course of the festival. This provides a sense of social support and facilitates the expression and performance of identity-relevant practices.
As this work complements and extends work on the social determinants of health, the first event was organised to bring together researchers addressing these issues in many different contexts (e.g., in Care Homes for the elderly, in the London bombings).
Results & Outcomes
The first conference (attended by about 40) was attended by a Science Journalist and resulted in a substantial report in The Psychologist. The connections established at this event facilitated the wider dissemination of the first major publication arising from this project (freely available at: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0047291). In turn the research was covered by newspapers (The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Express, The Sun, The Courier, Metro). It also featured in an interview conducted on Radio Scotland’s ‘Good Morning Scotland programme’ and will feature in BBC Radio 4’s ‘Health Check’. With regards to the next event in Allahabad, by liaising with various Science Journalists he hopes the work reaches a large audience in India and beyond.
More Information
For more information please contact Dr Nick Hopkins, n.p.hopkins@dundee.ac.uk
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