POLESO

POLESO is an academic network for scholarly discussion about the relation between politics and esotericism. It falls under the auspices of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE). POLESO’s historical scope is not limited to modern or contemporary society but includes the study of historical developments from antiquity to the present. Culturally and geographically, the focus is on Western culture understood in a broad and inclusive sense, while taking into account the relevance of interactions with non-Western contexts. As an academic network committed to critical scholarly debate that seeks to stimulate objective knowledge and understanding, POLESO does not provide a context for political advocacy or activism of any kind.

Contact: Wouter J. Hanegraaff

Email: w.j.hanegraaff@uva.nl

WEAVE: Western Esotericism in modern Art and Visual Culture

The Network for the Study of Esotericism in Antiquity (NSEA) provides contact for specialists of ancient esoteric thought, history, and literature. While the ancient sources (Gnostic, theurgic, Neoplatonic, Hermetic, etc.) of Western Esotericism possess enormous importance for the development of esoteric currents from the fourteenth century onwards, there remains only a minimum of interaction between the antiquity experts and their (proto)-modern colleagues. The Network therefore is intended

WEAVE is a research network connecting scholars studying the interplay of heterodox spiritualties with Modern western art and visual culture. Scholars of all disciplines, interests, backgrounds and convictions are welcome. The phrase “heterodox spirituality” includes Western esotericism, occultism, occulture, mysticism, alternative Modern spirituality, and contemporary spiritualities.

The Network’s research scope is limited to:

1. Western art and cultural history, allowing for the study of heterodox spiritualties from other regions than “the West”, as long as the relationship with Western art and culture is the research objective;
   
2. the Modern and contemporary period, but allowing for the study of the reception, afterlife/nachleben, diachronic cultural resonance, or mnemo-historical development of pre-Modern art and visual culture in (post) Modernity;
   
3. visual culture, including the screen arts, the performing arts, and architecture, as well as design, painting, the graphical arts, sculpture, mixed media and applied arts; to be furthermore extended to other arts such as literature and music when there is an obvious visual component presentundefinedi.e., word/image, text/performance, music/image or image/structure relations. Outsider art, marginal or peripheral cultural expressions, popular culture, folk culture, etc., is emphatically included.
   

Founding Members of WEAVE:

Christian Giudice MA – Gothenburg University, SWE
Dr. Tessel M. Bauduin – Radboud University Nijmegen, NL
Nina Kokkinen MA – University of Turku, FIN
Dr. Victoria Ferentinou – Ioannina University
Dr. Victoria Nelson – Goddard College
Per Faxneld MA – Stockholm University
Dr. Jonathan Shirland – Bridgewater State University
Prof. dr. Christopher Partridge – Lancaster University
Prof. dr. Raphael Rosenberg – University of Vienna
Dr. Henrik Bogdan – Gothenburg University
Dr. Marco Pasi – University of Amsterdam
Dr. Lars Bang Larsen – University of Copenhagen
Prof. dr. Christoph Wagner – University of Regensburg
Dr. Marty Bax – independent art historian and owner of Baxart

 

Contact: Studynetwork [dot] weave [at]  gmail [dot]  com.
Click HERE to visit the WEAVE website