What’s in a Name? The Challenges of Defining Sufism
By M. Shobhana Xavier Since my arrival at CAS-E, I’ve been provoked by the question of what is (western) esotericism. It’s been only three weeks for me here at the centre, but my colleagues are thinking about how to frame, deconstruct, problematize, and perhaps reconstruct this label that means many things for the fellows from […]
Spiritist and Allopathic Views of Healing in Brazil
By Steven Engler What are the differences between how alternative healers and medical doctors think about healing? To look at that question, I interviewed three groups of people in a small city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. (There were 28 interviewees in this a small initial study.) 40% were Kardecists and Umbandists. In […]
CAS-E Year in Review 2023/24
CAS-E Year in Review 2022/23
Writing with the Phoenix Stylus
In July, CAS-E has the great pleasure of welcoming a group of guests specialized in the ancient practice of Fuji (扶乩 or 扶箕), which is commonly translated as “spirit writing”. Coming all the way from Taiwan upon invitation from CAS-E director, Prof. Michael Lackner, their medium will demonstrate how they convey messages from deities, ancestors […]
Reflection upon “Dreamcraft in the Malay Art World”
By Douglas Stephen Farrer Living in Singapore and Malaysia for nine years (1998-2007) I researched Malay mysticism for a doctoral thesis in anthropology at the National University of Singapore (Farrer 2009). Visiting the beautiful gardens of political author S. H. Alattas in Janda Baik, Malaysia, at the fin de siècle, I stumbled across a variant […]
Summer Semester 2025, CAS-E Fellow Cohort & Team
Welcome Day Summer Semester 2025
Our CAS-E Welcome Day is an opportunity to introduce our center, our program, the different teams, fellows, and associated researchers and to learn about their individual research projects (max. 5 min. each). The first and second part of the morning will consist of welcome and introductory remarks by our teams, permanent and visiting fellows, and […]
Knowing Hands: Die Hand als Merkhilfe und Orakel
April 23, 2025 Forschungsprojekt an der FAU untersucht besondere Form der Mnemotechnik Die Hand als Merkhilfe und Orakel: In China existiert seit Jahrhunderten die Tradition, die Hand zu nutzen, um sich Informationen einzuprägen, praktische Probleme zu lösen und Dinge vorherzusagen. Im Rahmen des Projekts „Knowing Hands“ untersucht die Medizinhistorikerin Prof. Dr. Marta Hanson an der […]
Lecture Series Summer 2025
