Grew up to Be a Screw-Up: A Comparison of Homosexuality in Cuba and Jamaica

Bernhard Maier

282 Views103 Pages

1 File ▾

https://www.academia.edu/29683810/Grew_up_to_Be_a_Screw-Up_A_Comparison_of_Homosexuality_in_Cuba_and_Jamaica  

The present thesis analyzes the role of homosexuality in Cuba’s society and compares it to that in Jamaica’s. The focus will be on the present-day legal situation and its development, the role of slave trade, as well as religion. The arts, including literature, music, and film, reflect a country’s attitudes toward homosexuality in a vivid way, and their analysis substantially contributes to one’s understanding of the role of homosexuality within a certain society. The attitudes of various religious societies, authors, filmmakers, musicians of various genres, and – obviously – political institutions in both Caribbean countries will be analyzed and compared to each other. The importance and origins of religious communities in either island state are another important aspect which deserves and requires to be researched.

Remarks on the Hanged Man of the Tarot

Timothy Scott

https://www.academia.edu/22153184/Remarks_on_the_Hanged_Man_of_the_Tarot

782 Views16 Pages

1 File ▾

Symbolism,

Tarot,

Methods of Analyzing the Tarot,

Tarot Studies

This paper was originally written during my undergraduate, although not for any subject as such, but rather simply out of interest. It was edited and redrafted in 2006. The paper presents a survey of the development of the Hanged Man from Court de Géblin’s identification of this card with the Cardinal Virtue, Prudence, through some of the key esoteric currents associated with the Tarot. By way of a conclusion it reassess de Géblin’s vision of the Hanged Man.

The Antidote to Wall Street? Cultural and Economic Mobilizations of Afro-Cuban Religions

Jalane Schmidt

https://www.academia.edu/29309411/The_Antidote_to_Wall_Street_Cultural_and_Economic_Mobilizations_of_Afro-Cuban_Religions

African Diaspora Studies,

Religious Tourism,

Anthropology of Religion,

Religion and Marketing

When revolutionary Cuba's governmental cultural policy apparatus cast Afro-Cuban religions as " folklore, " certain religious forms, especially Santería, gained visibility in scholarly investigations, publications, documentary films, and state-sponsored cultural programming. Since the 1990s these discursive treatments of Santería have been mone-tized by the Cuban tourism industry and state-owned manufacturers and repackaged as merchandise that garners the attention and revenues of Cuban consumers and international visitors. This " ethno-business " produces a paradox: Afro-Cuban popular religions— long admired by the nation's intellectual and artistic avant-garde as subaltern cultural rebuttals of dominant Cuban bourgeois opinion and U.S. economic pressures alike—are now promoted and consumed in a manner that conforms to neoliberal logic. The Cuban state confronts the challenges of late socialism with the methods of late capitalism. To some extent, the commodification of Afro-Cuban religions acts to fortify and extend revolutionary cultural policy. Cuando el aparato de cultura política del gobierno revolucionario cubano calificó las religiones afro-cubanas como " folclore, " ciertas formas religiosas, sobre todo la Santería, adquirieron visibilidad en investigaciones académicas, publicaciones, documentales, y programación cultural estatal. Desde la década de los noventa estos tratos discursivos de la Santería han sido monetizados por la industria turística cubana y los fabricantes esta-tales y empaquetado como mercancía que atrae atención e ingresos de los consumidores cubanos y las visitas internacionales. Este " etno-negocio " provoca una paradoja: las reli-giones populares afro-cubanas —largamente admiradas igualmente por la vanguardia intelectual y artística de la nación como refutaciones culturales subalternas de la opinión burgués cubana dominante como por las presiones económicas estadounidenses— son ahora promocionadas y consumidas conforme a la lógica neoliberal. El estado cubano encara los desafíos del socialismo tardío con los métodos del capitalismo tardío. En cierta medida, la mercantilización de las religiones afro-cubanas actúan para fortalecer y extender la política cultural revolucionar

The "Baphomet" of Eliphas Lévi: Its Meaning and Historical Context

Julian Strube

2017, Correspondences

2,607 ViewsPaperRank: 7.443 Pages

2 Files ▾

Religion,

Gnosticism,

History,

History of Religion,

Nineteenth Century Studies

https://www.academia.edu/30421536/The_Baphomet_of_Eliphas_L%C3%A9vi_Its_Meaning_and_Historical_Context

Although the Baphomet drawn by Eliphas Lévi (i.e., Alphonse-Louis Constant, 1810–1875) is one of the most famous esoteric images worldwide, very little is known about its context of emergence. It is well established that it has to be seen as a symbolic representation of Lévi's magnetistic-magical concept of the Astral Light, but the historical background of this meaning remains largely obscure. This article demonstrates that a historical contextualization of the Baphomet leads to an understanding of its meaning that is significantly different from prevalent interpretations. It will firstly be shown that the formation of Lévi's historical narrative can only be comprehended in the light of his radical socialist writings from the 1840s. It will then be discussed which sources he used to elaborate and re-signify this narrative. Secondly, it will be investigated how Lévi developed his magical theory in the 1850s by focusing on the contexts of " spiritualistic magnetism, " Spiritism, and Catholicism. This analysis will show that the Baphomet should be seen as more than a symbolization of Lévi's magical theory. It is the embodiment of a politically connoted tradition of " true religion " which would realize a synthesis of religion, science, and politics.

Occultist Identity Formations Between Theosophy and Socialism in Fin-de-Siècle France

Julian Strube

2017, Numen

819 ViewsPaperRank: 6.128 Pages

2 Files ▾

Religion,

New Religious Movements,

History,

History of Religion,

Religion and Politics

https://www.academia.edu/29694117/Occultist_Identity_Formations_Between_Theosophy_and_Socialism_in_Fin-de-Si%C3%A8cle_France

Fin-de-siècle occultism is usually regarded within the context of an “occult revival” that implies the modernization of an older esoteric tradition. However, this notion is rooted in esoteric identificatory discourses at the end of the nineteenth century. At that time, French esotericists polemically distanced themselves from the “Eastern” esotericism of the Theosophical Society by constructing an ésotérisme occidental. The article will show that this separation of “East” and “West” only occurred after the T.S. had decisively stimulated the emergence of “occultist” identities. Consequently, it has to be seen as a “nationalist” reaction to a global phenomenon. Secondly, another major aspect of occultist identity formations will be highlighted: socialism. It will be shown that fin-de-siècle occultists were deeply involved with socialist theories in the July Monarchy vein but ambiguously distanced themselves from contemporary “materialist” socialisms. An analysis of this context will further help to understand the construction of an esoteric tradition.

Socialism and Secularization in 19th-Century France

Julian Strube

2016, Religion

744 ViewsPaperRank: 5.831 Pages

3 Files ▾

Religion,

History,

Cultural History,

Sociology of Religion,

Philosophy

https://www.academia.edu/23947167/Socialist_Religion_and_the_Emergence_of_Occultism_A_Genealogical_Approach_to_Socialism_and_Secularization_in_19th-Century_France

It is often assumed that the history of 19th-century France was determined by a struggle between anti-religious progressive reformers and Catholic reactionaries, culminating in laïcité. In this process, the role of socialism as a secular force is usually taken for granted. This article will argue that a more complex approach to socialism can contribute to a better understanding of secularization and the emergence of “modern” forms of religion. Firstly, it will be discussed that pre-1848 social reformers were highly religious, despite their depiction in historical narratives influenced by Marxism. Secondly, it will be shown that socialist ideas continued, after 1848, in new religious movements. This will be demonstrated on the basis of the intellectual development of the socialist Alphonse-Louis Constant who, under his pen-name Eliphas Lévi, is regarded as the founder of occultism. An analysis of his writings will help to illuminate the ambiguous relationship between socialism and secularization.

The Scythe and the Pentagram: Santa Muerte from Folk Catholicism to Occultism

Manon Hedenborg White

2017, Religions

1,086 Views14 Pages

1 File ▾

Occultism,

Esotericism,

Western Esotericism,

Santa Muerte

https://www.academia.edu/37334720/The_Scythe_and_the_Pentagram_Santa_Muerte_from_Folk_Catholicism_to_Occultism

Santa Muerte is establishing a presence among practitioners of contemporary occultism in Europe and North America. The occult milieu is highly different from the Mexican cult of Santa Muerte, having a strong heritage of secrecy and tradition as social capital and being mostly middle-class in orientation. Nonetheless, this Catholic folk saint with a mostly pragmatic, popular, and grassroots cult is becoming increasingly popular among occultists. Based on a survey of three recent books on Santa Muerte geared towards an Anglophone, occult audience, it is therefore the aim of this article to understand how and why the Skeleton Saint is attracting adherents in the occult milieu, by analyzing the underlying causes of this growing trend, as well as the conditions shaping it. It is the overall argument of this article that the beginning reception of Santa Muerte in occultism is a result of perceived needs and demands specific to the occult milieu rather than characteristics inherent in the symbol itself, and that an analysis of the ways in which she is spreading outside of her original sociocultural context must be guided by an understanding of the novel one she is integrated in.

The New Age of Russia Occult and Esoteric Dimensions   
edited by
Birgit Menzel,Michael Hagemeister andBernice Glatzer Rosenthal

https://www.academia.edu/17977459/The_New_Age_of_Russia._Occult_and_Esoteric_Dimensions

Introduction

Birgit Menze

I Prerevolutionary Roots and Early Soviet Manifestations

The Occult and Popular Entertainment in Late Imperial Russia
 Julia Mannherz  29

The History of Esotericism in Soviet Russia in the 1920s–1930s
Konstantin Burmistrov  52

The Occultist Aleksandr Barchenko and the Soviet Secret Police(1923–1938)
Oleg Shishkin  81

From Synarchy to Shambhala: 
The Role of Political Occultismand Social Messianism in the Activities of  Nicholas Roerich
 Markus Osterrieder  101

Konstantin Tsiolkovskii and the Occult Roots of Soviet Space Travel
 Michael Hagemeister  135

II Manifestations in the Soviet Period (1930–1985)

Occult and Esoteric Movements in Russia from the 1960s to the 1980s
Birgit Menzel 151

Away from the Globe. Occultism, Esotericism and Literature in Russiaduring the 1960s–1980s
Leonid Heller  186

Guests from Outer Space. Occult Aspects of Soviet Science Fiction
 Matthias Schwartz  211

 Totalitarian Utopia, the Occult, and Technological Modernity in Russia:The Intellectual Experience of Cosmism
 Marlène Laruelle  238

III The Occult Revival in Late and Post Soviet Russia(1985 to the Present)

Occult and Esoteric Doctrines after the Collapse of Communism
Demyan Belyaev 259

Occult Dissident Culture: The Case of Aleksandr Dugin
 Mark Sedgwick 273

The Rodnoverie Movement: The Search for Pre-Christian Ancestry and the Occult
 Marlène Laruelle 293

Through an Occult Prism: The Bolshevik Revolution in Three Post-Soviet Novels
 Marina Aptekman  311

Shamanism in the Russian Intelligentsia (Post-Soviet Space and Time)
Natalia Zhukovskaia 328

Competing Legacies, Competing Visions of Russia:The Roerich Movement(s)
 in Post-Soviet Russia
 John McCannon  348

On the Way from Border Conflicts: Transpersonal Psychology in Russia
Boris Falikov  370

IV Comparative Aspects, Continuity and Change

Occultism as a Response to a Spiritual Crisis
Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal  390

On Reading Russian Mystical Literature Upside-Down
 Jeffrey J. Kripal 421

Select Bibliography
 Michael Hagemeister
432

 About the Contributors

 How Scientific Racism Influenced Prehistory

Graham Holton

31 Pages

Prehistoric Archaeology

https://www.academia.edu/33603520/2007_How_Scientific_Racism_Influenced_Prehistory

What I call ‘archaeological racism’ is the misuse of archaeology for socially and politically motivated ends. At its core is Diffusionism, the belief that a blond-haired, blue-eyed dynastic race migrated around the world in the prehistoric past to civilize the dark skinned peoples. It held that indigenous peoples invented nothing before the coming of the ‘Great White Race’. Diffusionism disenfranchizes indigenous peoples from their past. When a people have no history, they have no past. When they have no past they have no claims to their land, nor the prehistoric remains upon that land.

Archaeological Racism: Hans Hörbiger, Arthur Posnansky, Edmund Kiss and the Ahnenerbe Expedition to Tiwanaku, Bolivia

Graham Holton

17 Pages

   https://tinyurl.com/y9hdz8t2

Pseudo-Archaeology as Archaeological Racism 1 The history of science has been written as a Progressivist account in which science establishes the truth, debunking theories mired in outmoded thinking, not blinkered by social prejudice and a priori assumptions. This is far from the truth, as shown too well by Peter J. Riggs' Whys & Ways of Science (1992), Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch's The Golem (1993), and Lewis Pyenson and Susan Sheets-Pyenson in Servants of Nature (1999). Theories are often accepted by reason of the force of personalities and international politics rather than by logic and evidence alone. Pseudo-archaeology is a set of ideas put forward as scientific, while often lacking logic and proof, the scientific stringent analysis of data and the integrity that comes from empirical testing and observation before they accept new ideas or paradigms. Mainstream historians and scientists call these pseudo-scientific views of dissent 'crackpot', a term derived from old Viking kraka meaning 'crow' and medieval English potte, meaning a 'hollow'. This sarcasm conjures up an image of dissenters huddled together like crows, uttering senseless squawks. Stephen Williams calls this genre 'fantastic archaeology', rather than the more pejorative term 'pseudo-archaeology', because 'pseudo' expresses the dominance of a patronizing academia that insists on it own interpretation of the past. Martin Gardener in Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science (1957) found that many pseudo-scientists and crank historians worked in isolation, and claim that they are forced to do so because of the prejudice of mainstream science. 2 Pseudo-scientists are not interested in empirical methods, but allow the facts to speak for themselves. The writer of crank histories has usually read voluminous material in a discipline in which they are not trained, giving masses of detail, assuming that quantity of facts by itself establishes proof, while ignoring the logic of their arguments. Aaron Elkins writes that there is an 'amazing capacity of even the most learned experts to turn into gullible chumps if they want to believe something.' 3 Bergan Evan writes in his The Natural History of Nonsense that: Fallacy is always the product of certain processes in popular thinking: of arguing from negatives and analogies, of making false generalizations, or worshipping coincidence, of taking rhetoric for fact