Dear all, finally, after years of editing, I can present new research on contemporary religiousSatanism for your benefit: http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754652861 Collaborators include this list's very own Dave Evans, James Lewis, Graham Harvey, Kennet Granholm etc. Follow the link and see for yourself. From a very pleased editor, Jesper Petersen ---------------------------------------------- Jesper Aagaard Petersen Research Fellow, Dept. of Archeology and Religious Studies NTNU, Dragvoll NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway Tlf. 0047-735-98312 email: [log in to unmask] From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Green Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 2:54 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] News, CFP, etc. Dear list-members, Welcome to new list members - please feel free to introduce yourselves, search the archive or send a message. Here follows the accumulated news, CFPS, etc., of the last few days. There is quite a lot of it so please do scroll down for those hidden nuggets ... Dave ****************************************************************************
Hidden in Plain Sight:
The Influence of Western Esoteric Movements on Modern Thought
A Conference for Scholars and Practitioners http://www.rosicrucian.org/hidden_in_plain_sight/
The interaction between Western esotericism and the mystical traditions of organized religion has been long recognized. Less well known is the often pivotal role esoteric groups and beliefs have had in shaping the modern world, while remaining "Hidden in Plain Sight."
An example of this is exhibited in the renowned influence Freemasonry and Rosicrucian thought had on America’ s Founding Fathers.
Scholars and practitioners within the academic field of Western esotericism are invited to share their research exploring the substantial influence this tradition has had on modern thought.
Presentations may include both discourses and works of art including drama, music and visual.
The conference is an open venue for the Western esotericism community and is not restricted solely to members of AMORC. Papers will be evaluated according to academic merit and are not expected to solely reflect the views and opinions of the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC.
Authors are encouraged to submit proposals pertaining to esoteric movements such as the Mystery Traditions, Pythagoreanism, Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, Christian Theosophy, the Kabbalah, Alchemy, Freemasonry, Martinism and Rosicrucianism.
All proposals submitted should be written in English. Papers should follow Chicago Manual of Style, and include an abstract, an outline and a bio. There is no minimum or maximum length for the paper; however oral presentations should be no longer than one hour, including lecture and discussion. Multi-media presentations are encouraged, and participants are responsible for bringing the necessary equipment for their multimedia presentation. Please contact [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> for more details.
All materials, proposals, abstracts, papers and presentations should use bias-free language and approaches following the ideals and guidelines of the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition (sections 5.203, 5.204 and 5.205) and should be considerate of all religions, belief systems, ethnic groups, genders, nationalities, walks of life, and political parties.
To submit your proposal, please email the proposal to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> by July 15, 2009.
********************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Dear Friends, I am circulating the latest programme for the The Sophia Centre, University of Wales, Lampeter, Conference on Saturday 6-Sunday 7 June 2009, at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institute, Bath. There are a few changes in the programme. We are delighted that Jenny Blain from the University of Sheffield and Jarita Holbrook from the University of Arizona will be speaking. If you would like to forward this e mail to anyone who might like to join the mailing list, please do! Following the programme you'll find the up-to-date list of abstracts. You can download a booking form from http://www.lamp.ac.uk/sophia/events/ best wishes, Nick Campion Saturday 6 June 2009 09:30 Registration and tea 10:00 Welcome and Conference opening Nick Campion,University of Wales, Lampeter Contested Skies: Some Thoughts on Astronomers' Hostility to Astrology 10:15 Peter Forshaw, University of Cambridge Astronomia Inferior et Superior: Some Medieval and Renaissance Instances of the Conjunction of Alchemy and Astrology 11:00 Jarita Holbrook, University of Arizona A & A in 'the Sky in Our Lives' Survey 11:30 Break 12:00 Helen Jacobus, University of Manchester Calendars and Divination in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Case of 4Q318 Zodiac Calendar and Brontologion 12:30 Pauline Bambrey, University of Wales, Lampeter The Beltane Fire Festival 13:00 Lunch 14:15 Glenford Bishop, University of Wales, Lampeter Decoding the Intertextual Literary Strata of the Mummers Play: Some Unexpected Astronomical Themes and a Pagan Fingerprint - Continuity or Reconstruction? 14:45 Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol The Wheel of the Year: The Major Traditional Festivals of Britain 15:45 Break 16:15 Short Film by Darlene Villicana, University of Arizona Celebrating the Summer Solstice: The Pagan Experience 16:30 Roundtable Discussion 17:30 Close Sunday 7 June 2009 09:30 Registration and tea 10:00 Mark Williams, Peterhouse,Cambridge Druidic Cloud-divination in Medieval Irish Literature 10:30 Frances Clynes, University of Wales, Lampeter Cyberspace and the Sacred Sky 11:00 Break 11:30 Jenny Blain, SheffieldHallamUniversity Northern European Cosmologies of the Tree and the Well 12:00 Lionel Sims, University of East London Stonehenge decoded: the conflation of winter solstice sunset with the southern minor standstill moonsets 12:45 Lunch 14:00 Elizabeth Reichel, University of Wales, Lampeter The Landscape in the Cosmoscape: Cosmology, Ethnoastronomy, and Socio-environmental Sustainability among the Tanimuka and Yukuna, Northwest Amazon 14:45 Martin Gansten, Lund University, Sweden Reshaping Karma: Indic Metaphysical Paradigms in Traditional and Modern Astrology 15:30 Break 16:00 Jane Ridder-Patrick, University of Edinburgh Astrology in Early Modern Scottish Universities, ca. 1560-1700 16:30 Closing comments 16:45 Conference close ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Pomegranate 10.2 is finally back from the printer. I expect that issue 11.1 will be done mid-summer, putting us back more or less on the correct publication schedule. Chas Clifton ---------- "The Love which Dare not Speak its Name: An Examination of Pagan Symbolism and Morality in Fin de siè cle Decadent Fiction" Kelly Anne Reid "Landscape Archaeology, Paganism, and the Interpretation of Megaliths" Jessica Beck and Stephen Chrisomalis "The Goddess and the Virgin: Materiality in Western Europe" Amy Whitehead "The Prevailing Circumstances: The Pagan Philosophers of Athens in a Time of Stress" Emilie F. Kutash "Polycentric Polytheism and the Philosophy of Religion" Edward P. Butler "Re-crafting the Past: The Complex Relationship between Myth and Ritual in the Contemporary Pagan Reshaping of Eleusis" Maria Beatrice Bittarello "Expanding Religious Studies: The Obsolences of the Sacred/Secular Framework for Pagan, Earthen, and Indigenous Religion, Part 2: Re- thinking the Concept of ‘ Religion’ and ‘ Maturi’ as a New Scheme" Mikirou Zitukawa and Michael York ******************************************************************************************************* CALL FOR PAPERS The thematic issue "Religion and Spirituality in Cyberspace" of the Australian Religion Studies Review, 23.3 (2010) will explore some of the methodological and theoretical issues raised with the coming together of Internet with religion and spirituality and, hopefully, provide interesting case studies. Possible topics include cyber-theology, cyber-rituals, online religions, cyber-proselytization and cyber-polemics, cyber-pilgrimages, cyber-covens and sanghas, religious blogs, etc. Completed articles should not exceed 7,000 words. Submission deadline is February 2010. Early submissions are most welcomed. Please see journal website (http://www.aasr.org.au/aasr_review.htm <http://www.aasr.org.au/aasr_review.htm> ) or contact Roxanne Marcotte ([log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ) for further details.
********************************************************************************************************************8*
Institute for the Study of Religions, Jagiellonian University, Cracow
“ Ritual today†, 25-27 June 2009
Call for Papers
We are pleased to invite you to the international conference “ Ritual today†, hosted by Institute for the Study of Religions of Jagiellonian University to be held 25-27 June 2009 in Cracow.
The organizers encourage papers from all relevant disciplines that address the issue of ritual in the contemporary contex. Both empirical and theoretical papers are welcome.
Relevant topics and themes include:
â— the significance of rituals for the contemporary man
â— anthropological, psychological, social, (pop)cultural dimensions of ritual practices
â— the notions of ritual/ritualization/performance in present-day context
â— the spectrum of rituals: religious, profane, individual, private, public, political etc.
â— new theoretical approaches in ritual studies
Certainly we will gladly consider other issues and discuss ideas for papers and/or panels by email.
We have already received confirmation from Professor Ralph W. Hood Jr. of the University of the Tennessee at Chattanooga that he will give a plenary lecture drawing from his in-depth research of active practice of serpent handling in USA (see: R.W. Hood Jr. & P.W. Williamson, Them that believe: The power and meaning of the Christian serpent-handling tradition, Berkeley 2008).
We are still completing a list of keynotes and panel sessions (e.g., there will be a panel session on death rituals and funeral practices). We invite panel proposals of 3 speakers in addition to individual papers. Research students are also welcome to report on work in progress.
Abstracts (no more than 150 words) as well as basic information about the author (name, title, affiliation) should be sent as soon as possible and by 15 May 2009 to conference secretary Marta Hö ffner, MA ([log in to unmask]).
The papers to be presented at the conference will be selected on merit and relevance to the topic.
The conference fee is 30 EUR.
Further registration information and other details will be posted on the website of the Institute for the Study of Religions (www.religioznawstwo.uj.edu.pl) in due course.
We are going to publish the conference proceedings in a volume with a working title “ Ritual Today†. The authors will be asked to submit the articles based on their presentations by November 30, 2009. All papers can be considered for publication.
The conference will take place in a historic building of Jagiellonian University, Collegium Novum, located in the center of the town, within easy reach of nearby sites of historical and cultural interest.
We look forward to seeing you at the event which intends to be an exciting opportunity for all interested in ritual studies to exchange ideas.
If you have any queries do not hesitate to contact us:
Conference Organiser: Dominika Motak, PhD ([log in to unmask])
Conference Secretary: Marta Hö ffner, MA ([log in to unmask])
Institute for the Study of Religions
Jagiellonian University
ul. Grodzka 52
31-044 Cracow, Poland
tel/fax: (+48 12) 6631778
*************************************************************************************************************
Newsletter of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion April 2009 In this Newsletter you find information on: - Post-doc position at the University of Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) - Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Call for submissions - Key publications 1. Post-doc position at the University of Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) on social psychology of religion and cross-cultural psychology Research theme: „ Religion and aspects of acculturation of (ex)immigrants‰ (see below) Duration: 12 months Full-time position, 40 h/week Starting on September 2009 (1 month flexibility) Laboratory: Centre for Psychology of Religion (www.uclouvain.be/psyreli) and Division of Social Psychology (www.uclouvain.be/psor) Deadline for applications: June 1, 2009 First feedback on applications: June 20, 2009 Objective: The post-doctoral position concerns three studies on: - (a) the role religion plays on the acculturation between the host society and immigrant minorities of both high and low SES; - (b) the (possible) distinction between islamophobia and anti-Arab prejudice; and - (c) the possible „ aversive racism‰ among the left-wing. Both surveys and experiments are planned. The postdoc will be integrated in the laboratory‚ s everyday life. Salary: The fellowship is offered by the University (incoming postdocs program) and amounts to a net salary of approx. 2.050 • monthly (tax free with right to Social Security). Supervisor: Vassilis Saroglou, professor of psychology of religion at the Université catholique de Louvain (www.uclouvain.be/saroglou). Qualifications necessary: PhD in psychology; research and publications experience (preferably in peer-review journals); interest on the topic. Required language: English (for psychologists); Proficiency in French is welcomed but not necessary. For more information, and submission of the CV: [log in to unmask] 2. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Call for submissions Special Issue on Religion and culture: Perspectives from cultural and cross-cultural psychology. Guest editors: Vassilis Saroglou (Université catholique de Louvain) and Adam B. Cohen (Arizona State University). The Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology announces a call for submissions of paper proposals on religion and culture. Religion is ˆ at least to some extent - part of culture, interacts with other components of culture, and thus plays a role in many aspects of the psychological functioning of individuals and groups. It is then of particular interest for cultural and cross-cultural psychology. Differences and universals across religions may parallel, if not contribute to and explain, cross-cultural differences and universals. Therefore, the way groups (cultural-ethnic and/or cultural-religious ones) differ or resemble on their religious beliefs, emotions, and practices may reflect, or have an impact on, the way these groups‚ members deal with most if not all the psychological aspects of their life: identities, cognitions, emotions, values, morality, interpersonal and intergroup relations, life span development, health, and social behaviors related to work, marriage, leisure, economics, and politics. The objective of this special issue is to make a step ahead through innovative papers that initiate empirically-based and theoretically driven systematic knowledge and reflection on religion from a cultural and cross-cultural psychology perspective. More precisely, this special issue will aim to identify and ideally explain: (a) cross-religious differences or similarities in various aspects of psychological functioning such as the ones mentioned above (all of them are welcomed); (b) the way religion ˆ across different cultural groups (differing, for instance in ethnicity, socio-economic status, religious tradition)ˆ functions in individuals‚ lives in predicting significant outcomes; (c) the way religion parallels or interacts with other components of culture (e.g., ethnicity, socio-economic status, language, values, personality, stereotypes) that define and distinguish groups from each other. We will welcome proposals for empirical papers that (a) use quantitative methods, (b) compare multiple (at least two but ideally more) groups either across or within nations, and (c) do not simply explore and document findings but interpret them on the basis of solid theoretical argumentation and, ideally, empirical evidence (e.g., in terms of possible mediators). Experimental studies are also welcomed. Theoretical papers are not excluded, but they have to be conceived as psychological theory-driven papers making a specific theoretical argument heavily based on review of relevant empirical research. In all cases, papers have to be creative, expanding the present state of the art, and opening avenues for future research. Finally, it is not to be excluded that, in selecting between proposals of equal quality, a concern for a complementarity of topics to be treated may apply. To give one simply indicative example of topic: are religions equal on their propensity to produce/legitimize altruism (or violence)? If differences exist, are they strictly religious (and if yes, what may be the origin) or can be (partially or totally) explained by other psychological and social factors at the individual or group level? Are the social consequences (e.g., forgiveness, prejudice) of religious propensity for altruism (or violence) moderated by other cultural factors? Proposals of 400-500 words outlining the authors‚ plan for a full manuscript should be sent to both guest editors at [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask] by August 1, 2009. Authors of successful proposals will be invited in October 2009 to submit a full-scale manuscript (25-30 double pages all included) to be received by March 1, 2010. A standard peer-review process will be applied; and selected papers will be accepted provided they meet the standards of JCCP articles and the objectives of the special issue. For more information please contact either guest editor. 3. Key publications H. Westerink, Controversy and Challenge. The Reception of Sigmund Freud‚ s Psychoanalysis in German and Dutch-speaking Theology and Religious Studies (Psychoanalysis and its reception, Volume 1), LIT Verlag, Vienna/Berlin, 2009, 328 pp., 29.90 EUR, ISBN 978-3-643-50029-8. (Whoever wants to bring a key publication under attention of the IAPR members, please email the data to the editor of the Newsletter.) Edited by: H. Westerink (Vienna). [log in to unmask] ************************************************************************************************************************************************************* Call for papers Experiencing Religion New Approaches towards Personal Religiosity 6th Conference of the SIEF Working Group on Ethnology of Religion Warsaw, 2-3 June 2010 Nowadays students of religion generally are more interested in vernacular or lived religion and human believing than in dogmas or theological texts. This reflects major changes in the way people are dealing with religion, religiosity, or spirituality. Therefore the religious experience in all its different forms and perceptions will be the central topic for the upcoming conference of the working group on Ethnology of Religion under the title of Œ Experiencing Religion‚ . Religion can be expressed in rituals, practices and devotional cults, which helps researchers to interpret what is going on. However, religion is also a deeply personal experience. Sometimes it is more or less possible to put the experience into words. Sometimes it is just a feeling or an emotion difficult to verbalize, but nevertheless important for the meaningfulness of life and one‚ s way of living. This conference aims at illuminating the personal religious, or spiritual experience, be it Christian or non-Christian, recent or historical. The postmodern phenomenon of New Age, a religion which spread all over the world and put together various expressions of religious feelings into a bricolage of belief and which broke open a market on difficult to verbalize spiritual emotions and feeling is but one example of the variety of religious experience that this conference will deal with. Theoretical papers on common traits in religious experiences are especially welcome. The religious experience is of concern to many disciplines such as, for instance, anthropology, ethnology, folkloristics, psychiatry, the psychology of religion, religious studies, or theology. The conference organizer is the State Ethnographical Museum in Warsaw, where the conference will be held. The conference fee is • 100 which includes conference material, two dinners and coffee and a short excursion. The participants are responsible for their booking and payment for travel and accommodation. A list of reasonable hotels can be found on the SIEF website (http://www.siefhome.org/ sub 'Events'). This will be the sixth conference organized by the working group. It started in Stockholm, Sweden in 1993, and thereafter there were meetings in Chaves, Portugal 1996, Szeged, Hungary 1999, and Edinburgh, Scotland 2002. The last conference was in Celje, Slovenia in 2006. A selection of the papers presented there have just been published in Traditiones 36 (2007). Also papers from the Warsaw meeting will be published afterwards. Abstracts of 300-400 words should be sent to Prof. Ulrika Wolf-Knuts ([log in to unmask]) by September 1, 2009. *************************************************************************************************************** DEADLINE May 1, 2009 CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTER PROPOSALS Network Apocalypse: Visions of the End in an Age of Internet Media This edited collection of work by international scholars would document how Internet communication is creating, adapting, and recreating beliefs about an imminent mass transformation resulting in the end of human history. How are ancient prophetic beliefs faring in our everyday lives as they have become technologized by network communication? How do religious communities sharing these beliefs use the Internet? Are everyday religious believers empowered or disempowered by Internet technologies? Are gender, ethic, and racial divisions being broken down or reinforced? How are text-based prophetic traditions adapting to the more dynamic and fluid understanding of the Word in our digital age? The answers to these questions are important for scholars from a wide range of disciplines working on questions about how the Internet is changing some of our most powerful and recurring religious beliefs. Each chapter of this book will focus on a specific sample of discourse that features apocalyptic beliefs. Comparative and theoretical chapters are also welcomed. Methods may be quantitative, qualitative, or a combination of both. Chapter topics might include by are not limited to: Christian, Islamic, Jewish, or other traditional apocalyptic expression online; specific apocalyptic groups using the Internet; online prophecy and/or prayer practices; apocalyptic games, gamers, or gaming; apocalyptic expression in virtual worlds; apocalyptic communication via mobile communication technologies; new apocalyptic religious movements using the Internet; apocalyptic ideas or discourses that rely on theories of technology including concepts of "Gaia-mind," "singularity," and etc. Please submit the following documents via email to Rob Howard ([log in to unmask]) by May 1, 2009: 1) a preliminary title for the proposed chapter 2) a 100-250 word abstract of the proposed chapter 3) a current CV The successful abstracts will form part of a book proposal submitted in response to a request from Sheffield Phoenix Press for a series titled "The Apocalypse in Popular Culture." Full texts will be requested at a later date. Sheffield Phoenix Press is an academic press specializing in topics of religion that is seeking to expand its catalog on apocalyptic belief in contemporary society. Robert Glenn Howard http://rghoward.com _______________________________ University of Wisconsin -- Madison Associate Professor, Department of Communication Arts Associate Chair, Folklore Program Affiliated Faculty, Religious Studies and the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Culture Editor, Western Folklore ****************************************************************************************************************************************** Call for contributors to volume on Body and Religion I am co-editing (with David Cave and Tom Idinopulos) a volume on body and religion, considered especially in light of the significance that contemporary cultural and scientific interpretations of the body have upon the study and practice of religions. We are seeking contributions that consider body and religion within the context of the "naturalized" body- the bio-medical, scientific view that has come to be understood, in contemporary Western culture as the "natural" body. Essays do not need to address this directly, although they can, but we would like them to reflect on the effects of modern, scientific and cultural views of the human body on the study and teaching of religions. For example, an essay on the neurobiological bases of religious experience would be one approach; the impact of the scientific perspective, deeply embedded in Western culture and in our understandings of ourselves, on religious experience would be another. Essays should be between fifteen to twenty, double-spaced pages. We expect abstracts of 150-200 words by the end of May or early June 2009, with the essays due next spring. If you have questions or would like more information please let me know; I would be happy to send a more complete description of the book. Email is the best way to find me, either at [log in to unmask] (preferred) or [log in to unmask] Best, Rebecca Norris Dr. Rebecca Sachs Norris Religious & Theological Studies Dept. C-2 315 Turnpike Street Merrimack College North Andover, MA 01854 978-837-5188 *********************************************************************************************************************************
University of Essex Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies Holt Lecture 2009‘ The Superman as Salamander: Symbols of Transformation or Transformational Symbols?’ Paul Bishop (Professor of German, University of Glasgow)
Abstract: According to Jung, Goethe’ s Faust is ‘ an alchemical drama from beginning to end’ , and he located Goethe’ s dramatic poem in a line of thought that culminated in Nietzsche’ s Thus spake Zarathustra, a text one critic has described as ‘ a frankly chrysopoetic work’ . In what sense, though, is either work alchemical, and how did Jung really understand alchemy? Taking its cue from David Holt’ s reading of Jung and Marx in relation to alchemy, Christianity, and the work against nature, this talk will discuss the analytical psychological concept of transformation in the light of Jung’ s notion of the symbol.
Wednesday 6th May 2009, 5pm Senate Room (4.722), University of Essex All Welcome This special lecture marks the opening of the David Holt Collection in the University’ s Albert Sloman Library (http://libwww.essex.ac.uk/speccol.htm#Holt) The collection will be open for viewing between 3.30pm - 4.45pm on the afternoon of the lecture. Entry to the lecture is without charge, but we strongly advise registering to secure a place. To register or for further information, please contact: Debbie Stewart, Centre Administrator Telephone 01206 873640 Email: [log in to unmask]
You can register online here.
www.essex.ac.uk/centres/psycho/
*************************************************************************************************************************************
This email was independently scanned for viruses by McAfee anti-virus software and none were found
