Please find the Fall 2017 issue of The Newsletter of the Association for the Study of Esotericism (ASE) on the below link in pdf format:

http://esswe.org/resources/pdf/newsletter/ASE_Newsletter_Fall_2017.pdf

 

Yves Mühlematter M.A., PhD-Candidate at the Lehrstuhl für Vergleichende Religionsgeschichte und Interreligiösen Dialog, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, has been elected the new ESSWE Student Representative 2018-19. Mühlematter will be succeeding Manon Hedenborg-White on January 1, 2018. His email address is: yves.muehlematter@unifr.ch

Henrik Bogdan
Secretary ESSWE

Baltic Alliance for Asian studies, Latvian Society for the Study of Religion, Centre for Korean Studies of the University of Latvia announces a call for papers for the 3rd BAAS Conference / 3rd LSSR Conference.

Location: University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia

Date: April 13-15, 2018

By placing Asia at the centre of attention, this conference intends to discuss religious issues as well. For more information please visit: http://www.dynamicasia.lu.lv/call-for-papers/

The ESSWE Sponsorship Programme for Independent Scholarly Initiatives is now taking applications for the 2018 bid. Deadline January 15, 2018. For more information, please check the Sponsorship page!

Date and place: February 20, 2018, Stockholm University; Room U29, Geohust (Geology)

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 is not only theoretical but practical in nature. 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 do responsible ethnographic work with contemporary esoteric groups? Can we connect historical methods and social science methods? What sort of theoretical frameworks might help us grasp esoteric practices, both 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 and PhD students 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)

Open for: MA and PhD students [note: membership of ESSWE required]. 35 slots available. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. First come, first served!

To reserve a spot: please fill in the online registration form and await confirmation.

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

OPENING

09.00-09.30: Registration and Coffee

09.30-09.45: Welcome by ESSWE President + Workshop organizer

PART ONE: ORATORY (Masterclass lectures by invited speakers)

09.45-10.30: Masterclass 1: Dr. Emmanouela Grypeou (Stockholm University)

Accessing Esoteric Practice in Late Antiquity

10.45-11.30: Masterclass 2: Dr. Liana Saif (Oxford University; Warburg Institute)

Accessing Esoteric Practice in the Middle Ages

11.45-12.30: Masterclass 3: Dr. Kennet Granholm (independent scholar)

Problems and Challenges with accessing Contemporary  Esoteric Groups

12.30-13.30 Lunch break

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

13.45-14.45: Group discussions in expert groups. Each student gets to present their research topic and formulate questions to the group. Experts from the ESSWE board anticipated to be present: Andreas Kilcher (ETH), Boaz Huss (Ben Gurion), Egil Asprem (Stockholm University), Henrik Bogdan (Gothenburg University), Wouter J. Hanegraaff (University of Amsterdam, Birgit Menzel (Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz), Bernd-Christian Otto (University of Erfurt), Yuri Stoyanov (Warburg Institute), and Helmut Zander (University of Fribourg) [changes may occur!].

14.45-15.15: 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: Visit to the Swedenborg Library and the New Church, Tegnérlunden 7 [not confirmed]

19.00: Dinner and drinks (at own expense)

We would like to turn your attention to a new podcast called SHWEP: The Secret History of Western Esotericism Podcast. Created and run by ESSWE member Dr Earl Fontainelle, it is described as:

"a free, weekly podcast series exploring cutting-edge academic research in the study of Platonism, Gnosticism, Hermeticism, the Kabbalah, alchemy, occultism, magic, and related currents of thought. ... The approach is roughly chronological, beginning with the earliest civilisations and moving forward in time until the present day, with the aim of leaving out nothing essential along the way. It will be a long and fascinating trip through the history of ideas, and one which is bound to challenge what you think you know about philosophy, science, religion, and western identities."

You can access SHWEP from the website https://shwep.net/, or find it in iTunes.

The MOOC (massive open online course) introduces basic concepts of Kabbalah, and discusses some of the major trends and texts of Kabbalah, from the late middle ages to our days. It is most suitable for undergraduate students, or people interested in Kabbalah, with no background in Jewish studies, who do not have the possibility of taking such a course in their universities. It is free and it takes only a few seconds to enroll.

Click here to read more or join: https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-kabbalah-israelx-kab1010x

The Association for the Study of Esotericism (ASE) is seeking paper and panel proposals for its seventh International North American Conference on Esotericism to be held at Rice University, in Houston, Texas, May 24-27, 2018.

We are seeking proposals for papers exploring the theme “Eros, Sexuality, and Embodiment in Esoteric Traditions.” Esoteric writings offer a range of possibilities for investigating both literal and figurative erotic and sexual configurations, from the allegorical couplings of alchemy, to the practices of Valentinian Gnosticism, to descriptions of angelic sex in Ida Craddock. Connectedly, esoteric thinkers have described numerous unusual ways to embodiment, from phenomena of divine possession, to the making of magical children, to golems and animated statues.

We are also interested in papers on Western esoteric practices, including theories, representations and methods of practice viewed from cultural, practical, religious and aesthetic fields of inquiry. We encourage papers that address the conference theme in terms of diverse types of representation, including arts and literature, as well as methods that reflect specific theories of esotericism, either historically or in a contemporary context. We invite proposals on magic, alchemy, astrology, ritual practice, mysticism, spiritualism, occultism, hermeticism, neo-paganism, contemporary esoteric movements and teachers, Asian influences on Western traditions, and other relevant topics. We are interested in panels specifically on mysticism, contemplative practice, and other topics related to the conference theme. ASE regards esotericism as an interdisciplinary field of research and we invite scholars from all disciplines to share their research and writings in support of a cross-fertilization of perspectives.

Our deadline for panel or paper proposal submission is December 15th, 2017.

If you wish to submit a paper proposal or a thematically focused panel proposal (with three presenters and short descriptions included) for review and possible presentation at the conference, please send it by email to ASEconference@rice.edu

Association for the Study of Esotericism

www.aseweb.org

Annual Association for Art History Conference 2018. 5-7 April 2018 at Courtauld Institute of Art & King's College London.

Call for Papers: Seeing and Hearing the "Beyond'. Art Music, and Mysticism in the Long Nineteenth Century

Please send your abstract (250 words maximum) to Dr. Corrinne Chong corrinnecareens@gmail.com AND Dr. Michelle Foot mfoot@exseed.ed.ac.uk

Deadline: 6 November 2017

Cátedra Institucional 2017 ‒ Manuel Calvillo Programa de Estudios Literarios – COLSAN. A Cargo del DR. José Ricardo Chaves, Profesor Investigador Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas (UNAM)

Curso: Esoterismo en la Literatura de México y América Latina (1890-1930)

Agosto-Octubre, 2017. 10-14 Hrs. Aula Magna (COLSAN)

PROGRAMA DE TRABAJO

• Primera parte: 21 24 de agosto
  
• Segunda parte: 18-21 de septiembre
  
• Tercera parte: 16-17 de octubre
  

El Dr. Chaves es Doctor en Literatura Comparada por la UNAM, profesor investigador en el Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas de la misma institución y miembro del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores. Actualmente, prepara una antología comentada de textos de reconocidos autores hispanoamericanos de fines del siglo XIX y el primer cuarto del XX. Tiene cuatro libros publicados: México heterodoxo. Diversidad religiosa en las letras del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX (UNAM/Bonilla-Artigas/Vervuert Iberoamericana, 2013), Andróginos. Eros y ocultismo en la literatura romántica (UNAM, 2005 y reimpresión, 2013), Los hijos de Cibeles. Cultura y Sexualidad en la literatura de fin del siglo XIX (UNAM, 1997, reeditado en 2007) y El castillo de lo inconsciente. Antología de literatura fantástica de Amado Nervo (Conaculta, México, 2000). Entre sus últimos artículos están "Uqbar rosacruz. Del personaje rosacruciano en la ficción romántica" en Acta Poetica 38-1, enero-junio 2017, pp. 67-81; "Monstruos fantásticos en la literatura costarricense" en Revista de Filología y Lingüística de la Universidad de Costa Rica, diciembre de 2015 y "El estudio académico de lo esotérico" en Revista de Estudios Históricos sobre la Masonería Latinoamericana y Caribeña, Vol. 7, No.2, mayo-noviembre 2015, pp. 120-127. Ha publicado las novelas Los susurros de Perseo (1994), Paisaje con tumbas pintadas de rosa (1998), Los susurros de Perseo (2008), Faustófeles (2009) y Espectros de Nueva York (2015). Como parte de la Cátedra"Manuel Calvillo"están programados el Curso "Esoterismo en la literatura de México y América Latina (1890-1930)"(21-24 de agosto, 18-21 de septiembre y 16 y 17 de octubre, la conferencia"La conexión esotérica en la conformación de la literatura fantástica hispanoamericana. Los casos de Rubén Darío, Leopoldo Lugones y Amado Nervo" (18 de octubre) y la publicación en libro de un ensayo relativo a los tópicos del curso.

Coordinator de la Catedra: Dr. Israel Tamírez, Prof. Investigador COLSAN. Email: iramirez@colsan.edu.mx Web: www.colsan.edu.mx

El Colegio de San Luis

Parque de Macul 155. Fracc.Colinas del Parque. C.P. 78299, San Luis Potosí, S.L.P. Tel.: (444)811-0101