8th Int’l Conference of the Association for the Study of Esotericism

The Association for the Study of Esotericism and Mysticism/Research Centre for Mysticism and Esotericism will be holding its Eighth International Conference in Saint Petersburg, Russia March 23-27. Keynote speakers include Henrik Bogdan, Andreas Kilcher and Wouter J. Hanegraaff.

http://ancientesotericism.org/ posted these details regarding the conference:

The changes which took place due to technical progress, always touched mystic and esoteric movements also. The influence of technology manifests itself on many levels: the change in material culture of mystic and esoteric movements, the change in forms of communication and social organization of esotericists, the transformation of esoteric practices and last but not least, the change in the esoteric and mystical teachings by bringing technological metaphors into them.

Using various methodologies, participants of the conference will try to understand the interaction of technologies and the mystic-esoteric movements, as observed in the past and in the present. Historians, researchers of culture and religion, philosophers, psychologists, literary scholars, the representatives of scientific knowledge, all those who involves the subject of esotericism and mysticism in their studies are invited to participate in the conference.

Approximate headings of topics:

1. the impact of the technological progress on the teachings of esoteric groups;
2. the impact of mystic and esoteric teachings on the world of technologies;
3. the impact of technologies on the formation and modification of esoteric practices;
4. information technologies and new forms of communication in the esoteric community and in the representation of esoteric groups;
5. the impact of technology on the material culture of the mystic-esoteric movements;
6. the history of interaction of technologies and mystic-esoteric teachings;
7. mysticism and esotericism in the Internet;
8. .general aspects of studies for transformations of esotericism and mysticism in the modern world.