After a peripatetic existence that’s involved four international moves over the past eight months, and eight countries visited over the summer, I have now landed in Stockholm, Sweden. (Big thanks to everyone who offered their hospitality along the way – from the Holy Land to the Pacific coast, and the French riviera to the Scottish highlands!) Having been on six temporary contracts over the past three years (with a few short stints of unemployment in between), I am happy to announce that I am taking up a position as assistant professor in the history of religions at Stockholm University. As their in-house heterodoxologist, I will be teaching a course this autumn on “New religions and spiritualities” with a heavy focus on the alternative and esoteric, and contribute to courses on stuff like “Mysticism and meditation” and “Theory and method” in the study of religion. Next year, I’ll also reboot an introductory course on Western esotericism that has existed as a summer course at the department since 2007 (although not always taught). I also look forward to start collaborating with the growing community of colleagues here in Sweden who share these interests, on all levels, and both within and outside of academia.
Heterodoxologicus Stockholmensis
Reform among the (people who study) Pagans
Journal of “Pagan Studies” In need of a new name?
For some time now, a debate has been rolling about the status of “pagan studies” as a field of academic research. It’s not that there’s been any doubt about the importance of studying contemporary paganisms; on the contrary, academic as well as mainstream interest in reconstructionist pagan groups as well as magical groups along the lines of Wicca and Thelema, still appears (anecdotally) on the increase. The problem has rather been with the aims and goals of pagan studies as a prospective discipline, as well as the approaches advocated for studying it. In an article just published in The Pomegranate – the foremost (or, rather, the only) peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to this field – the up-and-coming (and highly productive) scholar, Ethan Doyle White (known from the Albion Calling blog), argues that the time has come for reform.
New review of The Problem of Disenchantment (Nova Religio)
I was pleased to see this new review of The Problem of Disenchantment in the latest issue of Nova Religio. Christopher Plaisance generously concludes that
Two PhD openings in Amsterdam: History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents
A rare opportunity for those considering a PhD in the study of esotericism: The two regular PhD positions at the University of Amsterdam’s Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy (HHP) are both open at the moment. Applications can be submitted until July 15. Read more about the requirements here.
These are four-year PhD tracks, fully paid. The expectation is that one of the positions will be reserved for research on late-medieval to early modern currents (c. 1400-1800), while the other would be reserved for modern esotericism (c. 1800 to present). It’s a unique chance, as new candidates are only admitted every 4-5 years or so.
The Socialist Roots of Occultism
Caution: This illustration is highly misleading. (Image by Ross Wolfe, The Charnel-House blog)
We’ve grown accustomed to exciting titles that announce “the occult roots” of anything from Nazism to electronic music. While there’s certainly a lot of attention-grabbing hyperbole in such claims, it is true that much of the vaguely deviant, oppositional, and radical segments of Western culture has a touch of the occult – for reasons we are starting to understand quite well (tag: cultic milieu, occulture, rejected/stigmatized knowledge).
But what about the roots of modern occultism itself? In the (educated) popular imagination, occultism is generally considered an atavistic phenomenon, an anomalous and anachronistic flowering of irrationalism belonging to a bygone age. Some scholarship has continued in this vein, whether we think of the brand of intellectual historians that get embarrassed by its rational and scientific deficiency, or left-leaning, progressive academics who, like Adorno, see only a reactionary tendency that must eventually lead to a mysticized political irrationalism of the kind erupting in Germany in the 1930s.
ESSWE Thesis Workshop at the Warburg Institute (July 7, 2016)
This summer, ESSWE organizes its fourth biannual Thesis Workshop – a one-day event where MA and PhD candidates get together with established scholars to discuss papers on a given topic as well as research strategies and career advice. (For a basic idea, check out what I’ve said about the 2010, 2012, and 2014 workshops) This year’s topic is “Magical Traditions and Medieval Religions of the Book”. Unlike earlier years, when this event took place in Amsterdam, this year’s workshop will be hosted by the Warburg Institute in London, on July 7.
As in previous years, the day has two main sessions: an “oratory” (lectures by specialists), and a “laboratory” (group-based discussions of MA/PhD research related issues, divided by period and/or thematic focus based on what people are working on). In addition, this year there will be a round table discussion following the oratory, and an “early career advice” session (which will be lead by Liana Saif and myself).
The oratory will feature papers by Siam Bhayro, Liana Saif, and Adelina Angusheva-Tihanov, with a keynote by Jean-Patrice Boudet. These scholars will be available to participants in the laboratory session, as will the chairs Yuri Stoyanov, Charles Burnett, organizer Sophie Page, and most of the board members of ESSWE.
Check out all the details in the programme. And, please note that this is a free event with a limited number of places. Questions and reservations should be addressed to the organizer Sophie Page (see the programme).
Conversation with Erik Davis at Expanding Mind
Another quick post in the category “me rambling in online interview”: Last week I appeared on Erik Davis‘ “Expanding Mind” podcast, speaking about esotericism and cognitive science, the problem of disenchantment, parapsychology, role-playing games, and AI. The whole conversation is now audible at TechGnosis.com – for those not faint of heart.
Replacing the Dictionary: Brill launches new Esotericism Reference Library
The Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism. Due for replacement?
It has been more than a decade since the Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism (2005) was released, the flagship volume of what was then a fledgling field with few reliable introductions and reference works. At the time this was a milestone achievement, pulled off by a dedicated editorial team, 147 authors, and taking the better half of a decade to complete.
That is not to say that the result was perfect. Although the Dictionary was selected a Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2006, a number of criticisms of selection policy, range, and terminology were put forward and discussed in the academic community from the beginning.
Call for papers: “Trans-States: the art of crossing over”
There’s an exciting, experimental conference coming up this September at the University of Northampton, England. Featuring the legendary graphic novel author Alan Moore, the Crowley-biographer Richard Kaczynski, and the specialist of modern occultism and art Marco Pasi as keynote speakers, Trans-States is looking to be a very interesting trans-disciplinary event.
The call for papers is open until March 20. But beware: it is not just another academic conference, so the powerpoint with paper that is too long to read in 20 minutes is not the only possible medium:
New podcast interview on esotericism, CSR, and interdisciplinarity (in Norwegian)
Some months back, when I was still in California, Knut Melvær interviewed me for the Norwegian podcast Udannet. The episode is up now. In the unlikely case you have any interest in hearing me stutter on in Norwegian for an hour about my research, the academic study of esotericism, the difficulties of interdisciplinary work, CSR, and related trivia, go check it out. (Bonus feature: bizarre nervous giggling at the 9’50 mark, in response to the question: “But what do esotericism scholars really find out?” – I did have an answer in the end though, phew).
Heterodoxology 