Dates: Tuesdays May 9 - June 27
Time: 7-9 pm ET (NYC time) (Final class runs 7-10 pm to accommodate final projects)
Admission: Patreon Members $145 / Regular Admission $165

PLEASE NOTE: ALL CLASSES WILL BE RECORDED FOR THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND

This class is the second iteration of Enchanted Matter

From Egyptian mummies to The Golem, miracle working body parts to crying statues, the idea that physical objects—from statues to rocks to human bodies—might serve as containers for soul, spirit or deity was once extremely common around the world. All of these ideas point to the mystery at the heart of life itself. The enigma of what, exactly, animates us, enlivens us into more than inert matter, and leaves us at bodily death.

This class will explore these ideas, and investigate some big questions: Was the idea of enchanted matter or ensouled objects a universal aspect of human belief before being discredited by our scientific worldview? What commonalities exist between different beliefs and traditions? And, perhaps most importantly, what can all of this teach us about ourselves, our material bodies, our historical moment, and what it means to be alive?

To delve into these questions, we will explore seven traditions via illustrated lectures and class discussion with scholars and practitioners, including religious studies professor Diana Pasulka, author of American Cosmic, on Plato’s Republic and the Catholic Mass as ritual texts dealing with matters of enchantment; Japanese American Fulbright Fellow Marie Mutsuki Mockett on enchantment in Japanese religion, art, literature and culture; Jeffrey Kripal, Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, on poltergeists, teleportation, and AI and their relationship to dual aspect monism; Professor and cultural historian Louise Fenton on the use of curses and cursed objects from the twentieth and twenty-first century; Simone Planté on whether artificial intelligence is "artificial," and intriguing possibilities of "ensouled matter" existing in silicon substrates and where consciousness is ensouled; Evan T Pritchard, descendant of the Mi'kmaq people of the Algonquin family of nations, and chronicler of Native American history, spirituality, storytelling, drum songs, shamanic practice and ancient lore regarding the enchanted; and Professor and artist Nina Levy on Enchanted Matter in contemporary art and cultural theory, as seen in New Materialism, Object Oriented Ontology, and Speculative Realism, used to think about the life of matter and the problem of anthropocentrism. 

As a (totally optional) final project, students will be invited to create an artwork or written response inspired by what we have learned, or deliver a presentation delving into a tradition not covered, integrating what they have learned over the course of this class.

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1 (May 9) Diana Walsh Pasulka —Religious studies professor and author of American Cosmic—with exploration of Plato’s Republic and the Catholic Mass as ritual texts where matter and the question of its enchantment (whether interpreted as consciousness or even sentience) is posed as a development, a problem, and a solution. 

WEEK 2 (May 16)  Marie Mutsuki Mockett on on enchantment in Japanese religion, art, literature and culture; in her words: “Japan is sometimes described as a land that never lost enchantment. Robots take out the trash in airports and secure public spaces, every word or concept has an animated mascot, and Hello Kitty sometimes gets dressed up as another animal. What accounts for this vibrant, wily imaginative way of seeing that is so different from our own in the west? What might be the implications of learning to see the world in such an enchanted way? In this conversation, I'll share my own perspective, drawing from religion, art, literature and culture, with the hope to bring you closer to Japan--and also to your own untapped imagination.”

WEEK 3 (May 23) Jeffrey J. Kripal, Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University, on the mental nature of matter in dual aspect monism, with examples, and non-examples including cases like poltergeists, teleportation, and AI.

WEEK 4 (May 30) Dr Louise Fenton—Senior lecturer in Contextual Studies at the University of Wolverhampton and cultural historian—will explore the use of curses and cursed objects from the twentieth and twenty-first century. It will examine why there was a sudden surge in popularity in the UK from the 1950s onwards. There will be case studies of curses, poppets that were made to harm and the stories behind them. The material culture of the objects will be discussed along with the intent of the curses. 

WEEK 5 (June 6) In this presentation by Simone Planté, special faculty member of Singularity University, we will delve into the question of whether artificial intelligence is "artificial," as well as the intriguing possibilities of "ensouled matter" existing in silicon substrates and where consciousness is ensouled, whether it is in the brain, the body, or even outside of space and time.

WEEK 6 (June 13) Evan T. Pritchard, internationally known descendant of the Mi'kmaq people of the Algonquin family of nations, and chronicler of Native American history, spirituality, storytelling, drum songs, shamanic practice and ancient lore regarding the enchanted.

WEEK 7 (June 20) Artist and educator Nina Levy on ideas of Enchanted Matter in contemporary art and cultural theory, as seen in New Materialism, Object Oriented Ontology, and Speculative Realism to think about the life of matter and the problem of anthropocentrism. 

WEEK 8 (June 27) Final project presentation (Note: This class will run longer to accommodate all student presentations)

BIOS FOR SPEAKERS

Dr Louise Fenton is a senior lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton, UK, and a cultural and social historian and anthropologist. She teaches contextual studies in the School of Art and supervises PhD students; she is also an artist and illustrator and uses drawing within her research. Her interest in Haitian Vodou began when studying for her PhD which she was awarded from the University of Warwick in 2009. Most recently Louise has appeared as a panellist on the UK BBC Radio 4 programme, ‘Beyond Belief’ and is a consultant on a new drama for BBC 3, 'Domino Day'. Her research covers West African Vodun, Haitian Vodou, New Orleans Voodoo and Witchcraft, especially curses and cursed objects. She leads small expeditions to experience Vodun in Benin each year for Gone with the Wynd tours, do enquire if you would like to join her.

Jeffrey J. Kripal is the Associate Dean of the Faculty and Graduate Programs in the School of the Humanities and the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He also helps direct the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California and sits on numerous advisory boards in the U.S. and Europe involving the nature of consciousness and the sciences. Jeff is the author of ten single-authored books, including, most recently, The Superhumanities: Historical Precedents, Moral Objections, New Realities (Chicago, 2022), where he intuits an emerging new order of knowledge that can engage in robust moral criticism but also affirm the superhuman or nonhuman dimensions of our histories, cultures, and futures. He is presently working on a three-volume study of paranormal currents in the sciences, modern esoteric literature, and the hidden history of science fiction for the University of Chicago Press collectively entitled The Super Story: Science (Fiction) and Some Emergent Mythologies. His full body of work can be seen at http://jeffreyjkripal.com. He thinks he may be Spider-Man.

Nina Levy is an artist who lives with her family in Brooklyn. She is the head of the Sculpture Department at the New York Academy of Art, where she has been teaching since 2007. Nina has an MFA from University of Chicago and a BA from Yale University. She has exhibited at venues that include The Brooklyn Museum, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.  

Marie Mutsuki Mockett was born to an American father and Japanese mother. American Harvest: God, Country and Farming in the Heartland (Graywolf) won both the 2021 Northern California Book Award and the Nebraska Book Award, and is a tribute to the complicated and nuanced history of the United States and its people. Her memoir, “Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye,” was a finalist for the 2016 PEN Open Book Award. She lives in San Francisco, and teaches at the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is a Fulbright Fellow to Japan for 2022-2023.

Diana Walsh Pasulka is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Her research examines miraculous events within Catholic history to new religious movements. American Cosmic: Religion, UFOs, and Technology (Oxford University Press 2019) emerged from her research into technology and media. She is widely published, recently in Tank, Vox, Vice, and is a featured speaker at conferences, on podcasts, radio, and television. Memorable engagements include the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, a keynote speech at Rice University, and regular presentations at Esalen’s Center for Theory and Research. She is lead investigator on an ongoing study of Catholic manuscripts about saints, levitation, and bilocation, in partnership with The Vatican Secret Archive.

Simone Planté, the founder of HumAIn Capital, has been investing in cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, and other frontier technologies for over 15 yrs. As a special faculty member at Singularity University, she shares her extensive knowledge in Artificial Intelligence to the next generation of innovators. Beginning her career in the late 1990s, Simone co-founded three startups, the first commercializing technology from DARPA. These startups garnered funding from Microsoft and Intel, resulting in successful exits. Furthermore, Simone serves as a Partner for Quantonation, the largest early-stage VC Fund devoted to Quantum Technologies and deep physics.

Evan T. Pritchard, a descendant of the Mi'kmaq people (part of the Algonquin nation), is the founder of The Center for Algonquin Culture. He is Professor of Native American history at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he also teaches ethics and philosophy.

Named Abachbahamedtch (or chipmunk) by Micmac people, he is assistant to several Algonquin elders. Since 1990, his work bringing the Algonquin message to the media has helped thousands of people gain a better understanding of this great civilization and its teachings. He lectures frequently around the United States, sharing storytelling, traditional and contemporary songs, and bi-lingual poetry. He was the organizer of the North American Friendship Circle gathering on Columbus Day, 1992. He is also the founder of the Red Willow Society, Resonance Communications, and Roads To Awareness Seminars.

Pritchard has given "Native New Yorker" walking tours of lower Manhattan for the Smithsonian Institute, The Open Center, South Street Seaport, and other institutions.

BIO FOR FASCILITATOR

Joanna Ebenstein is a Brooklyn-based artist. writer, curator, photographer and graphic designer. She is the creator of the Morbid Anatomy blog, library and event series, and was co-founder (with Tracy Hurley Martin) and creative director of the recently shuttered Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn. Her books include Death: A Graveside Companion, Anatomica: The Exquisite and Unsettling Art of Human Anatomy, The Anatomical Venus and The Morbid Anatomy Anthology (with Colin Dickey). Her work explores the intersections of art and medicine, death and culture, and the objective and subjective.

IMAGES

Image 1 :Catholic Reliquary Bust, Belgium, 17th Century, Stedelijk Museum, Vander Kelen-Mertens, Leuven.

Image 2: Statue of the Virgin Mary in her invocation as the Mourning Mother (Mater Dolorosa)