May 8, 2024

Bernd-Christian Otto on the Project ‘Alternative Rationalities and Esoteric Practices from a Global Perspective’

The project known as Alternative Rationalities and Esoteric Practices from a Global Perspective (or CAS-E, Centre for Advanced Studies, Erlangen) is taking the research of ‘esoteric practices’ into very ambitious territory. The global scope is something the study of magic vel sim. has been missing for a long while, ever since the meta-narrative certainties of early theoreticians like Tylor and Frazer were rightly dismantled. The definitional rigour of the project (while of course not without potential problems!) is good enough to be getting on with. The chronological focus is tilted toward the modern; you can study developments in the world of esoteric practices occurring right now, or investigate their roots in earlier times, or both. The project is well-funded and already producing fascinating work, both in academe and available to the public at large.

Listen to the interview here.