CFP: GREEK SHAMANISM RECONSIDERED [Due Feb.1, 2014] Organizers: Vayos Liapis (Open University of Cyprus) Yulia Ustinova (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) Long considered a marginal phenomenon associated with non-Western religious practices, shamanism has increasingly been integrated into the mainstream in many fields of the humanities. Among classicists, however, the notion that shamanic patterns may survive in Greek myth, religion, and/or philosophy has met with resistance. Already since the late 19th century, classical scholars have argued that figures like Parmenides, Empedocles, Aristeas, Hermotimus, Epimenides, Pythagoras, etc., display features associated with shamanism: trances and soul projection, healing powers, the gift of prophesy, poetic composition (Diels 1897; Meuli 1935; Dodds 1951; Eliade 1964; Burkert 1969, 1972; West 1983; Kingsley 1994, 2003; Ogden 2002). However, far from everyone has been convinced, and a number of scholars of Greek religion (e.g., Dowden 1979, 1980; Bremmer 2002) maintain that Greek seers and purifiers of the kind described above are a distinct category, to be resolutely disassociated from shamanic practices, especially since it seems hard to ascertain the avenues through which such practices may have infiltrated Greece from, presumably, the North. This controversy among specialists of Greek religion reflects a broader dispute among anthropologists over the proper use of the term ‘shamanism’. The proponents of an emic approach claim that the term ‘shaman’ should be employed only in the context of Siberian cultures, where it originally belonged. By contrast, those believing that shamanism has etic status argue that the term may be used to denote the cross-cultural human propensity to experience altered states of consciousness. This panel seeks to re-examine the evidence on ‘shamanic figures’ and ‘shamanic phenomena’ in Greece, using new data and/or methods, in particular interdisciplinary and comparative approaches. We invite papers dealing with such topics as the following: • ‘Shamanic’ elements in the myth, religious thought and cults of the Greeks • ‘Shamanic’ experiences of Archaic sages • Greek ‘shamanism’ and poetry • The cosmology and politics of Greek ‘shamanism’ • Methodological issues in the study of Greek ‘shamanism’ It is expected that this panel will include four or five papers of 20-minute length. Abstracts no more than 450 words should be sent by February 1, 2014 as PDF attachments to [email protected]. As they will be reviewed anonymously, attachments must not contain any indication of the author’s identity but should follow the APA’s guidelines for individual abstracts. Please indicate in the body of your e-mail the title of this panel, full contact information, and any audio-visual equipment requirements. See the official announcement here: apaclassics.org/index.php/annual_meeting/146th_annual_meeting/cfp_greek_shamanism_reconsidered
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 21:02:08 +0000