Would anyone like to contribute to a panel that myself (University of Edinburgh) and Jay Johnston (University of Sydney) have submitted for the NGG/EASR/IAHR conference "Religion and Pluralities of Knowledge" in 2014?

Our theme is 'Epistemologies and Esoteric Bodies: The Substance of Practice'.

The rationale is:

"The purpose of this panel is to present — both in a diachronic and synchronic fashion — scholarly debates regarding the role of epistemology in esoteric initiations and specifically to understanding/experiencing esoteric dimensions attributed to the body. In particular it seeks to foster discussion of the notion of the subtle body and its implications for epistemological categories. Understood as a non-dualist body schema, subtle bodies, rendered in a variety of religious discourses, pertain both to exoteric representations and esoteric paradigms of praxis, and, are reified through corresponding historical and cultural patterns of belief and behavior."

"This panel welcomes areas of research within the broader fields of philosophy, anthropology, and religious studies, along with references to esoterica in theory and practice, gender, cognitive sciences, and aesthetics. Emphasis is on the engagement of critical approaches to the body model and its proposed attendant epistemologies. The aim is to explore and interpret the notion of inter-subjective and multi-dimensional subtle bodies through the study of the dialectics between the self and the other; embodiment theory; cosmological body schemas; phenomenology of perception; visionary experiences and notions of alterity; active imagination; ritualised metaphysics; and extra-sensory bodily receptions and reactions. Specific attention will be displayed towards proposals examining how these concepts are apprehended through the substance of practice."

If anyone is interested please contact me at [log in to unmask]

The deadline is December 1 2013.