Ever wonder who the editors of Correspondences are and why they decided to start an open access journal for the study of Western esotericism? Check out this interview with Ethan Doyle White!

Dear readers,

The inaugural issue of Correspondences is now available here. We hope that you will all enjoy reading issue 1.1 of Correspondences. Please feel free to spread the news of the journal’s release to anyone who might be interested.

In the coming months there will be further updates to the journal aimed at increasing availability and exposure even further. We will be acquiring an ISSN number, forging relationships with scholarly databases, as well as updating our webpage to include other items of interest for scholars of Western esotericism. Stay tuned for more information!

Sincerely,

Jimmy Elwing and Aren Roukema
Editors, Correspondences

We just updated our Submission Guidelines. You can find them here.

Congratulations to Dr. Egil Asprem, Correspondences Editorial Board member, who publically defended his dissertation—“The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900-1939”—at the University of Amsterdam on February 5, 2013. Dr. Asprem was awarded a ‘cum laude’ designation, the highest designation available to PhD graduates in the Netherlands.

A group of students in the MA program at the Center for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam are hosting a conference for junior scholars of esotericism in April. Here is their call for papers:

“CALL FOR PAPERS – DEADLINE FEBRUARY 25 2013

The study of Esotericism has proven itself as an independent academic field of research, one which shows many correspondences with other academic disciplines. With the aim to explore a world of Synthesis between Esotericism and the Sciences, we invite junior scholars from diverse backgrounds and academic fields to join us in Amsterdam. Together, we will attempt to transcend disciplinary lines, and to open-up the academy for new discoveries.

SYNTHESIS is happy to confirm:

Prof. Dr. Wouter J. Hanegraaff to give a welcome address.
Dr. Egil Asprem to give a keynote speech

We look forward to receiving your abstract, and note that presentations may run no longer than 20 minutes. Please include with the abstract a bio note, and limit the abstract to 250 words. Please send your abstract to synthesis.amsterdam@gmail.com by the DEADLINE: Monday, February 25th, 2013. Offers to chair sessions are also welcome.”

The conference’s Facebook page can be found here.