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Institute of Advanced Study

Between Mystical Thinking and Practical Experience

Between Mystical Thinking and Practical Experience

A one-day symposium

Institute of Advanced Study, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL

8 November, 2024

We invite all scholars interested in the broad field of spiritual writing. Confirmed participants will be invited to share short (15 minutes max.) presentations on any topic that addresses the theme of the symposium.

"In the main, and from the beginning of time, mysticism has kept men sane. The thing that has driven them mad was logic. …The only thing that has kept the race of men from the mad extremes of the convent and the pirate-galley, the night-club and the lethal chamber, has been mysticism — the belief that logic is misleading, and that things are not what they seem".

– G.K. Chesterton

While mystical thinking is associated with transcendence, it is always deeply connected to everyday experience. For G. K. Chesterton, there is a practical reason why mystical thinking is important in everyday life: it enables a person to maintain a common sense and sound judgement of the world. For St. Augustine, mystical revelation in the garden of Milan confirmed his lifechanging decision to dedicate his life to serving God. This symposium will explore the interconnection of mystical thinking and practical existence. We invite presentations and conversations that interrogate this connection in the past and present literary traditions, encouraging exploration and appreciation of literary works across genre, period, geography and culture.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Mystical tradition and spiritual writing
  • Genre and mystical writing
  • Mystical theology
  • Religious approaches to mysticism
  • Confessions, conversions and mystical tradition
  • Visions, prophesies and the mystical
  • Women and mystical writing
  • Politics and mystical writing
  • Contemporary approaches to mystical writing

Please complete the registration form, including a short biographical note (approximately 50 words) and a presentation abstract (200 words max) by October 5, 2024.

Please refer all questions to Nataliya Pratsovyta at nataliya.pratsovyta@warwick.ac.uk

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