Association for the Study of Esotericism and Mysticism
10th International Conference

Sacred places — that is, places which followers of certain teachings believed possessed special qualities — historically played an important role in mystical and esoteric currents. From Stone Age caves, where tribe initiations were held, to today’s “places of power” visited by representatives of a wide array of esoteric groups, sacred places became centers around which esoteric practices congregated and where secret traditions were passed on from initiator to initiate.

The role of sacred places extends beyond particular sacred sites: for many mystic and esoteric currents, sacred geography in a wider sense — for example, an understanding of how the cosmos works, of the holy character of the cardinal directions, and so on — plays a large role in their philosophy. That philosophy, in turn, is often reflected in the architecture of temples, lodges, and other centers of mystic and esoteric traditions, and are integrated into ritual symbols and iconography of esoteric currents.

This conference aims to consider sacred geography as it is studied in history, anthropology, cultural studies, and psychology. The organizing committee will accept papers on the history of places considered to be both sacred and linked with mystical and esoteric currents, on such places’ status in contemporary culture, on psychological aspects of the influence such sites have on people, and on other topics linked to sacred geography in mystical and esoteric currents.

Sample topics include but are not limited to the following:

• methodological and terminological problems of the scholarly study of sacred geography in the context of mysticism and esotericism;
• sacred geography in the East;
• sacred places in Western mystical and esoteric traditions;
• the sacred in the structure of the cosmos and the sacred character of cardinal directions in the history of esotericism;
• mystical and esoteric sacred geography in literature and art.

Working languages: Russian, English

Applications for the conference for participants from CIS countries are to be sent to the address of the organizing committee esoterra.asem@gmail.com by 01.02.2019. Due to possible visa concerns, we request that applications from participants outside of the CIS are sent by 01.12.2018. We kindly request participants to provide the following information:

1. Full name:

2. Date of birth:

3. Academic degree (if applicable):

4. Home address:

5. Place of work/study (if applicable):

6. Position:

7. Telephone number:

8. E-mail:

9. Need of an official invitation to receive an entry visa to the Russian Federation (yes/no):

10. Necessary equipment for your presentation (yes (specify)/no):

11. Title of paper:

12. Abstract:

13. Language of paper:

For Russian-speaking participants, entries 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 12 need to be filled out both in Russian and English. The applicant is also required to attach a photo of themselves, no more than 1Mb in size.

Applications for panels are accepted until 01.02.2019. Panel applications need to follow the general application form outlined above. Additionally, the panel organizer needs to provide the approximate number of panel participants and a preliminary program.

A completed application does not guarantee acceptance to the conference. The organizing committee reserves the right to ask for additional information from applicants to specify unclear applications. Decisions on applications are made by the organizing committee within a week after the application deadline. Applicants will be informed of the committee’s decision by e-mail.

Remote participation in the conference is not provided for.

A conference program including information about participants and their abstracts will be published and provided to the participants before the start of the conference. It will also be available on the ASEM website.

The conference fee is differentiated according to ASEM membership and geographical location of the participant (see table below):

Conference participants	ASEM members	ASEM non-members
Post-Soviet countries (except the Baltic countries)	500 roubles	1000 roubles
Residents of non-Post-Soviet countries	10 Euros	30 Euros

The organizational fee will be used to cover the costs of organizing the conference as well as the publication of conference papers, which is planned after the conference takes place. The collected conference materials will include papers that have been presented at the conference and accepted for publication up to 20 000 characters in length. The conference fee is paid at the time of registration.

The organizational fee does not include transportation, lodging, food or possible additional services (tours, museums, and so on). The organizing committee does not provide lodging for conference participants; however, it will provide information on local options at the request of an accepted participant.

The organizing committee is open to propositions of material and informational support from interested physical and legal persons.

Conference address: Stavropol (Russia), North-Caucasus Federal University.

All inquiries about the conference are directed to: esoterra.asem@gmail.com.

Organizing committee

Organizing committee chair: Sergey V. Pakhomov

Organizing committee members: Yuri Y. Zavhorodniy, Roman V. Nutrikhin, Stanislav A. Panin, Birgit Menzel, Yuri F. Rodichenkov, Evgeni L. Kuzmishin

The occult – the hidden – has been prevalent in various art forms for centuries. Christopher Partridge coined the term ‘occulture’ in 2004 in an effort to recognise the occult in the everyday, theorising the processes involved when popular culture disseminates occult ideas and beliefs to a wider audience. These occult and esoteric traditions are no longer hidden; instead the culture in which they are embedded has become familiar – they are ordinary and everyday.

Visual culture, as part of a broader popular culture, represents a fertile vehicle for the occult to enter everyday consciousness, even when the esoteric origins of those ideas remain unknown to the receiver. This is in opposition to secretive practices of a cultic milieu, when the occult was intended for an exclusive audience privileged with sacred and mysterious knowledge, such as, for example, ritual performances by and for adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

This session proposes to investigate the reflection and representation of occult ideas, beliefs and practices that manifest in everyday and popular forms of art from the 1870s to the present day. Focusing particularly on performance art, such as theatre and dance, as well as film, photography and print, this session would invite papers to explore occult currents in visual culture from any geographical location. In addition to academic papers, this session would welcome interdisciplinary approaches from performers and artists.

Session Convenors

Dr Michelle Foot, University of Edinburgh mfoot@exseed.ed.ac.uk

Dr Lucy Weir, University of Edinburgh lucy.weir@ed.ac.uk

Deadline for submissions: Monday 5 November 2018

Please email your paper proposal direct to the session convenors. You need to provide a title and abstract (250 words maximum) for a 25-minute paper, your name and institutional affiliation (if any).

For more information about the conference please see links below:

www.forarthistory.org.uk/our-work/conference/2019-annual-conference/occult-performances-and-reflections-the-everyday-occult-in-visual-culture/

Due to an unforeseen circumstance, ESSWE7 conference date has changed to 2-4 July, 2019. To register, please see ESSWE 7 CfP under Agenda.

POLESO

POLESO is an academic network for scholarly discussion about the relation between politics and esotericism. It falls under the auspices of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE). POLESO’s historical scope is not limited to modern or contemporary society but includes the study of historical developments from antiquity to the present. Culturally and geographically, the focus is on Western culture understood in a broad and inclusive sense, while taking into account the relevance of interactions with non-Western contexts. As an academic network committed to critical scholarly debate that seeks to stimulate objective knowledge and understanding, POLESO does not provide a context for political advocacy or activism of any kind.

Contact: Wouter J. Hanegraaff

Email: w.j.hanegraaff@uva.nl

The “Network Italiano per la Ricerca Scientifica sull’Esoterismo Occidentale” (NIRSEO) has been founded by Marco Pasi (University of Amsterdam), Michele Olzi (Università dell’Insubria), and Simona Cigliana (independent scholar) during a foundational meeting held in Rome on 29 May 2017. The main coordinator is Marco Pasi. The network is at this moment especially active through a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/204384690085333/) and a mailing list for the exchange of information and news. The aims and goals of the NIRSEO are: 1) To promote the academic study of Western esotericism by Italian scholars, whether resident in Italy or abroad; 2) To promote the academic study of Western esotericism as it may be related to any aspect of Italian history, society, and culture, independently from the nationality of the scholars who carry it out; 3) To facilitate the sharing of information related to the academic study of Western esotericism in Italy or related to Italy; 4) To organise meetings and workshops and to produce publications in its area of interest as defined in the previous points.

Contact: Marco Pasi

Email: M.Pasi@uva.nl

Project AWE (Aesthetics of Western Esotericism) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization based in Los Angeles comprised of an international team of scholars dedicated to exploring connections between Western esotericism and the arts. AWE’s mission is threefold: interpreting the past—contributing to the present—shaping the future. AWE interprets the past by producing quality research, (academic) publications, conference presentations, workshops, public and private speaking engagements, a blog, and guided museum tours, on how the beliefs, ideas and philosophies of esoteric undercurrents such as Magic, Alchemy and Kabbalah can help us fully appreciate the cultural icons of Western European heritage. AWE contributes to the present by organizing exhibitions and performances and promoting visual, literary and musical arts that introduce new dimensions of aesthetic experience. AWE shapes the future by inspiring and supporting talented young artists as they transition into adulthood. In doing so, AWE acts as a platform for interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities dialog that ascribes to the standards of academic institutions, while remaining accessible to the public. AWE welcomes collaborative opportunities and to date has created numerous successful joint programs with important cultural institutions in Greater Los Angeles area such as American Jewish University, Alliance Francaise de Los Angeles, Global Cinematography Institute, and the Los Angeles Scottish Rite.

Politica Hermetica

Chers amis,

Nous avons le plaisir de vous annoncer la poursuite de nos activités avec la conférence de

Daniel Guéguen

Auteur de « Jean Delville, la contre-histoire »

Dans le cadre du centenaire de sa mort,

Péladan revisité

Des racines occultes pour une esthétique d’avant-garde

Le samedi 24 mars 2018 à 19 heures

Au couvent de l'Annonciation, 222 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008, Paris, métro Place des Ternes ou Charles de Gaulle-Étoile.

Participation aux frais : 15 € pour le buffet qui vous sera servi après la conférence ; 5€ pour ceux qui ne pourraient pas prendre part au buffet. Soyez assez aimables pour donner réponse afin de prévoir l'organisation.

Pour tout renseignement : 

politicahermetica@gmail.com

+33 6 85 73 36 98

Le secrétaire

The most recent ESSWE newsletter (Winter 2017, Volume 8, Number 2) is downloadable from here.

Intellectual history, Religious studies, Visual studies:

The Dignity of Man in Western Intellectual History, Esotericism, and Art

In cooperation with the Center for Religious Studies and the Visual Studies Platform at Central European University

Course Director(s):

Gyorgy Endre Szonyi

English Department, University of Szeged/Department of History and Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

Carsten Wilke

Department of History, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

Course Faculty:

Brian Copenhaver

Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, University of California in Los Angeles, USA

Moshe Idel

Jewish Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Urszula Szulakowska

formerly at Leeds University, UK

Guest Speaker(s):

Dora Bobory

Independent scholar

Julia Gyimesi

Department of Educational Psychology, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Budapest, Hungary

The ambition of humans to elevate themselves beyond their natural means and to acquire transcendental insight and power is as ancient as our cultural history. The goal of this course is to highlight some aspects of this ambition that are related to Western Esotericism, thus to provide a solid picture of some key phenomena of mysticism, magic, and occult trends in intellectual history. Special attention will be paid to the historical period of late Antiquity to the early modern, as well as the post-Romanticism era. The topics of esotericism discussed in the course relate to cultural history, art history, film studies, and religious studies tracing the Judeo-Christian heritage. The learning outcome should be the acquisition of methodological tools in order to approach and assess the highlighted phenomena in a reliable scholarly way: close reading of texts; interpretation of images and films; placing cultural representations in social and historical contexts.

APPLY NOW: https://summeruniversity.ceu.edu/dignity-2018

Download brochure (jpg file): http://esswe.org:80/resources/pdf/program/Dignity-flyer-2018.jpg

Date: February 20, 2018

Time: 09.00

Place: Stockholm University; Room U29, Geovetenskapens hus

Description:

Western esotericism is usually encountered in texts and images and studied in its ideational and aesthetic aspects. We know a lot about esoteric ideas, worldviews, and aesthetic conventions; but what were the people engaged in esoteric ideas doing? From magic and alchemy to mediumship and channeling, esotericism has an emphatically practical orientation. Accessing and analyzing esoteric practice, however, invites challenges that are rarely addressed in the field.

This year’s ESSWE Thesis Workshop will focus on the methodological and theoretical challenges of studying esoteric practice. What kinds of textual and non-textual sources can we use to address practices of the past? Can we access practice through philology? How do we conduct responsible ethnographic work with contemporary esoteric groups? Can we connect historical research with social science methods? What sort of theoretical frameworks might help us grasp esoteric practices, past and present? How does one write a thesis about esoteric practices? The workshop will address these and other questions through a combination of (I) masterclasses with three specialists focusing on different historical periods, and (II) thematic discussion groups where MA students and PhD candidates get the opportunity to talk about their own work with leading scholars in the field. The workshop also includes a career advice session led by a panel of early-career esotericism researchers.

Workshop organizer: Egil Asprem (egil.asprem@rel.su.se)

The workshop is funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

SCHEDULE

OPENING

09.00-09.15: Registration and Coffee

09.15-09.30: Welcome by ESSWE President + Workshop organizer

PART ONE: ORATORY (Masterclass lectures by invited speakers)

09.30-10.15: Masterclass 1: Dr. Emmanouela Grypeou (Stockholm University)

Accessing Esoteric Practice in Late Antiquity

10.30-11.15: Masterclass 2: Dr. Liana Saif (Oxford University; Warburg Institute)

Accessing Esoteric Practice in the Middle Ages

11.30-12.15: Masterclass 3: Dr. Kennet Granholm (independent scholar)

Problems and Challenges with accessing Contemporary Esoteric Groups

12.30-13.30: Lunch at the Faculty Club (Manne Sigbahnvillan, Frescativägen 22)

PART TWO: LABORATORY (Thematic discussions in expert groups w/board members)

13.45-15.00: Group discussions in expert groups. Each student gets to present their research topic and formulate questions to the group. Confirmed participants from the ESSWE board: Andreas Kilcher (ETH, Zurich), Boaz Huss (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), Egil Asprem (Stockholm University), Henrik Bogdan (Gothenburg University), Wouter J. Hanegraaff (University of Amsterdam), Bernd-Christian Otto (University of Erfurt), Christine Ferguson (Stirling University), Yuri Stoyanov (Warburg Institute), Nemanja Radulovic (University of Belgrade), and Olav Hammer (University of Southern Denmark).

15.00-15.15: Plenum Session: Each group summarizes the most important challenges and topics that surfaced during their discussions.

15.15-15.45: Coffee break

PART THREE: PhD and Early Career Advice

15.45-16.30: Per Faxneld and Manon Hedenborg-White lead a discussion of job/career related issues (application processes, job opportunities, alternative career paths) relevant to early-career scholars.

16.30-16.45: Wrapping up and formal end to workshop

***

16.45-17.15: ESSWE Members’ Meeting

18.00: Field trip with wine reception at the Swedenborg Memorial Church and Swedenborg Research Library (Tegnérlunden 7)

19.45: Dinner and drinks at Babajan Bar (Katarina Bangata 75) – N.B. at own expense!