Lori Lee Oates | Memorial University of Newfoundland (original) (raw)
I am a historian of historian of empire, occulture, environmentalism, climate change, and international thought. My first monograph is forthcoming thorough SUNY Press entitled Imperial Occulture: The Nineteenth-Century Occult and Transnational Cultures of Print.
Supervisors: Mark Stoddart
Address: Department of History
University of Exeter
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Papers by Lori Lee Oates
The International History Review, 2020
It has long been established that theosophy was an important intellectual current in the final de... more It has long been established that theosophy was an important intellectual current in the final decades of the nineteenth century. This article looks beyond the ideas of the period and examines how they were moving transnationally. It examines how the expansion of theosophy was made possible by imperial trade networks and local systems, paying particular attention to publishing networks. While some theosophical leaders of the period aligned with socialist slow print movements, these leaders were simultaneously drawing on imperial trade networks and building their own transnational webs. This reveals the pervasiveness of imperial networks during the period and the necessity to draw on them for transnational expansion. It also tells us something about the nineteenth-century roots of how we engage with commercialized religion in the contemporary world.
Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, 2013
Diaspora is often defined as the forced movement of people from their ancestral home lands. As su... more Diaspora is often defined as the forced movement of people from their ancestral home lands. As such, the result is a longing of the displaced group to return home and a feeling of not being accepted by their new host country. Contributing factors to diaspora in the modern world include improved communications and transportation, making it possible to maintain a continued relationship with the former homeland. Religion is increasingly shaped by the forces of international migration and global diaspora. The works of Berger and Davis argue that increased pluralism is contributing to the growth in secular society in which people may consciously choose their religious beliefs. Furthermore, Turner and Habermas argue that secular society is not what we thought it would be. Rather than becoming a non--religious society, secular society has experienced a notable religious revival. Hanegraaff agues there is a shift away from institutionally based religion. He argues that historically, Western culture has been based on the symbolism of Christianity. Yet with the growth of secularism, Western society has entered an age of a growing spiritual marketplace and commodified religion can now be practiced individually as spirituality rather than though major religious institutions. As with diaspora and religious pluralism, however, this paper argues that it is the forces of globalization and consumer society that are primarily contributing to the growth of New Age religion as commodified religion.
Talks by Lori Lee Oates
The International History Review, 2020
It has long been established that theosophy was an important intellectual current in the final de... more It has long been established that theosophy was an important intellectual current in the final decades of the nineteenth century. This article looks beyond the ideas of the period and examines how they were moving transnationally. It examines how the expansion of theosophy was made possible by imperial trade networks and local systems, paying particular attention to publishing networks. While some theosophical leaders of the period aligned with socialist slow print movements, these leaders were simultaneously drawing on imperial trade networks and building their own transnational webs. This reveals the pervasiveness of imperial networks during the period and the necessity to draw on them for transnational expansion. It also tells us something about the nineteenth-century roots of how we engage with commercialized religion in the contemporary world.
Alternative Spirituality and Religion Review, 2013
Diaspora is often defined as the forced movement of people from their ancestral home lands. As su... more Diaspora is often defined as the forced movement of people from their ancestral home lands. As such, the result is a longing of the displaced group to return home and a feeling of not being accepted by their new host country. Contributing factors to diaspora in the modern world include improved communications and transportation, making it possible to maintain a continued relationship with the former homeland. Religion is increasingly shaped by the forces of international migration and global diaspora. The works of Berger and Davis argue that increased pluralism is contributing to the growth in secular society in which people may consciously choose their religious beliefs. Furthermore, Turner and Habermas argue that secular society is not what we thought it would be. Rather than becoming a non--religious society, secular society has experienced a notable religious revival. Hanegraaff agues there is a shift away from institutionally based religion. He argues that historically, Western culture has been based on the symbolism of Christianity. Yet with the growth of secularism, Western society has entered an age of a growing spiritual marketplace and commodified religion can now be practiced individually as spirituality rather than though major religious institutions. As with diaspora and religious pluralism, however, this paper argues that it is the forces of globalization and consumer society that are primarily contributing to the growth of New Age religion as commodified religion.