Online Interdisciplinary Conference
Ancient and Modern Ideas of Possession
Nicole M. Bauer & J. Andrew Doole, Faculty of Catholic Theology
Programme
| Wednesday 29th September 2021 |
|
| 13:45 |
Dr. Nicole Bauer & Dr. Andrew Doole Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Innsbruck, Austria Welcome and Introduction |
| 14:00 | Prof. Inken Prohl Department of Religious Studies, Heidelberg University, Germany Opening Statement: Possession and Religious Studies |
| Anthropological and Ethnological Perspectives | |
| 14:15 |
Prof. William Sax & Prof. Annette Hornbacher Department of Anthropology, Heidelberg University, Germany Between Exorcism and Propitiation: Research from India and Bali |
| 15:00 |
Break |
| 15:15 |
Prof. Andrea De Antoni Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan That Old Feeling: Entangling Traditional Symptoms and Experiences of Possession through Catholic Exorcism in Contemporary Italy |
| 16:00 | Prof. Carlos Watzka (Sigmund Freud University, Austria) & Prof. Gerhard Ammerer (University of Salzburg, Austria) Book Presentation: Der Teufel in Graz [The Devil in Graz] (Graz: Leykam, 2021) |
| 16:30 | Break |
| 16:45 |
Dr. Verónica Giménez Béliveau National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), University of Buenos Aires, Argentina Contemporary Possession from the Catholic Perspective: An Ethnographic Comparative Study (France-Argentina) |
| 17:30 | Dr. Svetlana Ryzhakova Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia Trance and Spirit-Possession: Distinction and Meeting Points: Reflections on the daivārādhanā Tradition of Tuḷunādu, India |
| 18:15 | Break |
| Religious Studies Perspectives | |
| 18:30 |
Dr. Sarah Demmrich [not on public livestream] Department of Sociology of Religion, University of Münster, Germany The Phenomenon of Possession in an Interreligious Context: The Study by Traugott K. Oesterreich (1921) and its Contemporary Relevance |
| 19:15 | Prof. Marsha Hewitt Trinity College, University of Toronto, Canada Trance, Dreams and Possession: A Comparative Psychoanalytic Approach |
| 20:00 | Discussion |
| Thursday 30th September 2021 |
|
| Historical Perspectives | |
| 11:00 |
Dr. Tom de Bruin New Testament Exegesis and Early Christian Literature, Newbold College of Higher Education, UK My Body Made Me Do It: Non-invasive Possession in Early Christianity |
| 11:45 | Milena Heussler Department of New Testament Studies, Faculty of Protestant Theology, University of Vienna, Austria On Ancient Soundscapes and “Spectacles” of Madness |
| 12:30 | Break |
| 14:00 |
Prof. Giovanni Bazzana Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, USA Dark Snakes, Enamored Spirits, and Spiritual Riches in the Acts of Thomas |
| 14:45 | Dr. Michael J. Morris School of Arts and Sciences, University of Mary, USA Do the Demonologies of the Dead Sea Scrolls Influence Modern Ideas of Demonic Possession? |
| 15:30 | Break |
| 15:45 |
Prof. Matt Goldish Department of History, Ohio State University, USA Where do ‘Positive’ Possessions Fit in the History of Spirit Possession? |
| 16:30 |
Discussion & Break |
| Modern Perspectives | |
| 17:00 |
Dr. Julia Rehn [not on public livestream] Foundation for Shamanic Studies Europe & Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany Possession within the New Shamanism |
| 17:45 | Michael Sersch Gundersen Health System, La Crosse, USA Demons in the Polis |
| 18:30 | Break |
| 20:00 | Discussion |
Both in the ancient world and in modern society the idea of possession is a well-attested cultural phenomenon. People in various social contexts attribute different experiences and behaviours to spiritual possession. There are those who describe themselves as possessed and others who are labelled as possessed. Possession is an element of both ancient and modern identity. This online interdisciplinary conference will consider different constructions of possession and the cultural and historical backgrounds that influence the ways in which possession is understood from various methodological perspectives including Psychology, Anthropology, Religious Studies, and Biblical Studies. We will reflect particularly on the ways in which ancient ideas about possession exert influence on modern society or the ways in which modern ideas of possession construct ancient antecedents.
Registration Details
If you would like simply to watch the presentations then please follow us on our YouTube Channel. If you would like to join us on Zoom for the discussions, please contact us at possession2021@uibk.ac.at with your name and e-mail address. The deadline for registration is Sunday 19th September 2021.
Organisation
Dr. Nicole M. Bauer nicole.bauer@uibk.ac.at
Department of Practical Theology, Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Innsbruck
Dr. J. Andrew Doole andrew.doole@uibk.ac.at
Department of Biblical Studies and Historical Theology, Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Innsbruck
Administrative and Technical Support
Johannes Härting
Patrick Kugler
In Co-operation With
Österreichische Gesellschaft für Religionswissenschaft (ÖGRW)
[Austrian Society for Religious Studies]
https://www.univie.ac.at/oegrw/
Research Area “Cultural Encounters – Cultural Conflicts”
https://www.uibk.ac.at/fsp-kultur/index.html.en