EASR conference
“Religion in the History of
European Culture”
Messina, 14-17 September
2009
A significant amount of research has been
done in Italy on the history of esoteric ideas, but this has been mainly
focused on the late Middle Ages or the early modern period. From the presence
of magic, alchemy, and astrology in medieval thought, to the revival of
Hermetic and Neoplatonic ideas during the Renaissance up to the Scientific
Revolution, the importance of this field of research for the history of Italian
culture has been widely acknowledged. But the permanence of these ideas and
cultural traditions in Italy in the period that begins with the Enlightenment,
has perhaps received less attention from academic scholars, and still offers
many interesting, potentially fruitful threads for research. These include for
instance the influence in Italy of Swedenborgianism and of animal magnetism,
the spreading of an esoterically oriented high-degree freemasonry, the impact
of spiritualism, occultism, traditionalism, neopaganism, and, more recently, of
New Age ideas. The announcement of the preparation of a volume devoted to the
history of esotericism in Italy in the prestigious series of the Annali Einaudi
is perhaps the occasion to focus on these different currents and ideas in
the late modern period.
Proposals focusing on historiographical
aspects, i.e. in particular on the history of the study of esoteric currents
and ideas in the 20th century in Italy will also be particularly
welcome.
Proposals can be submitted either in
Italian or in English. Both languages will be accepted for the panel.
Deadline for proposal submission is 31 March 2009
Proposals, together with a brief curriculum, should be
sent to Marco Pasi: [log in to unmask]
For more information on the conference and
registration see:
http://ww2.unime.it/easr09/eng/index.html
For more information on the academic study of
esotericism see:
Sabina Magliocco
Professor and Chair
Department of Anthropology
California State University - Northridge
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330-8244
"If we want things to stay the way they are, everything
will have to change." ~ Giuseppe di Lampedusa, The Leopard