Satanism in the Modern World

Call for papers
Satanism in the Modern World
19-20 November 2009
To be held at the Department of Archaeology and Religious Studies,

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.

This inter-disciplinary conference seeks to examine issues surrounding the phenomenon known as Satanism. We welcome papers on all aspects of Satanism, but the conference focus will be on Satanism as a practised religion or life-style, and to some extent on Satanism in culture and the arts, rather than on issues such as Satanic Ritual Abuse or Mass Media constructions of Satanism. Proposals for presentations are welcomed from postgraduates within all relevant academic disciplines. All presentations will be in English.

500 word abstracts (for presentations of no more than 20 minutes) should be submitted by Monday 31st August 2009. If an abstract is accepted for the conference, a full draft paper should be submitted by Monday 2nd November 2009. Please submit your abstract to both of the conference organisers, in Word or pdf format, following this order: author(s), affiliation, email address, title of abstract, body of abstract.

We will acknowledge receipt and answer to all paper proposals submitted, and will let all applicants know if their paper has been accepted by Monday September 14th.

Conference organisers:
Jesper Aagaard Petersen, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
(jesper.a.petersen@hf.ntnu.no)
Per Faxneld, Stockholm University, Sweden
(per.faxneld@rel.su.se)

All papers accepted for and presented at this conference will be eligible for potential publication in the anthology we hope to compile, featuring the best contributions.

Esoteric Book Conference

The Esoteric Book Conference is an annual international event to bring together authors, artists, publishers and bookmakers working in the field of esotericism. The next fair will take place 19-20 September 2009 in Seattle.
In addition to presentations by authors and scholars, the conference opens it doors to publishers and booksellers showcasing new & used books as well as rare and hard-to-find esoteric texts. Contemporary esoteric publishing, finepress book arts and antiquarian texts are offered to augment the libraries of readers, scholars and collectors alike. This multi-disciplined conference will feature presentations by scholars and authors researching and working in esoteric currents both East & West. Western Esotericism, Gnosticism, Theosophy, Mythology, Shamanism, Rosicrucianism, Sacred Sciences, Occulture and World Religions are among the subjects to be represented. An esoteric book fair and art show will also be on site allowing education, vending and networking in a unique field of literary, historical and cultural arts. Paper proposals are invited . For more information, see the book fair website.

Call for papers

The Rosicrucian Order, AMORC, is organizing a conference for scholars and practioners on the theme of 'Hidden in Plain Sight: The Influence of Western Esoteric Movements on Modern Thought' in 2010. The conference is an open venue for the Western esotericism community, not restricted to members of AMORC. Papers will be evaluated according to academic merit. 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.
The call for papers can be found here. Deadline for proposals is July 15, 2009.

Conference: Cosmologies

The Sophia Centre at the University of Wales, Lampeter, has announced its annual conference, this time of the theme of Cosmologies. The event will take place on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2009 at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institute (UK). Speakers will include (subject to alteration):

- Ronald Hutton (University of Bristol): 'The Wheel of the Year: The Major Traditional Festivals of Britain',
- Peter Forshaw (University of Cambridge): 'Astronomia Inferior et Superior: Some Medieval and Renaissance Instances of the Conjunction of Alchemy and Astrology',
- Martin Gansten (Lund University): 'Reshaping karma: Indic metaphysical paradigms in traditional and modern astrology',
- Mark Williams (University of Cambridge): 'Druidic Cloud-Divination in Medieval Irish Literature',
- Jane Ridder-Patrick (University of Edinburgh): 'Astrology in Early Modern Scottish Universities, ca. 1560-1700',
- Elizabeth Reichell (University of Wales, Lampeter): 'The Landscape in the Cosmoscape: cosmology, ethnoastronomy, and socio-environmental sustainability among the Tanimuka and Yukuna, Northwest Amazon',
- Helen Jacobus (University of Manchester): 'Calendars and Divination in the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Case of 4Q318 Zodiac Calendar and Brontologion',
- Lionel Sims (University of East London), TBA,
- Pauline Bambrey (University of Wales, Lampeter): 'An Ethnographic Study of Modern Calendar Festivals',
- 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?',
- Martin Wells (University of Wales, Lampeter): 'Early Christian Responses to the Star of Bethlehem, Astrology and Astral Fate',
- Frances Clynes (University of Wales, Lampeter): 'Cyberspace and the Sacred Sky'.

See the conference website for updated information.

Call for book proposals: Suny Press

The series Western Esoteric Traditions, published by SUNY Press, is now in its twentieth year and contains over fifty volumes. Authors include Antoine Faivre, Wouter Hanegraaff, and Arthur Versluis. The series is currently open to submissions. Send queries or proposals for books to David Appelbaum, series editor, Department of Philosophy, State University College, New Paltz, NY 12561, USA.

AAR conference 2009

The Western Esotericism Group of the American Academy of Religion is preparing several sessions for the yearly conference, which in 2009 will be held in Montreal, Canada, on 7-10 November.
A first session will discuss the topic of science and Western Esotericism. A persistent theme, particularly in alchemical, pansophic, theosophical, and similar works from the Renaissance to the present is a longing for a universal science that would provide a holistic understanding of the varied dimensions of human experience. Papers will address the topic of esotericism and Western science either from a theoretical point of view or by studying specific historical cases from earliest times to the present.
The second session is cosponsored with the Religion, Media, and Culture Group. The chosen topic is the commodification of the esoteric, which will address the way various media, both in the past and present, promote the comodification and consumption of esoteric knowledge.
A third session deals with the supernatural and the demonic in popular culture, and is cosponsored with the Religion and Popular Culture Group.

More information: Allison P. Coudert (University of California, Davis), apcoudert@ucdavis.edu

Phoenix Rising: Death and Renaissance in Philosophy, Art, and Literature

Call for papers

Phoenix Rising: Death and Renaissance in Philosophy, Art, and Literature
A Dying Society, or a Renaissance for the 21st Century?

Athens, November 6-7, 2009

Hosted by the Dept. of Academic Affairs, University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus Venue: University of Indianapolis Cultural Centre, 5 Markou Avriliou St., Plaka

The question this conference seeks to explore is a rather timely and certainly crucial one. All too often, studies in the humanities and arts may seem a luxury in the face of day-to-day survival. In a secular Western world where individualism and eclecticism characterise social and personal interactions, rigid religious platitudes have ceased to hold water for many. In the face of the current economic and environmental crises, what does the wisdom of esoteric and metaphysical philosophies have to offer?

The challenge here is to examine these philosophies and perspectives in terms of the relevance their message carries for the modern world. While their history and phenomenology is of vital and ongoing interest to scholars and practitioners, this conference is an attempt to bridge the gap between scholarship of the past and modern reality. Having visibly enriched the lives of so many through the centuries, the challenge is to demonstrate how that bridge can be translated into modern terms as a counterweight to the cynicism, consumerist/materialist mentality and uncertainty currently pervading the Western world.

Please send a proposal (no more than 300 words) and brief biographical statement to Sasha Chaitow at: sashanonserviat@yahoo.com before the closing date of April 30th.

Further information: http://sashanonserviat.typepad.com/phoenixrising