Arts, Literature, and Religion Unit and Mysticism Unit

Transhuman Mysticisms: Animals, Aliens, and Objects

This panel considers new approaches to the study of mysticism and the arts, with an emphasis on non-human, more-than-human, and transhuman “mysticisms,” particularly as expressed in visual art, music, film, and science fiction. Topics to be considered include:

·      Multi-species mysticisms

·      Mysticisms of unfolding: micro- and macrocosmic realities and hierarchies of emergence

·      “Astro” mysticisms and “outer” spaces, particularly as represented in film, literature, and the arts

·      The “supernatural”: mysticism and ecology/biology; "plant mysticisms"

- Mysticism and Science Fiction

- Mysticism and/as "outsider art"

- Mysticism and New Materialism