This is to announce the 2-day workshop from 22 May to 23 May, 2023 at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies of the University of Copenhagen.The workshop will explore the ways that Buddhist modernism and the spiritual movements of the fin de siècle (as exemplified by the Theosophical Society), both reacting to and enacting the dynamics of colonialism, continue to transform spiritual and ecological movements within and beyond the 21st century.
Questions to be discussed are: How are the legacies of Buddhist modernism and esoteric movements still active in modern environmentalist discourse? In what ways are the kinds of dualisms or oppositions active within the ideas of the fin de siècle, such as spiritualism/materialism and evolution/reversion, embedded within or resisted by contemporary environmental movements? How have Buddhism and spiritual movements been influenced by changing ecological conditions and understandings of the planet? By such phenomena as biodiversity loss, pollution, and the climate crisis? Could a critical return to esoteric source materials from the fin de siècle provide fresh understandings or insights into current ecological crises?
The workshop is organized by the Centre for Contemporary Buddhist Studies (CCBS) and the Copenhagen Centre for the Study of Theosophy and Esotericism (CCSTE). It is open to public attendance. For more information, click here.
International Network “Cultural Transformations of Buddhism” 