CFP: Witchcraft, Magic and Popular Religion – XI Gustav Vasa seminar, Finland

CFP: Witchcraft, Magic and Popular Religion – XI Gustav Vasa seminar
Date: 2013-06-11

Description: The Eleventh annual Gustav Vasa seminar focuses on the themes
of popular religion, witchcraft and magic. We invite papers to discuss
these themes in multidisciplinary perspectives, e.g. from the
fields of history, anthropology, religious science and archaeology.
Contact: jari.eilola [at] jyu.fi

University of Jyväskylä, Finland
11.-12.6.2013

http://www.gustavvasaseminar2013.blogspot.fi/

CALL FOR PAPERS

In different cultures, in the past as well as in the present, there are
beliefs that the supernatural influences people’s lives in different ways.
In early modern Europe, God was believed to be a strict father who
punished sinners and guided the believers, but also his adversary, the
devil, was understood as an active actor in the mundane world. It was also
thought that there were times when and places where the borderline
between this and the other world was narrow, but different rite experts –
and in some cases also ordinary people – could use trance techniques to
make a journey to the other world. There were also, for instance,
some fragile turning points during an individual’s life-span which were
ritually protected.

The Eleventh annual Gustav Vasa seminar focuses on the themes of popular
religion, witchcraft and magic. We invite papers to discuss these themes in
multidisciplinary perspectives, e.g. from the fields of history,
anthropology, religious science and archaeology. The focus of the seminar
is on worldviews and belief systems and their internal logic, which
influenced the way people understood the world and the supernatural. The
aim is to look at these issues through intersectional studies in order to
create a diverse picture of popular religion, witchcraft and magic.

In the seminar, the multidisciplinary approach is created not only by
single papers that examine the subject from a cross-disciplinary
perspective but also by papers representing different fields that can be
useful to each other and bring new light on themes of popular religion,
witchcraft and magic. For example, the theories and concepts of
anthropology have been successfully utilized in the historical study of
the early modern era.

The papers may deal with the themes of the seminar in the context of
different time periods, from ancient times to the present. All proposals on
the themes of the seminar are welcome. Papers may focus on, for
example, the following themes:

– Methodological questions in multidisciplinary approaches, for example:

How to utilize modern folklore material and results of folkloristic
research in the study of earlier conceptions on the supernatural?

How to utilize theories and concepts of different disciplines in the study
of popular religion, witchcraft and magic?

– Rituals; Sacred times and places
– The role of gender in the study of popular religion, witchcraft and magic
– The relationship and conflicts between popular and “official” religion
– Experience and emotions related to popular religion, witchcraft and magic

Intending participants should register for the seminar by 31/1/2013 by
sending a one-page (max.) abstract of their proposed presentation to
hela-harjoittelija@campus.jyu.fi. Applicants will be informed about
acceptance of their submitted topic and the programme of the seminar by the
end of February. The maximum permitted duration of presentations is 20
minutes, but participants may if they wish also submit longer texts. The
working language of the seminar is English.

For further information, please contact Jari Eilola (jari.eilola [at] jyu.fi),
Department of History and Ethnology, PL 35, FIN 40014 University of
Jyväskylä, Finland.