Events
Cosponsors
- Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life
- The Institute for Comparative Literature and Society
- The Leverhulme Trust
Organizer
- Gauri Viswanathan, Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities
Notes
- Image Credit/Caption: Piet Mondrian, "Broadway Boogie Woogie," 1942-1943
This is the second conference of the international research network Enchanted Modernities: Theosophy, Modernism and the Arts, c.1875-1960 funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The Network’s first conference, ‘Enchanted Modernities: Theosophy and the Arts in the Modern World’ held at the University of Amsterdam in 2013, mapped Theosophy’s varied influence on painting, sculpture, applied and decorative arts, music, architecture and other art forms in the period c.1875-1960. It focused on the translation of Theosophical ideas, especially those of key figures in the Theosophical Society in this period, such as Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Annie Besant, into material, visual, and audible form.
Theosophy was, without question, a major source of inspiration and influence for artists in the modern age. Our second conference, to be held at Columbia University on October 9–10 (Friday-Saturday), 2015, seeks to locate that influence within its cultural contexts and to trace the textual practices and philosophical, historical, and cultural traditions that produced and sustained Theosophy. This conference also seeks to explore the wider contexts of Theosophy’s influence in the arts. How can we locate Theosophical arts within broader cultural and social histories of the period c.1875-1960? Interest in Theosophical ideas was often far more than an aesthetic inclination. For many, Theosophy was useful precisely because it gave social and political purpose to the arts. Beyond these conscious commitments, how might we go about understanding the historical specificities of Theosophical arts? For example, how might we understand these arts in relation to class, gender and race, to momentous historical events such as the First World War, to geopolitics, or to the local politics of place?
In the first place, the writings of Blavatsky, Besant and other thinkers influenced by Theosophy are worthy of attention in their own right. How should we read these texts as contributions to modern (re)enchantment? How did these writings come to influence artists and thinkers in such a wide variety of fields, and what was the nature of that influence? Secondly, we should account for the textual life of Theosophy beyond its official publications: writers of fiction and poetry were influenced by Theosophical ideas, and artistic figures of all kinds produced their own texts, such as manifestos, which extended the textual reach of Theosophical enchantment. In addition, we might ask how Theosophical ideas made the transition between elite and popular forms of writing, for example, to genres such as science fiction and fantasy, and what this might tell us about the location of esoteric thought in modern culture. Thirdly, we should note the rapidly expanding social movements influenced by Theosophical writings, such as vegetarianism and animal anti-vivisection. How did these movements shape life practices and bring about cultural transformations? Finally, we also invite reflection on the entanglement between Theosophy and the arts on the one hand and science, technology and medicine on the other. The period c.1875-1960 was one of momentous change not only in the arts, but also in the sciences: how might we trace the connections between artistic and scientific practice which formed in relation to Theosophy and related movements?
Program
time8:30am - 9:00am EDT
Registration
time9:00am - 9:30am EDT
Conference Welcome (Room 1501)
Gauri Viswanathan
Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities
Columbia University
time9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Keynote Address I: The Theosophical Imagination (Room 1501)
Wouter Hanegraaff
Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents
University of Amsterdam
Chair
Gauri Viswanathan
Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities
Columbia University
time10:30am - 12:15pm EDT
Panel I: Art, Media, and Aesthetics (Room 1501)
Chair
Christopher Scheer
Associate Professor of Music
Utah State University
Respondent
Stefan Andriopoulos
Professor of Germanic Languages
Columbia University
"Claude Bragdon and the Art of Invisible Dimensions"
Christopher White
Associate Professor of American Religious History
Vassar College
"Astral Bodies: From Clairvoyant Perception to Technological Mediation"
Jeremy Stolow
Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies
Concordia University, Montreal
"'My Theory of Soul Atoms': Theosophy and Occult Mysticism in Sadakichi Hartmann's Aesthetics"
Emily Gephart
Academic Faculty
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
time12:15pm - 2:00pm EDT
Lunch break: Concert by the Fry Street Quartet (Room 1501). Food available for sale through Camille's.
time2:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Panel II: Canons and Margins (Room 1501)
Chair
Gauri Viswanathan
Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities
Columbia University
Respondent
Sarah Cole
Professor of English and Comparative Literature
Columbia University
"Henrietta Frances Lord - a Translator of Ibsen for the Theosophical Movement"
Giuliano D’Amico
Associate Professor
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
"Jessie L. Weston's Occult Anthropology: Theosophy in 'From Ritual to Romance'"
Mimi Winick
PhD Candidate in English
Rutgers University
"Unveiling Isis and Other Victorian Literary Pastimes"
Michael Gomes
Director
Emily Sellon Memorial Library in New York
time3:45pm - 4:15pm EDT
Break III
time4:15pm - 6:00pm EDT
Panel III: Self and Affect (Room 1512)
Chair
Rachel Cowgill
Senior Lecturer of Musicology
University of Huddersfield
Respondent
Christopher Scheer
Associate Professor of Music
Utah State University
"Practical Asceticism: On Theosophy's Astral Ethics"
J. Barton Scott
Assistant Professor of Historical Studies and the Study of Religion
University of Toronto
"'Oneness with the Infinite': Self and Symbol in D.H. Lawrence's 'The Rainbow'(1915)"
Christina Iglesias
Graduate Student in English
Columbia University
"Serialism Enchanted: The Theosophical Basis of Elisabeth Lutyens's Modernism"
Annika Forkert
Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Music
University of Bristol
time4:15pm - 6:00pm EDT
Panel IV: Color and Sound (Room 1501)
Chair
Carmel Raz
Lecturer in Music
Columbia University
Respondent
James Mansell
Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies
University of Nottingham
“Every Picture Tells a Story: Édouard Schuré’s 'The Great Initiates': Theosophy, Text, Context, and Influence on the Visual Arts in France”
Massimo Introvigne
Professor of Sociology of Religion
Pontifical Salesian University
“Alexander Hector’s Color Music Instruments and Unified Theories of Sonic and Visual Frequencies"
Pia van Gelder
Research Associate
University of New South Wales Australia
“Theosophical Impulses in the Work of John Varian: Mystic, Poet, Inventor, Masseur”
Paul Ivey
Professor of Art History
University of Arizona, College of Fine Arts
time6:00pm - 7:15pm EDT
Reception (Foyer)
time9:00am - 9:30am EDT
Registration
time9:30am - 10:30am EDT
Keynote Address II: "After Theosophy" (Room 1501)
Joy Dixon
Associate Professor of History
University of British Columbia
Chair
James Mansell
Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies
University of Nottingham
time10:30am - 12:15pm EDT
Panel V: Intellectual History via Theosophy (Room 1501)
Chair
James Mansell
Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies
University of Nottingham
Respondent
Susan Pedersen
Gouverneur Morris Professor of British History
Columbia University
“Enchanting the Farm: Anthroposophy and the Origins of German Organic Agriculture”
Corinna Treitel
Associate Professor of History
Washington University in St. Louis
“Woodrow Wilson’s Great Mistake: Self-Determination and the Theosophical Concept of Peace”
Shiben Banerji
Assistant Professor of Art History, Theory and Criticism
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
"Theosophy as Cultural Translation: Mediating Hinduism"
Gauri Viswanathan
Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities
Columbia University
time12:15pm - 1:30pm EDT
Lunch break: Enchanted Modernities project activities on display (Room 1501). Food available for sale through Camille's.
time1:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Panel VI: Theosophy's Transculturalism (Room 1501)
Chair
Helena Capkova
Assistant Professor of Art History
Waseda University, School of International Liberal Studies
Respondent
Wouter Hanegraaff
Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents
University of Amsterdam
“The Colors of Conversion: Swedenborg, Theosophy, and Transcultural Mysticism”
Devin Zuber
Assistant Professor of American Studies, Literature, and Swedenborgian Studies
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley
“Images of Buddha and Christ in French Symbolist Art: Interpreting East and West through a Theosophical Lens”
Serena Keshavjee
Associate Professor of Art History
University of Winnipeg
“The Reception and Propagation of Theosophy in China”
Chuang Chien Hui
Specially Appointed Assistant Professor
Osaka University
time1:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Panel VII: Politics and Institutions (Room 1512)
Chair
Marco Pasi
Associate Professor in History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents
University of Amsterdam
Respondent
Cóilín Parsons
Assistant Professor of English
Georgetown University
“Theosophical Individualism and the Politics of Neutrality”
Colin Duggan
Researcher and Lecturer
Univeristy College Cork, Ireland
“The International Lodge Reconsidered: The Theosophical Network and its Impact on Japanese Interbellum Modernity”
Toshio Akai
Professor of Cultural Studies
Kobe Gakuin University
“Transmutations of Theosophy in Russian and East European Literary and Philosophical-Scientific Contexts (c.1880s-1950s)”
Yuri Stoyanov
Research Associate
University of London School of Oriental and African Studies
time3:15pm - 3:45pm EDT
Break II
time3:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
Panel VIII: The Public Sphere (Room 1512)
Chair
Rachel Cowgill
Senior Lecturer of Musicology
University of Huddersfield
Respondent
Matthew Hart
Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature
Columbia University
“The Theosophical Gothic: Propaganda and Positive Epistemologyin H.P. Blavatsky’s 'Nightmare Tales' (1892)”
Christine Ferguson
Senior Lecturer in English
University of Glasgow
“Revivalism as ‘Beautiful Necessity’: Tracing a Transatlantic Gothic Spirit”
Ayla Lepine
Lecturer in Art History
University of Essex
“Fables of Enchantment: Spiritualism, Anarchism and the Politics of Affectionbetween Women in Spain and Latin-America”
Marta Ferrer Gómez
Graduate Student in Latin American and Iberian Cultures
Columbia University
time3:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
Panel IX: Futurism, Art, and Theosophy (Room 1501)
Chair
Sarah Victoria Turner
Assistant Director for Research
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Respondent
Marco Pasi
Associate Professor in History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents
University of Amsterdam
“Kandinsky, Boccioni, and the Ether in the International Culturesof Science and Theosophy”
Linda D. Henderson
David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professor in Art History
University of Texas at Austin
“A Theosophical Portrait of Ruzena Zatkova, Futurist”
Fae Brauer
Research Professor for Visual Art Theory, School of Cultural Studies and Creative Industries
University of East London
“Evolving Androgynous Astrobodies: Hélène Dufau's Occult Transformism”
time5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Roundtable Discussion - Enchanted Modernities Project Team (room 1501)
Chair
Gauri Viswanathan
Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities
Columbia University
Chair
James Mansell
Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies
University of Nottingham
Helena Capkova
Assistant Professor of Art History
Waseda University, School of International Liberal Studies
Rachel Cowgill
Senior Lecturer of Musicology
University of Huddersfield
Marco Pasi
Associate Professor in History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents
University of Amsterdam
Christopher Scheer
Associate Professor of Music
Utah State University
Sarah Victoria Turner
Assistant Director for Research
Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Participants
- Toshio Akai Professor of Cultural Studies Kobe Gakuin University
- Stefan Andriopoulos Professor of Germanic Languages Columbia University
- Shiben Banerji Assistant Professor of Art History, Theory and Criticism School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Fae Brauer Research Professor for Visual Art Theory, School of Cultural Studies and Creative Industries University of East London
- Helena Capkova Assistant Professor of Art History Waseda University, School of International Liberal Studies
- Sarah Cole Professor of English and Comparative Literature Columbia University
- Rachel Cowgill Senior Lecturer of Musicology University of Huddersfield
- Giuliano D’Amico Associate Professor Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Joy Dixon Associate Professor of History University of British Columbia
- Colin Duggan Researcher and Lecturer University College Cork, Ireland
- Christine Ferguson Senior Lecturer in English University of Glasgow
- Annika Forkert Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Music University of Bristol
- Pia van Gelder Research Associate University of New South Wales Australia
- Emily Gephart Academic Faculty School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Michael Gomes Director Emily Sellon Memorial Library in New York
- Marta Ferrer Gómez Graduate Student in Latin American and Iberian Cultures Columbia University
- Wouter Hanegraaff Professor of History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents
- Matthew Hart Associate Professor of English & Comparative Literature Columbia University
- Linda D. Henderson David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professor in Art History University of Texas at Austin
- Chuang Chien Hui Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Osaka University
- Christina Iglesias Graduate Student in English Columbia University
- Massimo Introvigne Professor of Sociology of Religion Pontifical Salesian University
- Paul Ivey Professor of Art History University of Arizona, College of Fine Arts
- Serena Keshavjee Associate Professor of Art History University of Winnipeg
- Ayla Lepine Lecturer in Art History University of Essex
- James Mansell Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies University of Nottingham
- Cóilín Parsons Assistant Professor of English Georgetown University
- Marco Pasi Associate Professor in History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents University of Amsterdam
- Susan Pedersen Gouverneur Morris Professor of British History Columbia University
- Carmel Raz Lecturer in Music Columbia University
- Christopher Scheer Associate Professor of Music Utah State University
- J. Barton Scott Assistant Professor of Historical Studies and the Study of Religion University of Toronto
- Jeremy Stolow Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies Concordia University, Montreal
- Yuri Stoyanov Research Associate University of London School of Oriental and African Studies
- Corinna Treitel Associate Professor of History Washington University in St. Louis
- Sarah Victoria Turner Assistant Director for Research Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
- Gauri Viswanathan Class of 1933 Professor in the Humanities Columbia University
- Mimi Winick PhD Candidate in English Rutgers University
- Christopher White Associate Professor of American Religious History Vassar College
- Devin Zuber Assistant Professor of American Studies, Literature, and Swedenborgian Studies Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley