{"id":4416,"date":"2012-07-05T16:58:42","date_gmt":"2012-07-05T22:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4416"},"modified":"2012-07-05T16:59:17","modified_gmt":"2012-07-05T22:59:17","slug":"currents-in-esoteric-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4416","title":{"rendered":"Currents in Esoteric Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The current newsletter of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism<\/a> is available for download. In it, some of the members discuss their current doctoral work. It is always interesting to see how new scholars are formulating just exactly what “esoteric studies” covers.<\/p>\n

Like Pagan studies \u2014 there is some degree of overlap \u2014 esoteric studies (if I may personify it) struggles to find out who it is. Egil Asprem, doctoral candidate and blogger<\/a>, writes,<\/p>\n

On the one hand, you often hear that the field has now matured, but when you look for some of the signs that characterise a mature academic field it is hard to see them in practice. I am particularly thinking of the lack of agreement on fundamental issues, such as \u201dwhat is it\u201d, \u201dhow do we study it\u201d, \u201dwhat’s its importance\u201d, and \u201dhow is it related to the broad spectrum of human activity\u201d. If you pick up the three most popular introduction books to the field, you’ll find three very different ways of handling these fundamental questions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kocku von Stuckrad<\/a>, an established scholar but still “younger” in academic terms, makes the comparison:<\/p>\n

It is a kind of identity work that I perceive in the study of esotericism, but also in \u201dpagan studies\u201d and related fields of research. This identity work often leads to a neglect of critical methodological reflection, which I find problematic. What we need is an active collaboration with as many colleagues as possible, no matter whether or not we like their definitions of esotericism, in order to build up networks that can make research into these historical and cultural dynamics sustainable for the future. If we study these phenomena as part of the cultural history of Europe and North America, in an increasingly globalized perspective, we will be able to integrate the field of Western esotericism” in larger research structures and critical scholarship. This will also help students who enroll in our programs to find a job after their studies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

More resources in the newsletter about courses and research opportunities, chiefly in Britain and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The current newsletter of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism is available for download. In it, some of the members discuss their current doctoral work. It is always interesting to see how new scholars are formulating just exactly what “esoteric studies” covers. Like Pagan studies \u2014 there is some degree of overlap […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[137,88,89,183,4],"class_list":["post-4416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-academia","tag-britain","tag-esotericism","tag-netherlands","tag-scholarship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-19e","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1415,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=1415","url_meta":{"origin":4416,"position":0},"title":"Esoteric Poetry Competition Announced","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"March 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"News release: ESOTERIC POETRY INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION esotericpoetry@googlemail.com YOU ARE INVITED TO SEND short poems of up to eight lines (not including the title) on an esoteric subject. These may refer in a general sense to \u2018inner\u2019 knowledge, this may be esoteric in the sense of inner knowledge as in: Astrology,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"astrology\"","block_context":{"text":"astrology","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=astrology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1301,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=1301","url_meta":{"origin":4416,"position":1},"title":"The World of Esotericism","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"February 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The University of Amsterdam has one of just a few graduate programs in the study of Western Esotericism, which is often contrasted with Christianity as follows (from a lecture handout based on work of Antoine Faivre).Christianity\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 EsotericismPersonal deity \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Christianity\"","block_context":{"text":"Christianity","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=christianity"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11867,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=11867","url_meta":{"origin":4416,"position":2},"title":"New: the “Rejected Religion” Podcast","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"November 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The number of high-quality Pagan and esoteric podcasts continues to grow, and I am listing some in the right-hand column. Today's add is Rejected Religion, created by Stephanie Shea. She writes, I hold a Research Master in Religious Studies from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. My resesarch interests are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"esotericism\"","block_context":{"text":"esotericism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=esotericism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.wixstatic.com\/media\/6979e8_9e3de31862194def98fb3e6497b59f34~mv2.jpg\/v1\/crop\/x_0%2Cy_5%2Cw_640%2Ch_631\/fill\/w_338%2Ch_333%2Cal_c%2Cq_80%2Cusm_0.66_1.00_0.01\/IMG_0838_JPG.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2948,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=2948","url_meta":{"origin":4416,"position":3},"title":"On the Norwegian ‘Esoterrorist’","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"July 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Egil Asprem, a Norwegian scholar of esotericism and contemporary Paganism (he has published in The Pomegranate on Norse Paganism and Kabbalah) has a blog post up: \"Counterjidhadist Templar Terrorism,\" on Anders Behring Breivik's use of Western esoteric language and symbols. Worth reading. It is as if an ideological critique of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"esotericism\"","block_context":{"text":"esotericism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=esotericism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10135,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=10135","url_meta":{"origin":4416,"position":4},"title":"Marco Pasi on Sex and Esotericism","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"December 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"?? Scholar of esotericism Marco Pasi (University of Amsterdam) speaks at a conference in Estonia. Or is that Esoteronia? If that video does not play for you, try this link: \"The Social and Cultural Aspects of Esoteric Sex.\"","rel":"","context":"In \"esotericism\"","block_context":{"text":"esotericism","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=esotericism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6080,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=6080","url_meta":{"origin":4416,"position":5},"title":"Esotericism and the ‘Walking Wounded’","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"November 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night I watched The Master, with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Joaquin Phoenix, respectively playing an L. Ron Hubbard-type esoteric group's leader (making stuff up as he goes), his wife and collaborator,\u00a0 and an erratic alcoholic sailor who becomes, for a time, his follower. 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