Ms. Tamasin Ramsay (PhD candidate)

Biography

Primary Supervisor

Professor Lenore Manderson

Co-Supervisor

Dr. Wendy Smith

BHSc. (Paramedic) Victoria University, G.Dip.Soc.Hlth (Medical Anthropology) University of Melbourne.

Tamasin is a paramedic and anthropologist who has a particular interest in the relationship between faith, response to disaster and forms of outreach and care. Her PhD explores the way in which members of the Brahma Kumaris ascetic meditation community make sense of disaster, and ground their spiritual practice in times of trauma in order to care for themselves, each other and the broader community. Tamasin has worked with senior and grass roots members of the Brahma Kumaris and, on the basis of her research, has been consulted by the Orissa State Disaster Management Authority in Orissa, and the International Red Cross in India. Tamasin's research makes a special contribution to the anthropology of disaster and the anthropology of religion. Her research findings suggest that in order to adequately equip people to respond to disaster, it is necessary to broaden the understanding of how people, both separately and collectively, manage and respond to traumatic circumstances that cause suffering. While acknowledging all forms outreach, there may be inherent capacities in faith-based organizations that are, as yet, under-utilized in the disaster context. Suffering is manifold and so too are its solutions. This study suggests that faith-based organizations may offer unique and beneficial forms of humanitarian outreach.

Tamasin's PhD thesis, Custodians of Purity: An Ethnography of the Brahma Kumaris, is currently under examination.

Research Interests

Interested in the anthropology of consciousness and helping to further the understanding of mystical experience in academic discourse and dialogue.

My doctoral research looks at the ways in which the spiritual technology of members of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKs) shapes their experience of disaster. I am exploring how someone’s intimate and private spiritual practice becomes manifest and practical in the context of disaster and the ways in which BKWSU practice and theology influences BKs ideas around humanitarian service and methods to relieve suffering.

Fieldwork sites:
Manhattan, USA and Orissa, India.

Awards and Commendations

2008-2009 Australian Postgraduate Award

2007-2008 Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship

2000 Centennial Humanitarian Award. JWM Global Hospital and Research Centre (Rajasthan, India)

Publications

Journal Articles

Ramsay, Tamasin, Manderson, Lenore and Smith, Wendy (2010). ‘Changing a mountain into a mustard seed: Spiritual practices and responses to disaster among New York Brahma Kumaris', Journal of Contemporary Religion (forthcoming, 25:1).

Ramsay, Tamasin (2009). ‘Addressing humanitarian concerns: Suffering, spirituality and service in the disaster setting', Prehospital Disaster Medicine, 24:3, pp s135-136.

Weissbecker, Inka, et al. (2009). 'The impact of climate change on mental health and psychosocial well-being: Guidelines for action', in Larry Winter Roeder Jnr. (ed.), 2008 NGO Framework for Action Report. Climate Caucus: United Nations. Pp 76-84.

Ramsay, Tamasin, Smith, Wendy (2008). ‘The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University', International Institute of Asian Studies Newsletter 47, Spring 2008, IIAS: Leiden. pp 1,4,5.

Ramsay, Tamasin, 2005, ‘The unresearched factor in disaster management: Spiritual preparedness'. International Journal of the Humanities, Common Ground: Melbourne. 2:2, pp 1101-1110.

Publications in revision

Ramsay, Tamasin, Manderson, Lenore and Smith, Wendy. ‘Reauthoring and resilience: Aspects of spiritual care and disaster in Orissa, India' (International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters)

Ramsay, Tamasin. ‘States of sentiment and rituals of silence: An ethnographic account of the passing of Dadi Prakashmani' (Journal of Contemporary Ethnography)

Ramsay, Tamasin. ‘Declaration of psychosocial rights by the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine' (Disasters)

Book Chapters

Ramsay, Tamasin. 2010. Spirituality, resilience and post-traumatic growth (working title). In Climate Change and Human Wellbeing (working title), edited by Marsella, A., International and Cultural Psychology Book Series: Springer (accepted for publication, forthcoming).

Conference Presentations

Ramsay, Tamasin. (2009). Spirituality, the United Nations and climate change: A call to action. Paper presented at the Parliament of the Worlds Religions, Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia, 3-9 December 2009.

Ramsay, Tamasin (2009). Spirit possession and purity: A case study of a Brahma Kumaris ascetic. Paper presented at the Medical Anthropology at the Intersections: Celebrating 50 Years of Interdisciplinarity, Yale University, New Haven, USA, September 24-27 2009.

Smith, Wendy, and Ramsay, Tamasin (2009). Managing and extending the global reach of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU). In International Symposium on Management and Marketing of Globalizing Asian Religions, 10-14 August, at National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan.

Ramsay, Tamasin (2009). Addressing humanitarian concerns: Suffering, service and spirituality in the Disaster Setting. Poster presented at World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2009, Vancouver, Canada, May 12-15 2009.

Ramsay, Tamasin (2008). Consciousness, care and climate change. Paper presentation at United Nations Environment Program, World Environment Day, Orissa, India. June 5.

Walsh, Trevor, Ramsay, Tamasin and Smith, Wendy (2007). The Transplantation of eastern spirituality into a contemporary Australian socio-cultural environment. Paper presentation at Spirituality in Australia Psychological: Social and Religious Perspectives. (University of Western Sydney, Australia) July 20.

Ramsay, Tamasin (2007), Re-Authoring the Self: Spirituality and Suffering in the context of Disaster. Paper presentation at Transitions: Health & Mobility in Asia & the Pacific (ARC Conference, Monash University, Australia) June 24-26.

Ramsay, Tamasin (2006). A Psycho-spiritual Program of Response to Disaster. Paper presentation at 8^th Asia Pacific Conference on Disaster Medicine (Tokyo, Japan) November 20-22.

Ramsay, Tamasin (2004). The Missing Piece: Spiritual Preparedness Paper presentation at 2^nd International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities (Prato, Italy) July 20-23.

Non-Governmental Reports

Ramsay, Tamasin. (2007). Spiritual care guidelines. Disaster response for Brahma Kumaris, Malaysia. Prepared for Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, Malaysia.

Ramsay, Tamasin. (2009). Disaster Preparedness. Prepared for Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, Annual European Teachers Meeting, Oxford, UK.