New discussion group on Facebook

With the aim of promoting the study of Hermetism, Western Esotericism, and related currents, Iván Elvira has created a new discussion group on Facebook, called Studia Hermetica like the website www.revistaazogue.com/hermetica.

If you want to participate, you have to create a Facebook account, and send Iván Elvira a message with your request. The languages of this new discussion group are Spanish, English and French. The discussion group is aimed at students and enthusiasts of Hermetism and Esoteric thought. The questions that will be dealt with are wide, and nothing will be avoided. People who profess a Hermetic or Esoteric belief are welcome, but are warned that "Studia Hermetica" is an academic discussion group. Bibliographical references and a correct way of expression are obligatory.

Why Esotericism? The Importance of a Newly Emerging Field

The Western Esotericism Group of the American Academy of Religion is seeking proposals addressing the topic “Why Esotericism? The Importance of a Newly Emerging Field” for the AAR International Meeting, Auckland, New Zealand, July 6-10, 2008.

The study of Western Esotericism has developed rapidly over the past decade. It now has significant institutional support and two journals dedicated to research, Esoterica and Aries. The field, however, has yet to enter into the academic mainstream. It is the purpose of this panel to contribute to a broader appreciation of the scope and importance of Western Esotericism as a force in western history and religion.

We invite papers dealing with the ways in which the study of Esotericism has challenged mainstream historiography both in terms of methodology and by providing a more nuanced picture of major developments in western history as well as an understanding of the complex strands of esoteric thought in the work of key historical figures. Proposals should be sent by e-mail to Prof. Allison Coudert, apcoudert@ucdavis.edu.

The Demarcation of Western Esotericism in Theory and Practice

Sara M. Thejls, Amsterdam

When Western esotericism was established as an independent field of research it was necessarily much more clearly demarcated than is the case today. As a new field, it had to be positioned clearly in relation to other academic categories, so as to place the academic study of esotericism on solid foundations.

Since then the situation has gradually changed. More and more scholars have found a fruitful framework for their own studies in the concept of Western esotericism. One consequence of this is that the specific historical category that Western esotericism once was has been opened up. As Michael Stausberg noted in his response to Wouter Hanegraaff’s posting on the Tübingen conference, the borders of the field of Western esotericism are increasingly blurred. The definition of the field has been contested both explicitly and implicitly--explicitly in the theoretical discussions flourishing within academia, and implicitly by the research carried out under the umbrella of Western esotericism.

It is evident when looking at the wide range of topics and approaches presented at the Tübingen conference that the classic definition of Western esotericism as suggested by Antoine Faivre is challenged by the actual research presently carried out in the field. Borders were crossed in time, in space, in approaches and concepts and thus in the subjects studied and presented at the conference under the term Western esotericism. These included such diverse themes as Sufism, ancient platonisms, ancient Jewish magic, Chechen traditionalism, kabbalah in various guises, neo-paganism and contemporary magical orders. Of course, more traditional topics of Western esotericism were also covered, including theosophy, Christian kabbalah, rosicrucianism and alchemy.

That the “fringe” topics were central is by no means a surprise considering the age of Western esotericism as a more or less accepted academic field of study. Now that the field has been quite solidly consolidated in academia, we, as the students and scholars of Western esotericism, have an opportunity to turn our focus inwards and look at the state of the field itself. As is also happening all the time with the broader concept of religion, the limits of the concept of Western esotericism are being explored and challenged. And it is not only the term “esotericism” which is being evaluated, stretched, deconstructed and reassembled. Just as important is the question of what the ambiguous concept of “Western” denotes. Is it a cultural category, a geographical? And what does it imply?

To me at least, it is obvious that we cannot uphold the earlier christocentric demarcation of Western esotericism. Definitional problems are an essential part of the evolution of an academic field, without which a field would stagnate. Paradigms are there to be challenged in order to fruitfully develop and continually revisit the academic pursuit.

Viewed this way, the broadness of topics at Tübingen is indeed promising. It reflects the enthusiasm and curiosity which is necessary for a field to flourish. It is important, however, that we do not only challenge and explore the boundaries of our field in empirical research. We have to explicitly reconsider the premises for maintaining Western esotericism as a field in its own right. Whether one perceives Western esotericism as a historical or a typological category, the theoretical foundations should be considered and explicitly elaborated.

Retrospectively, it is difficult to see any obvious unifying factor for all the different papers presented at the conference. Then again, I am in no doubt that it all belongs to the field of Western esotericism. I wonder whether we are able to actually find a unifying definition, or whether the case is similar to that of the problem of defining religion--that either the definition is so broad that too much is included, or so narrow that borderline topics get excluded.

Nonetheless, the discussion itself is far more important than the eventual conclusions. Maybe it is possible to find some common denominator by considering the central topic of the conference: tradition and transmission. Can we trace a certain way of constructing tradition and transmitting knowledge which is different from religious movements in general? Revelation is too general a way of claiming religious authority to be of special significance for esotericism; initiation too. However, it seems there is a certain discourse involved in the transmission of knowledge--a dialectic of secrecy and revelation, and a claim to supremacy with regard to the knowledge transmitted. Though not necessarily elitist in the exact sense of the word, there is an air of elitism surrounding esoteric knowledge, making the possessor of knowledge feel privileged to have obtained that knowledge.

The special mode of transmission and the proclaimed secrecy and supremacy of esoteric knowledge is by no means enough for a proper definition of Western esotericism. For instance, it does not even address the problem of defining "Western." However, it might prove useful in the process. Furthermore, it is important that the concept of esotericism becomes more precise in the general study of religion, as in many instances it is used as a mere synonym for secrecy.

It is my hope that there will be many more discussions of this important issue and that our work contributes to the clarification of esotericism in general, and of Western esotericism in particular.

Sub-fields

Giovanna Costantini posted a comment to an earlier post which included the sentence

As an Art Historian, I would be interested in identifying others within my discipline working internationally on subjects related to esotericism and in a sub-affiliation/listserv of such scholars.

Would any others be interested? In Art history or in any other discipline/sub-field of the study of Western esotericism? Please reply by comment to this post.

Caucasian Esotericism

As someone currently researching esotericism in the Caucasus I often wonder where Western esotericism is supposed to 'end.' That esotericism in the Caucasus exists needs little proof. Just take the Armenian Hermetic texts or the Georgian neo-Platonic school founded at the Gelati monastery in the 11th/12th century by Ioan Petritsi.

Contemporary examples of Caucasian esotericists are Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the Orthodox-Christian Anthroposophist who was also Georgia's first post-Communist president, and Khozh-Akhmed Noukhaev,the Chechen nationalist who turned to Traditionalism and the neo-Eurasianism of Aleksandr Dugin. These two examples especially arefairly unproblematic, since both men openly adopted and adapted esoteric currents with clear Western-European backgrounds. They are simply examples of Western esotericism imported to the Caucasus.

Petritsi's neo-Platonism is already much more difficult to judge -- if only because of the language barrier. Petritsi was a student at Psellus' academy before returning to Georgia. His translation of Proclus was a landmark in Georgian literary culture and gave rise towhat is called the Georgian Renaissance.

How should the Georgian neo-Platonic school be treated? As a priori part of Western esotericism? And why? Because it is Christian? Because it is neo-Platonic? Or perhaps for some other reason? (NB: Interestingly, Zviad Gamsakhurdia drew his inspiration not only from Steiner, but also from Petritsi.)

Ward ten Houten
[Posted by Kocku von Stuckrad for Ward ten Houten]

Sentimental thoughts on Tuebingen

I remember very well how in the first half of the 1990s, Antoine Faivre and I were talking about the necessity of getting Western esotericism recognized as a field of research, and of the absence at the time of all those things that belong to an established field, such as academic chairs, teaching programs, peer-reviewed journals, monograph series, scholarly organizations on a national and international level, interdisciplinary exchange with other disciplines, and so on and so forth. At the time, there was nothing, or almost nothing.

That was no more than 15 years ago. And now I suddenly found myself standing on a podium in Tuebingen looking at a crowded lecture room full of scholars, including many students and ph.d. students, from many countries, who all shared a real, serious and enthusiastic commitment to Western esotericism as a field of research, and for all or whom (at least, so I imagine) the question of its academic legitimacy is no longer an issue on which to waste one's time.

This is how far we have come in so short a period of time.

The presence of so many young people - students who had taken the trouble to travel all the way to an academic conference like this - was particularly inspiring: it means that Western esotericism is no longer a pursuit dominated by a relatively small circle of "usual suspects" belonging to the older and middle generations (although it was obviously fantastic that almost of them were there as well), but that it has taken root among those who will take the field into the future.

In short, it was a historical event indeed: the moment, as far as I'm concerned, when Western esotericism has definitively "come of age".

Wouter Hanegraaff