"Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities" Conference
Wednesday-Saturday, April 26-29, 2023
Registration Now Open for In-Person and Virtual Participation
Harvard Divinity School’s Program for the Evolution of Spirituality is delighted to announce that our spring 2023 conference will be organized around the theme of “Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities.” We will offer three days of panels and workshops devoted to this theme and other aspects of alternative spirituality.
Our conference will explore a twofold reality: alternative spiritualities can be enormously empowering for the persons who participate in them, but they can also be sites of deeply harmful abuses of power. Our sessions will explore both sides of this reality and strive to foster open-hearted dialogue between people who have benefited from alternative spiritualities and those who have experienced significant harm from them.
For the purposes of this conference, we define “alternative spiritualities” broadly in keeping with the Program for the Evolution of Spirituality’s mission to support the scholarly study of emerging spiritual movements, marginalized spiritualities, and the innovative edges of established religious traditions.
This conference is free to the public, but registration is required using the link below. Please note that there are only a few in-person spaces still available, while virtual participation is unlimited. A full conference program will be posted at this site soon.
2023 Conference Abstracts (listed alphabetically by title)
Gillis-Smith, Paul, David Nickles, Brian Pace, Neşe Devenot, and Jeffrey Breau. 2023. “The Institutionalization of Ecstasy: A Roundtable Discussion With Psymposia & Harvard’s Psychedelic Student Groups.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Gillis-Smith, Paul, David Nickles, Brian Pace, Neşe Devenot, and Jeffrey Breau. 2023. “The Institutionalization of Ecstasy: A Roundtable Discussion With Psymposia & Harvard’s Psychedelic Student Groups.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Alvaro, Frias. 2023. “The Memory of Camilo: Monuments of Faith and Revolution.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Alvaro, Frias. 2023. “The Memory of Camilo: Monuments of Faith and Revolution.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Swanson, Izzy. 2023. “The Mirror Within: Abuse and Hope in Devotional Spirituality.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Swanson, Izzy. 2023. “The Mirror Within: Abuse and Hope in Devotional Spirituality.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Welker, Joe. 2023. “The Moral Injuries of Psychedelics.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Welker, Joe. 2023. “The Moral Injuries of Psychedelics.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Mortensen, Eric. 2023. “The Ongoing Harm of the Term Shamanism: From Problematic Scholarly Misnomer to Evolving Cultural Appropriation.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Mortensen, Eric. 2023. “The Ongoing Harm of the Term Shamanism: From Problematic Scholarly Misnomer to Evolving Cultural Appropriation.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Skjoldli, Jane. 2023. “The Power(s) of Music and Musicians in Norse-Oriented Religious Interfaces.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Skjoldli, Jane. 2023. “The Power(s) of Music and Musicians in Norse-Oriented Religious Interfaces.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Mallick, Ata. 2023. “The Santal Revolt of 1855 and the Impact of Alternative Spirituality on Women.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Mallick, Ata. 2023. “The Santal Revolt of 1855 and the Impact of Alternative Spirituality on Women.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Magnett, Destiny. 2023. “The Tower Crumbles, But Now You Can See the Star: Queer Temporalities, Religious Affects, and Healing Through Tarot Practice.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Magnett, Destiny. 2023. “The Tower Crumbles, But Now You Can See the Star: Queer Temporalities, Religious Affects, and Healing Through Tarot Practice.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Ullah, Karim. 2023. “The Use of Faith Power in The Shariah Economic Movement.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Ullah, Karim. 2023. “The Use of Faith Power in The Shariah Economic Movement.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Das, Rituparna. 2023. “The Voice of the New Age Spirituality: An Assimilative, Inclusive and Equalising Platform for the Marginalised and the Mainstream Religious Discourses.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Das, Rituparna. 2023. “The Voice of the New Age Spirituality: An Assimilative, Inclusive and Equalising Platform for the Marginalised and the Mainstream Religious Discourses.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Balliet, Suzy. 2023. “Transforming the Poison of Abuse into Medicine.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Balliet, Suzy. 2023. “Transforming the Poison of Abuse into Medicine.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Choi-Gekas, Billy, and Heather Beamish. 2023. “Transmuting Poison into Medicine: Intersecting Cultivation Practices and the Power of Spoken Word for Somatic Trauma Healing.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Choi-Gekas, Billy, and Heather Beamish. 2023. “Transmuting Poison into Medicine: Intersecting Cultivation Practices and the Power of Spoken Word for Somatic Trauma Healing.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Apffel-Marglin, Frédérique. 2023. “Uses and Abuses of Ayahuasca in the Upper Amazon.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Apffel-Marglin, Frédérique. 2023. “Uses and Abuses of Ayahuasca in the Upper Amazon.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Mathiassen, Silje Trym. 2023. “Uses and Abuses of Power in Ritual Practice With Ayahuasca.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Mathiassen, Silje Trym. 2023. “Uses and Abuses of Power in Ritual Practice With Ayahuasca.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Tillman, Patricia. 2023. “Weaponized Vulnerability and the Search for Authenticity in Modern Yoga Communities.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Tillman, Patricia. 2023. “Weaponized Vulnerability and the Search for Authenticity in Modern Yoga Communities.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Miura, Naohito. 2023. “Who Is the ‘Master of the Teachings’? The Question of Religious Authority in the World Church of Messiah.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Miura, Naohito. 2023. “Who Is the ‘Master of the Teachings’? The Question of Religious Authority in the World Church of Messiah.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Wittich, Agi. 2023. “Women-Oriented Yoga: Female Empowerment or Patriarchal Practice in Disguise?.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Wittich, Agi. 2023. “Women-Oriented Yoga: Female Empowerment or Patriarchal Practice in Disguise?.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Eyers, Pegi. 2023. “[Un]Conscious Colonialism – Why Is ‘Native Spirituality’ a Pagan Genre?.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Eyers, Pegi. 2023. “[Un]Conscious Colonialism – Why Is ‘Native Spirituality’ a Pagan Genre?.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Opalka, Katharina. 2023. “‘We Are Not Spiritual Masters’: Narrative Coding and De-Coding of Power Structures.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Opalka, Katharina. 2023. “‘We Are Not Spiritual Masters’: Narrative Coding and De-Coding of Power Structures.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Guterman, Anna. 2023. “‘You Will Simply Go Nuts If You Try’: A Discussion of Paradox Within the Osho-Rajneesh Movement.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Guterman, Anna. 2023. “‘You Will Simply Go Nuts If You Try’: A Discussion of Paradox Within the Osho-Rajneesh Movement.” in Uses and Abuses of Power in Alternative Spiritualities. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.