The twentieth century witnessed a surge
of fascination with the religious culture of the ancient Mediterranean,
whose allure was appropriated in innovative ways by various actors and
movements ranging from Rudolf Steiner to Goddess-cult(ure)s, from
Neo-Gnostics in Brazil to the Russian New Age. In these diverse
interpretations and productive misunderstandings of antiquity, ancient
gods, philosophers, religious specialists, sacred institutions,
practices, and artifacts were invoked, employed, and even invented in
order to legitimize new developments in religious life. Focusing on the
contemporary period (from the 1960s to the present day), our goal is to
identify and analyze these appropriations and changes of ancient
religious life. We seek critical, scientific papers that take an
historical, philological, and/or sociological approach towards
transformations and constructions of the past in the literature and
cultural discourse of the New Age and beyond, extending into movements
such as Neo-Paganism and Neo-Gnosticism. Join us for a workshop in
Berlin, from 26–28 June 2014!
Selected papers from the workshop will be published in the peer- reviewed Brill series, Metaforms: Studies in the Reception of Classical Antiquity. Participants will need to provide their own funding.
Deadline for the submission of abstracts: 31 January 2014.
Contact info:
Please send abstracts together with a CV (both no more than 500 words) to newantiquities@yahoo.de; further inquiries can be directed to the co-organizers of the workshop:
Prof. Dr. Almut-Barbara Renger Freie Universität Berlin Department of History and Cultural Studies Institute for the Scientific Study of Religion Gosslerstr. 2-4 D - 14195 Berlin Germany
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