The View From Kalamazoo

Continuing the tradition.

Sadly, the face grew so fragile I couldn’t finish it properly (and had to use toothpick support, which I really try to avoid), but here is this year’s Snape:

Two of the four pumpkins I picked out were fine on the outside but soft of flesh… had I known I’d have saved this one for eldest’s simple jack-o-lantern-style carve and saved the firmer gourd for Snape. (And, of course, I couldn’t figure out where I’d stashed my camera, so this is a cruddy phone photo. My apologies.)

ASE 2012 Conference Call for Papers

Association for the Study of Esotericism
Fourth International Conference
Call for Papers: Esotericism, Religion, and Culture
June 14-17, 2012

The Association for the Study of Esotericism (ASE) is seeking paper and panel proposals for its fourth International North American Conference on Esotericism to be held at the University of California, Davis.

We are seeking proposals on topics in Western Esotericism, particularly related to themes exploring the relationships between esotericism, religion, and culture. Papers may focus on any one of these topics, or on a specific conjunction of topics, especially as it relates to esotericism, and we encourage papers that feature intellectual history or history of ideas. We invite proposals on magic, alchemy, astrology, ritual practice, mysticism, spiritualism, occultism, hermeticism, neo-paganism, contemporary esoteric movements and teachers, Asian influences on Western traditions, and other related topics.

In addition to the broad theme of culture-which includes literature, art, philosophy, and drama, as well as religion-we would like to feature a methodological discussion (Esotericism Across the Disciplines). We also are interested in panels specifically on mysticism. ASE regards esotericism as an interdisciplinary field of research and we invite scholars from all disciplines to share their research and writings in support of a cross-fertilization of perspectives. We welcome scholars from a wide range of areas, including anthropology, American studies, art history, history, intellectual history, religious studies, literature, philosophy, psychology, medieval studies, sociology-the full range of academic disciplines and fields.. In order to encourage graduate study in the field, we will offer a modest prize for the best graduate student paper presented.

Our initial deadline for panel or paper proposal submission is 30 December, 2011.

If you wish to submit a paper proposal or a thematically focused panel proposal (with three presenters and short descriptions included) for review and possible presentation at the conference, please send it by regular email to

ASE2012Conference@gmail.com

No attachments, please: simply copy and paste your abstract into plain text email. Individual abstracts should be limited to one or two paragraphs, and must indicate academic affiliation and/or other academic qualifications. Independent scholars are welcome to submit proposals. Please note that our previous conference was at maximum capacity, so it is best to submit your proposal sooner rather than later. We hope to post a preliminary list of accepted proposals early in 2012. Possible venues for the publication of conference papers include the book series Studies in Esotericism (this will be the fourth volume in the series).

For more information on the ASE and this conference, see our website at www.aseweb.org

UNIVERSITY OF WALES TRINITY SAINT DAVID
The Sophia Centre, School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology

Call for Papers
Astrology in Time and Place: Cross-Cultural Questions in the History of Astrology

The Sophia Centre, School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology
University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Venue: Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Bath, England
Date: 23-24 June 2012

http://www.historyofastrology.org.uk/conferences/TimeAndPlace/

Conference Chairs: Nicholas Campion and Dorian Greenbaum
Contact: Nicholas Campion, n.campion@tsd.ac.uk

Call for Papers

We invite abstracts for this academic conference which will consider the questions which arise from the transmission of ideas in the theory and practice of astrology. Such transmission may be between cultures, or through time in the same culture. Issues may also be addressed of comparison between cultures.

Astrology has been practiced in some form in most cultures. In some it is rudimentary, in others complex. It may be considered magical, religious or scientific, or it may defy categorisation. There is evidence of the transmission of ideas in the near east between Egypt, Greece and Mesopotamia, and between the Near East, India and East Asia. In Mesoamerica and China technical forms arose which were entirely different to the Near Eastern tradition. Syncretism has been a major feature of astrology in India, Persia and Europe down to modern New Age culture and the globalisation of alternative spiritualities.

This conference will consider questions surrounding the exchange of astrological ideas or practice between cultures, issues arising from their transmission from one period to another, or consider comparisons between the astrologies of different cultures. Papers may focus on iconography, literature, theory, practice, philosophy or cultural context.

Our keynote speakers will be

Professor David Pankenier, whose books include East Asian Archaeoastronomy: Historical Records of Astronomical Observations of China, Japan, and Korea, (with Xu, Zhenoao and Yaotiao Jiang, Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 2000) and Bringing Heaven Down to Earth: Celestial Foundations of Chinese Civilisation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).

Professor Francesca Rochberg, one of the foremost authorities on Mesopotamian astrology and its transmission to the Hellenistic world, and author of The Heavenly Writing: Divination, Horoscopy and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004) and In the Path of the Moon: Babylonian Celestial Divination and its Legacy (Leiden: Brill, 2010).

Professor Michael York, former Professor of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at Bath Spa University, and author of The Emerging Network: A Sociology of the New Age and Neo-Pagan Movements (London: Rowan and Littlefield, 1995) and Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion, New York: New York University Press, 2003).

Proposals are invited for papers of 30 minutes, to include discussion. All papers will be plenary sessions.

Abstracts should be around 150 words.

Speakers will not have to register for the conference.

Please submit abstracts and full contact information to Dr Nicholas Campion n.campion@tsd.ac.uk

Deadline 1 December 2011

Call for Papers: Kings and Queens: Politics, Power, Patronage and Personalities in Medieval and Early Modern Monarchy

To be held at Corsham Court in conjunction with Bath Spa University on April 19th & 20th, 2012

The institution of Monarchy was absolutely central to the political developments and events of the medieval and Early Modern world. This conference aims to celebrate monarchy in all of its various aspects, from examining the institution itself to assessing the impact of particular monarchs in their own realms and beyond. Historic Corsham Court, located just outside of Bath, is a beautiful and appropriate setting for this conference, with its origins as a summer palace for the Kings of Wessex.

We welcome papers and/or panels on any theme which connects to monarchs or monarchy in any way including (but not limited to):

Kingship/queenship/rulership

The relationship between monarchs and consorts

The relationship between monarchs and their subjects

The involvement of monarchs in politics, religion and war

The patronage and representation of monarchs

The monarch and their court

We encourage a multi-disciplinary approach including papers which draw on gender studies, art, military, political and/or cultural history. Graduate students and early career researchers are particularly invited to submit a proposal. We hope to produce a published volume of the papers generated by the conference.

Please submit a proposal of approximately 250 words for a paper OR a panel of three papers to the organizers at monarchyconference@gmail.com by October 31, 2011.

For more information or any additional queries, please email the above address or e.woodacre@bathspa.ac.uk.

Elena (Ellie) Woodacre
Department of Humanities
Bath Spa University
Newton Park, Bath
BA2 9BN

http://bathspa.academia.edu/ElenaWoodacre

Magic is Might 2012, An International Conference Exploring the Cultural Influences of the Harry Potter Books, July 23-24, 2012
full name / name of organization:
Gráinne O’Brien
contact email:
magicismight2012@gmail.com

Hosted by the University of Limerick Department of Sociology with the UL Interaction Design Centre.

University of Limerick, Ireland

The Harry Potter series has become a publishing phenomenon that has captured the imagination of children and adults all over the world. The stories created by J.K. Rowling have inspired extensive multidisciplinary academic discussion, ranging from cultural and literary analyses, sociological and philosophical interpretations, design practices, to recognised medical publications.

Conferences have taken place that focused on the impact that the novels have had on the world and their educational contribution and edited collections have been produced centering on themes of philosophy, religion, sociology, and critical analysis, to name just a few. The characters’ relationships, the political and social systems, and cultural commentaries woven into Rowling’s writing are just some examples of what makes the Harry Potter series an exciting framework for academic discourse in a number of areas.

This two-day event will feature twenty 15-20 minute presentations on papers relating to popular culture and the Harry Potter series. We will encourage intensive and lively discussion and debate around the papers over the two days in this intimate setting. Wizards, muggles, established academics and postgraduate students are invited to submit papers. Post conference, full papers will be put together into a collection that will be available online.

Suggested Topics include but are in no way limited to:

- Society (both Wizard and Muggle) and its portrayal
- The Law and the Criminal System
- Government and Politics
- Gender
- Race
- Class
- Prejudice
- Relationships (sexual, friendship, the family etc…)
- Human and Non-Human Rights (werewolves, goblins, house elves, centaurs, ghosts, Aragog, etc…)
- Bodies and Embodiment
- Education
- Conformity and Deviance
- Socialisation
- Sexuality and the Erotic
- Media, Technology and Design
- Fashion, Music and the Arts

Please submit a 300 word abstract with 100 word biographical information by 1 September
2011. All inquiries and abstracts can be emailed to magicismight2012@gmail.com

All abstracts will be reviewed for inclusion in the conference by the conference committee

Accepted papers will be notified by December 1st 2011. We will then ask for draft
conference papers to be submitted.

General inquiries can be made at the above email address to conference organisers,
Gráinne O’Brien (University of Limerick, Ireland) Michelle Mayefske (University of
Limerick,Ireland) Dr. Luigina Ciolfi (University of Limerick, Ireland) and Jadwiga O’Brien
(National University of Galway, Ireland).

Conference Program Committee: To Be Announced

Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Magic-is-Might-2012/115039398578113

Conference Blog

http://magicismight2012.blogspot.com/

Follow us on twitter @magicismight12

This conference is NOT authorized by J.K. Rowling, her US or UK publishers, WB, Universal Studios or any other official Harry Potter related or trademarked entity.

It’s World Autism Awareness Day – my eldest is in the spectrum.

Do all you can, learn all you can, so they can be all they can:
Autism Society of America (Kalamazoo/Battle Creek Chapter)
Autism Speaks

Science and Magic: Ways of Knowing in the Renaissance

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

April 29-30, 2011

Keynote Speaker: Bruce Moran, Department of History, University of Nevada, Reno

In his Oration on the Dignity of Man, Pico della Mirandola described two forms of magic. There was that branch of sorcery consisting “wholly in the operations and powers of demons,” as well as a more benign craft pertaining to none other than “the highest realization of natural philosophy.” To many Renaissance thinkers, magic was a legitimate field of study as well as a potential threat to established orthodoxies. Inspired by this formulation, this interdisciplinary conference aims to consider scientific thought alongside magic and domains that modern vocabulary would describe as pseudoscience, such as alchemy and astrology, and invites papers related to diverse ways of magical and scientific knowing in the early modern world.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Distinctions between magic, science and pseudoscience in theory and practice.

· Forms of scientific literature and art, magical texts and artifacts.

· The transmission of licit and illicit magic; the role of natural philosophy and magic in education.

· The attitudes and policies of secular and ecclesiastical authorities.

· Practical magic: fortune-telling, amulets, etc.

· Early modern European and American witch-hunts and witchcraft trials.

· Alchemical theory and practice.

· The articulation and reception of prophecies.

· The commerce of magic, the financial circumstances of men of science or magicians.

· Fraudulent magic or science, cons and hoaxes.

· Encyclopedic texts, indexing schemes and the organization of knowledge.

· Artistic, literary or musical representations of magic, science or the thirst for knowledge.

· Gender in magic, science, or pseudoscience.

· Magic in the New World and beyond; extra-European influences on Renaissance magic and science.

This conference is conducted under the auspices of the Renaissance Studies Program at Princeton University. Please submit abstracts of no more than 350 words to Scott Francis (smfranci@princeton.edu) and Jebro Lit (jlit@princeton.edu) by January 15, 2011. Papers should be no longer than 20 minutes.

General information about all aspects of the Societas Magica is available at http://www.societasmagica.org. If you have a question about your membership status or wish to submit to one of our publications, please seek there under “contact the Societas” for email addresses of current officers and editors.

I love Halloween. And by love, I mean LOVE. All of it. Insanely. Especially pumpkins!

Making stencils for pumpkin carving (using Photoshop):

1. Find a photo–I used two of the new HP7 posters (here and here) to make these two examples–save it, open it in Photoshop. (Keep in mind your carving skill when selecting, as exceptionally complex images may result in a thoroughly mangled pumpkin or a trip to the ER when you slice yourself trying to execute the design.)
2. Image > Adjustments > Desaturate
3. Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast (You’ll need to increase both of these, the picture will dictate how much. Contrast will likely need to be between 75-100. Play with the sliders, it’s a matter of mucking around til it seems right.)
4. Filter > Artistic > Cutout (More sliders. Levels should be at 3, edge simplicity probably 3 or 4 and fidelity in the 2 range, but play with the settings – it’s a matter of still being able to identify the subject while making the design as carve-able as possible.)
5. Nope–not done: now it’s time to finesse the design. The important thing is to remember that dark areas can’t be in the middle of light ones (as that’s a cutout – get it?) without some sort of support. You’ll need to take your brush tool and adding (or subtracting) black, white, or mid-tone wherever necessary to improve the look or the structural integrity of the design. This will take time, really thinking about the limitations of the medium (dude, pumpkin is not forgiving–once a cut is made you can’t take it back), and you may want to use Image > Adjustments > Invert to see the design differently (in order to identify possible problems for carving). Save different versions, don’t be afraid to tinker with it. And also keep in mind that it’ll need to be big enough and bold enough to be seen clearly cut into a gourd and lit from within.

Carving:
You’ll need:

• enough room to work–think kitchen table–and cover the working surface with newspaper, a garbage bag (cut up both sides so it opens), tarp… whatever.
• clothes suitable for the task (seriously–if you dremel you will be covered in pumpkin pulp)
• good lighting: can’t stress that enough – I borrow my son’s gooseneck desk light and angle it as needed
• a large safety pin and scotch tape
• something to scrape the insides of the pumpkin with: I grew up using a hella big spoon for pumpkin-gut removal, but I’ve found the plastic scraper in pumpkin carving kits works better for scraping the walls clean, as it offers more control (less gouging from varying pressure) and less chance of getting the handle wedged.
• something to cut with: Those pumpkin carving kits at the shops–you know, the ones with the ‘safety’ knives–do work (they can be less precise, but also less likely that you’ll injure yourself). Remember: a sharp knife is safer than a dull one.
• Also useful (and have used all of these): a drill (both for piercing small cut-outs in the design and for the initial piercing into which a cutting tool can be inserted to lop off the top of the pumpkin), dremel (allows for controlled removal of layers of pumpkin flesh but requires patience), a nice riesling (for after, lol).

1. Lop the top of the pumpkin with a large knife or the coarser of the two pumpkin carving tools (remember to go in at an angle so the top can sit back on–ie, not fall in–once you’re done) . De-goop (pick out the seeds – roasted pumpkin seeds are yummy!) and scrape the walls clean, including scraping the bottom flat so the candle/light won’t fall over.
2. A pencil or ballpoint pen works for drawing on a design (make sure the pumpkin skin surface is dry before drawing)–when I was a kid I was handed a knife and expected to freehand it – but I, a. don’t hand my kids sharp knives, and b. expect drama to accompany mucked-up designs or mis-cuts, so it’s better for all involved to go at this with a bit more forethought (or stock more wine).
3. When using a stencil it’s a little more complicated: tape the stencil on the pumpkin so it doesn’t shift around on you. Bend the safety pin a bit, so it’s easier to hold like a stylus, and then carefully prick through the paper along the lines of the design (ie, you’re creating a pin-prick follow-the-dot on the surface of the pumpkin). Once you’ve finished prick-tracing every line, remove the stencil (do not discard!), rub a paper towel across the surface to remove any excess moisture, and then write over the dots with your pen so the lines are clearly visible. Use your stencil as a guide if you run into areas where lots of holes converge. Once the line-drawing is in place, X over the areas that will show lightest (ie, need to be completely cut-out), and use a different mark on the areas that will show up mid-toned (gray on the stencil)–I usually just put a ~.
4. Cut out the X’d areas–just use a straight cut, finessing can be done once the next cuts are in place, so you know where you can trim, structurally, and where you can’t (translation: when the walls of the pumpkin are thick there is more flesh between the light source and the external skin–obviously, yes?–this means that to actually get full light showing through some cuts it’s necessary to angle-trim the pumpkin flesh toward the light source – think arrow-slits in castle walls.)
5. Next to go are the ~’d areas, but this is where some patience is necessary. You can use a blade or a dremel – the goal is to remove the outer skin and enough of the flesh so the light can still pass through (probably half of what’s there, possibly more if it’s really thick… too thin can be a problem, structurally, so if you need to go part-way and then check it in the dark–lit from within–to see your progress, do). Only after this is done will you know where the weak points are, so as you trim the larger cuts you can avoid collapsing the whole design.

Tip: If you’re carving well-before Halloween, coat all exposed flesh (cuts and pumpkin interior) with petroleum jelly – it’ll help the pumpkin stay hydrated (ie, not shrivel) and keep it from rotting as quickly. (Or put it in the fridge, if you live somewhere very warm this time of year.)

Last year I carved six pumpkins of varying complexity… this is the best, I think:

(Edited 11/1 to add)–And here’s how they turned out (both quick phone shots): The first took a little less than three hours. I was running late and rushed through the second, finishing in somewhat over an hour and a half (I carved a total of five pumpkins this year–my hand is still cramped).

Call for Papers for the 2011 Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference

Deadline for submissions: October 15, 2010

Conference dates: January 27-29, 2011

www.newberry.org/renaissance/conf-inst/gradstudents.html

We invite abstracts for 15-minute papers from master’s or Ph.D. students on any medieval, Renaissance, or early modern topic in Europe or the Mediterranean or Atlantic worlds. We encourage submissions from disciplines as varied as the literature of any language, history, classics, art history, music, comparative literature, theater arts, philosophy, religious studies, transatlantic studies, disability studies, and manuscript studies.

We hope to include at least one panel of papers dealing with the digital humanities.

Priority is given to students from member institutions of the Center for Renaissance Studies consortium.

Faculty and graduate students from Center for Renaissance Studies consortium schools are eligible to apply for travel funding to attend Center for Renaissance Studies programs or to do research at the Newberry Library. Contact your school’s faculty representative for details: www.newberry.org/renaissance/consortium/exec.html. The Center’s main web page is: www.newberry.org/renaissance.

Karen Christianson, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Center for Renaissance Studies
The Newberry Library
60 W. Walton St.
Chicago, IL 60610-7324
phone: 312-255-3539
fax: 312-255-3502
christiansonk@newberry.org
www.newberry.org/renaissance