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Books by Birgit Menzel
Esotericism and Deviance, 2023
Journal of Comparative Cultures, 2022
The East-West dichotomy, around which research in philosophy, religious studies, literary theory,... more The East-West dichotomy, around which research in philosophy, religious studies, literary theory, and cultural studies have rotated for centuries, is a construction that has divided the world into two parts: the West, meaning Europe, and America with their dominating Judeo-Christian tradition, and the East, which begins beyond the space of Judeo-Christian practices. The economic, social, and political reality of todayís world provides evidence of the collapse or restructuring of this bipolar world. Current socio-political and cultural processes offer the opportunity to dispute nearly every major Eurocentric myth prevalent in mainstream economic history (Hobson 2004), and attempts to rescue the history of non-Western civilizations are continually increasing, emphasizing that ìthe Orient came first and the Occident was a latecomerî (Nederveen Pieterse 2006, 62). To overcome conventional Eurocentric approaches to history, but also due to the revolution in communication technologies, which has led to an almost instantaneous flow and exchange of information, many recent publications from the humanities and social sciences propose to take a global perspective on the human past (Conrad 2016). The constructed West-East dichotomy is currently being replaced by attempts at a new understanding of the complex structure of the worldís cultural processes. This recent trend toward global perspectives and postcolonial critiques of Eurocentric narratives in the humanities includes the academic study of esotericism, which has attempted to develop a globally applicable conceptual framework (Asprem and Strube 2020, 2021). The academic study of Western esotericism owes its establish
Journal of Comparative Cultures, 2022
The East, analyzed by Konstantin Burmistrov in his article ìRussian Esotericism of the Early Twen... more The East, analyzed by Konstantin Burmistrov in his article ìRussian Esotericism of the Early Twentieth Century and Kabbalahî by focusing on the role of the Kabbalah in the popular occultist movement of the early twentieth century, is again situated in Russia. Burmistrov portrays the most influential figure in this movement, Georges Osipovich Moebes, the head of the Russian Martinist order, who gave several popular lecture series in St. Petersburg in the first two decades before he was arrested. Burmistrov reveals that these original lecture series are nothing less than an encyclopedia of esoteric knowledge in which the ìoccult Kabbalahî of the Tarot plays a crucial role. At the same time, rituals and magical actions were essential, and all lectures were aimed at the conversion and rebuilding of the personality. The ideas in Moebesí lectures were oriented toward transforming the self and the adept. Burmistrov offers a detailed explanation for the arcana which Moebes invented and developed. With the diligence of a detective, the author then follows the trail of reception of Moebesí lectures throughout the continent of Eurasia, both in remote publications, anonymous adaptations, and in the Russian underground. He argues convincingly that most of the contemporary knowledge about the Tarot was developed by Moebes, and its impact, barely known to most adepts, can be seen in the post-Soviet esoteric revival in Russia and other European countries. In her article ìRussiaís Mystical Anarchism: The Case of Aleksej Solonovich (1887 ñ1937)î, Romina Kaltenbach dwells upon the encounter of ìmysticismî and ìanarchismî in post-revolutionary Russia and analyzes the unacknowledged mastermind behind ìmystical anarchism,î the philosopher Solonovichís input in the intellectual movement of social protest which significantly contributed to the downfall of Russian anarchism. Western culture and philosophy have been placed not only out of the Ancient Greek and Roman, as well as Christian values but also out of eastern codes, principles, and standards constituting the otherness and exoticness the West has always been searching for. This original distinction has been not only appealing to the western world but also deeply influential to the western ìselfî. The western identity developed in permanent interchange with the East, a diverse and complex phenomenon with often contradictory attitudes that were either rejected or perceived with fascination and adopted. Therefore, constructing the East-West dichotomy, the relationships between philosophy, science, and religion have been deeply affected by the two spacesí geographical, mental, and spiritual bordering processes.
Journal of Comparative Cultures, 2022
This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, wh... more This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, which is still much of a provincialized area under western eyes. By applying a cultural-studies approach, various perspectives on spiritual Eurasia are presented, as they have helped to incorporate this territory into a mythologically, ideologically, and symbolically charged space. This implies historical ethnographic descriptions and stories of various esoteric seekers of a re-enchanted spiritual landscape, from Blavatsky to Gurdjieff and Roerich, but also academic experts of oriental studies as translators and transmitters of spiritual ideas from East to West as well as hybrid forms of religious revival among indigenous people in the post-Soviet present time. Two examples illustrate how new myths are created in post-Soviet Russia: Arkaim as a Russian Stonehenge in the Urals and Eurasian spirituality as an instrument of political ideology, particularly Lev Gumilev and Nursultan Nasarbaev in Kazakhstan.
This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, wh... more This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, which is still much of a provincialized area under western eyes. By applying a cultural-studies approach, various perspectives on spiritual Eurasia are presented, as they have helped to incorporate this territory into a mythologically, ideologically, and symbolically charged space. This implies historical ethnographic descriptions and stories of various esoteric seekers of a re-enchanted spiritual landscape, from Blavatsky to Gurdjieff and Roerich, but also academic experts of oriental studies as translators and transmitters of spiritual ideas from East to West as well as hybrid forms of religious revival among indigenous people in the post-Soviet present time. Two examples illustrate how new myths are created in post-Soviet Russia: Arkaim as a Russian Stonehenge in the Urals and Eurasian spirituality as an instrument of political ideology, particularly Lev Gumilev and Nursultan Nasarbaev in Kazakhstan.
In the early 1980s, one of the most dramatic periods of the Cold War, diplomatic ties between the... more In the early 1980s, one of the most dramatic periods of the Cold War, diplomatic ties between the two superpowers were almost cut off. Massive protests and the peace and nuclear freeze movement, fired up in America and Europe. Triggered by the fear that failure of communication would lead to final nuclear destruction, thousands of American citizens began to establish personal relations with citizens of the Soviet Union. They were inspired by an unusual private citizen initiative pioneered by the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. On the other hand, in the USSR, the only official form of anti-military movement, omnipresent in the educational system and everyday life, was headed by the state's arm of propaganda,
Reading in Russia. A History of Reading in Modern Russia, vol.3, 2020
Zeitschrift Osteuropa, 2019
Der Buchmarkt und die Lesekultur in Russland haben sich seit der Auflösung der Sowjetunion dramat... more Der Buchmarkt und die Lesekultur in Russland haben sich seit der Auflösung der Sowjetunion dramatisch verändert. Lesen hat an Prestige
verloren. Die Zahl der Leser nimmt ab, die Auflagen der Bücher sinken.
Eine zunehmende Spezialisierung prägt den Buchmarkt, gleichwohl können
kleine Verlage kaum noch existieren. Die Interessen der Leser in den
Metropolen und der Provinz sowie der unterschiedlichen Generationen
streben auseinander. Die Digitalisierung beschleunigt diese Entwicklung.
Gleichzeitig bieten neue Technologien Anlass zur Hoffnung, da mit ihrer
Hilfe die Strukturprobleme des russländischen Buchmarkts wie das Fehlen
eines Vertriebsnetzes überwunden werden können. Die Wirkung
staatlicher Programme zur Förderung der Lesekultur ist beschränkt.
Occult and esoteric ideas became deeply embedded in Russian culture long before the Bolshevik Rev... more Occult and esoteric ideas became deeply embedded in Russian culture long before the Bolshevik Revolution. After the Revolution, occult ideas were manifested in literature, the humanities and the sciences as well. Although the Soviet government discouraged and eventually prohibited metaphysical speculation, that same government used the Occult for its own purposes and even funded research on it. In Stalin’s time, occultism disappeared from public view, but it revived clandestinely in the post-Stalin Thaw and became a truly popular phenomenon in post-Soviet Russia. From cosmism to shamanism, from space exploration to Kabbalah, from neo-paganism to science fiction, the field is wide. Everyone interested in the occult and esoteric will appreciate this book, because it documents their continued importance in Russia and raises new issues for research and discussion.
Papers by Birgit Menzel
Russland-Analysen, May 31, 2013
Okkultismus im Gehäuse, 2016
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 2014
Esotericism and Deviance, 2023
Journal of Comparative Cultures, 2022
The East-West dichotomy, around which research in philosophy, religious studies, literary theory,... more The East-West dichotomy, around which research in philosophy, religious studies, literary theory, and cultural studies have rotated for centuries, is a construction that has divided the world into two parts: the West, meaning Europe, and America with their dominating Judeo-Christian tradition, and the East, which begins beyond the space of Judeo-Christian practices. The economic, social, and political reality of todayís world provides evidence of the collapse or restructuring of this bipolar world. Current socio-political and cultural processes offer the opportunity to dispute nearly every major Eurocentric myth prevalent in mainstream economic history (Hobson 2004), and attempts to rescue the history of non-Western civilizations are continually increasing, emphasizing that ìthe Orient came first and the Occident was a latecomerî (Nederveen Pieterse 2006, 62). To overcome conventional Eurocentric approaches to history, but also due to the revolution in communication technologies, which has led to an almost instantaneous flow and exchange of information, many recent publications from the humanities and social sciences propose to take a global perspective on the human past (Conrad 2016). The constructed West-East dichotomy is currently being replaced by attempts at a new understanding of the complex structure of the worldís cultural processes. This recent trend toward global perspectives and postcolonial critiques of Eurocentric narratives in the humanities includes the academic study of esotericism, which has attempted to develop a globally applicable conceptual framework (Asprem and Strube 2020, 2021). The academic study of Western esotericism owes its establish
Journal of Comparative Cultures, 2022
The East, analyzed by Konstantin Burmistrov in his article ìRussian Esotericism of the Early Twen... more The East, analyzed by Konstantin Burmistrov in his article ìRussian Esotericism of the Early Twentieth Century and Kabbalahî by focusing on the role of the Kabbalah in the popular occultist movement of the early twentieth century, is again situated in Russia. Burmistrov portrays the most influential figure in this movement, Georges Osipovich Moebes, the head of the Russian Martinist order, who gave several popular lecture series in St. Petersburg in the first two decades before he was arrested. Burmistrov reveals that these original lecture series are nothing less than an encyclopedia of esoteric knowledge in which the ìoccult Kabbalahî of the Tarot plays a crucial role. At the same time, rituals and magical actions were essential, and all lectures were aimed at the conversion and rebuilding of the personality. The ideas in Moebesí lectures were oriented toward transforming the self and the adept. Burmistrov offers a detailed explanation for the arcana which Moebes invented and developed. With the diligence of a detective, the author then follows the trail of reception of Moebesí lectures throughout the continent of Eurasia, both in remote publications, anonymous adaptations, and in the Russian underground. He argues convincingly that most of the contemporary knowledge about the Tarot was developed by Moebes, and its impact, barely known to most adepts, can be seen in the post-Soviet esoteric revival in Russia and other European countries. In her article ìRussiaís Mystical Anarchism: The Case of Aleksej Solonovich (1887 ñ1937)î, Romina Kaltenbach dwells upon the encounter of ìmysticismî and ìanarchismî in post-revolutionary Russia and analyzes the unacknowledged mastermind behind ìmystical anarchism,î the philosopher Solonovichís input in the intellectual movement of social protest which significantly contributed to the downfall of Russian anarchism. Western culture and philosophy have been placed not only out of the Ancient Greek and Roman, as well as Christian values but also out of eastern codes, principles, and standards constituting the otherness and exoticness the West has always been searching for. This original distinction has been not only appealing to the western world but also deeply influential to the western ìselfî. The western identity developed in permanent interchange with the East, a diverse and complex phenomenon with often contradictory attitudes that were either rejected or perceived with fascination and adopted. Therefore, constructing the East-West dichotomy, the relationships between philosophy, science, and religion have been deeply affected by the two spacesí geographical, mental, and spiritual bordering processes.
Journal of Comparative Cultures, 2022
This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, wh... more This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, which is still much of a provincialized area under western eyes. By applying a cultural-studies approach, various perspectives on spiritual Eurasia are presented, as they have helped to incorporate this territory into a mythologically, ideologically, and symbolically charged space. This implies historical ethnographic descriptions and stories of various esoteric seekers of a re-enchanted spiritual landscape, from Blavatsky to Gurdjieff and Roerich, but also academic experts of oriental studies as translators and transmitters of spiritual ideas from East to West as well as hybrid forms of religious revival among indigenous people in the post-Soviet present time. Two examples illustrate how new myths are created in post-Soviet Russia: Arkaim as a Russian Stonehenge in the Urals and Eurasian spirituality as an instrument of political ideology, particularly Lev Gumilev and Nursultan Nasarbaev in Kazakhstan.
This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, wh... more This article discusses Eurasia as a meta-geographical spiritual entity, an imagined continent, which is still much of a provincialized area under western eyes. By applying a cultural-studies approach, various perspectives on spiritual Eurasia are presented, as they have helped to incorporate this territory into a mythologically, ideologically, and symbolically charged space. This implies historical ethnographic descriptions and stories of various esoteric seekers of a re-enchanted spiritual landscape, from Blavatsky to Gurdjieff and Roerich, but also academic experts of oriental studies as translators and transmitters of spiritual ideas from East to West as well as hybrid forms of religious revival among indigenous people in the post-Soviet present time. Two examples illustrate how new myths are created in post-Soviet Russia: Arkaim as a Russian Stonehenge in the Urals and Eurasian spirituality as an instrument of political ideology, particularly Lev Gumilev and Nursultan Nasarbaev in Kazakhstan.
In the early 1980s, one of the most dramatic periods of the Cold War, diplomatic ties between the... more In the early 1980s, one of the most dramatic periods of the Cold War, diplomatic ties between the two superpowers were almost cut off. Massive protests and the peace and nuclear freeze movement, fired up in America and Europe. Triggered by the fear that failure of communication would lead to final nuclear destruction, thousands of American citizens began to establish personal relations with citizens of the Soviet Union. They were inspired by an unusual private citizen initiative pioneered by the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. On the other hand, in the USSR, the only official form of anti-military movement, omnipresent in the educational system and everyday life, was headed by the state's arm of propaganda,
Reading in Russia. A History of Reading in Modern Russia, vol.3, 2020
Zeitschrift Osteuropa, 2019
Der Buchmarkt und die Lesekultur in Russland haben sich seit der Auflösung der Sowjetunion dramat... more Der Buchmarkt und die Lesekultur in Russland haben sich seit der Auflösung der Sowjetunion dramatisch verändert. Lesen hat an Prestige
verloren. Die Zahl der Leser nimmt ab, die Auflagen der Bücher sinken.
Eine zunehmende Spezialisierung prägt den Buchmarkt, gleichwohl können
kleine Verlage kaum noch existieren. Die Interessen der Leser in den
Metropolen und der Provinz sowie der unterschiedlichen Generationen
streben auseinander. Die Digitalisierung beschleunigt diese Entwicklung.
Gleichzeitig bieten neue Technologien Anlass zur Hoffnung, da mit ihrer
Hilfe die Strukturprobleme des russländischen Buchmarkts wie das Fehlen
eines Vertriebsnetzes überwunden werden können. Die Wirkung
staatlicher Programme zur Förderung der Lesekultur ist beschränkt.
Occult and esoteric ideas became deeply embedded in Russian culture long before the Bolshevik Rev... more Occult and esoteric ideas became deeply embedded in Russian culture long before the Bolshevik Revolution. After the Revolution, occult ideas were manifested in literature, the humanities and the sciences as well. Although the Soviet government discouraged and eventually prohibited metaphysical speculation, that same government used the Occult for its own purposes and even funded research on it. In Stalin’s time, occultism disappeared from public view, but it revived clandestinely in the post-Stalin Thaw and became a truly popular phenomenon in post-Soviet Russia. From cosmism to shamanism, from space exploration to Kabbalah, from neo-paganism to science fiction, the field is wide. Everyone interested in the occult and esoteric will appreciate this book, because it documents their continued importance in Russia and raises new issues for research and discussion.
Russland-Analysen, May 31, 2013
Okkultismus im Gehäuse, 2016
Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 2014
Zahlreiche Produkte der westlichen Populärkultur sind aus Osteuropa importiert. Dies wird oft übe... more Zahlreiche Produkte der westlichen Populärkultur sind aus Osteuropa importiert. Dies wird oft übersehen, bestimmt doch die bereits von der Kritischen Theorie angestimmte Klage über die McDonaldisierung der europäischen Kultur bis heute die Debatte. Wertfreie ...
Zeitschrift für Slawistik, 2000
For the past two decades, following the revolution of information technology, along with groundbr... more For the past two decades, following the revolution of information technology, along with groundbreaking developments in cognitive science, bio and neuroscience, what has been called the new life sciences and consciousness studies have reflourished in multidiscipli-nary Western academic publications. Numerous transdisciplinary publications on techno-utopian thinking as well as on altered states of consciousness (ASC), often including reli-gion and spirituality, have appeared. This can be seen as part of a larger paradigm shift, converging “hard” and “soft” sciences, including what has been called the Life Sciences, with integrative approaches and visions for the future of humanity.
In my presentation, I argue, that two different pathways have been taken in this direction: Transhumanism, a new nascent ideology and social movement, which is closely con-nected with applied corporate business interests (Ray Kurzweil) and has some branches now also in Russia (Dmitrij Ickov), has developed in the 1990s. It offers to save humanity from its biological constraints, including the final abolition of diseases and even death itself. Transhumanism addresses questions about the limitations of human nature, the ultimate reach of humanity’s capacity for knowledge and action, and comes out arguing for a radical embrace of self-improvement. While it appears like a distinctly Western 21st-century form of hubris, thriving at the heart of the booming US tech-industry, it has also been argued that Transhumanism responds to problems inherent to Western intellectual history for centuries, and that it shows strong structural similarities with esoteric thought.
The ‘Systems View of Life’, presented by Fritjof Capra and Luigi Luisi, should be seen as deeply opposed to the vision of transhumanism. By connecting the new life sciences based on Maturana/Varela’s concept of the cognitive self-organization (autopoiesis) of all living organisms including earth itself, complexity theories, nonlinear dynamics and above all deep ecology, it offers an integral vision of life and nature and combines it with an urge to change, both inside (by an ecoliterate view on life and nature) and outside (by stopping the destruction of nature and society). It calls for opening up to an altogether altered state of consciousness in which traditional and new forms of spirituality are integrated, as opposed to a mechanistic, reductionist paradigm of science, as well as any dogmatic form or institution of religion.
In my presentation, I will survey both concepts by their basic publications, point out some historical and philosophical connections with techno-utopian thinking in Russia and the West, and in conclusion discuss the ideological implications of the spiritual as well as scientific traditions for both of these contemporary pathways to a future vision of huma-nity in Russia and in the West.
Russia has always been considered a hotbed of utopias. Especially, since the early 20th century, ... more Russia has always been considered a hotbed of utopias. Especially, since the early 20th century, bioutopian ideas and concepts have emerged and were pursued experimentally in the Soviet “laboratory of dreams”, obscuring the boundaries between science, fiction and religion. Since the fall of communism, a new nascent ideology and social movement has developed in the 1990s, Transhumanism, which promises to save humanity from its biological constraints, including the final abolition of diseases and even death itself. Transhumanism addresses questions about the limitations of human nature, the ultimate reach of humanity’s capacity for knowledge and action, and comes out arguing for a radical embrace of self-improvement. To some concerned intellectuals (Fukuyama 2004) this poses one of the greatest challenges to the “sanctity of human life” and threatens to impose new forms of inequality and authoritarian elitism.
While it appears like a distinctly Western 21st-century form of hubris, thriving at the heart of the booming US tech-industry, it has recently been argued that Transhumanism responds to problems that have been inherent to Western intellectual history for centuries, and that it shows strong structural similarities with esoteric thought.
In my paper, I will offer a different perspective by displaying parallels between Soviet Russian biotutopian concepts and contemporary visions of Transhumanism. The project of granting individuals supreme intelligence, superhuman strength, and eternal life through genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and nanorobotics, shows some striking similarities with specific elements of Russian utopias: the conquest of the body and sexes by scientific anthropotechnology, overcoming the limits of time and space by the prolongation of life and ultimately the abolition of death. Just like Russian utopias, the transhumanist discourse contains a fervent eschatological dimension and strives for a point in the future when mankind, enhanced and self-empowered by science and technology, interpenetrates all the matter of the universe and transmutes it to one, connected, conscious cosmos.
A confirmation for these structural parallels may be found in the recent cooperation between one of transhumanism’s main ideologues, the American engineer Ray Kurzweil (b. 1948), a life-long seeker of physical immortality and technologies for the resurrection of the dead, who was recently made director of engineering at Google Inc., with the Russian billionaire Dmitri Itskov (b. 1980), dating the event of conversion into a godlike intelligence to “Russia 2045”.
За последние два десятилетия публикации в области техно-утопического мышления, равно как и в обла... more За последние два десятилетия публикации в области техно-утопического мышления, равно как и в области исследования сознания активно развивались в междисциплинарных западных академических изданиях. Это можно рассмотреть в свете изменяющейся общей парадигмы, сближения естественных и гуманитарных наук (включая то, что называется «науки о жизни») с интегративными подходами и взглядами на будущее человечества. В своем докладе я проанализирую два подхода в этой области. 1) Трансгуманизм, который понимается как зарождающаяся новая идеология и общественное движение, тесно связанное с прикладными корпоративными интересами бизнеса (Рэй Курцвейл). Этот подход в некоторой степени существует сейчас и в России. 2) "системный подход к жизни" (‘Systems View of Life’) (Фритьоф Капра), в котором соединились концепция познавательной самоорганизации (аутопоэзис) всех живых организмов, включая Землю, и концепция глубинной экологии. Таким образом, этот подход предлагает целостное видение жизни и природы. Я рассмотрю эти две концепции, представлю основные публикации в каждой области, раскрою некоторые исторические и философские связи в технико-утопическом мышлении и покажу идеологические последствия духовных и научных традиций, повлиявших на развитие этих двух подходов к будущему человечества на Западе и в России.
Russian Analytical Digest No. 126, April 10, 2013
This article describes the uses of glamour in Russian culture today. While glamour can help sell ... more This article describes the uses of glamour in Russian culture today. While glamour can help sell leaders, celebrities, and journalists to the public, it has a dark underside, which can lead vulnerable young women into the sex trade.
Russlandanalysen No. 258, 31.5.2013
Die glamourösen Heldinnen der Oksana Robski 11 Larissa Rudova (Claremont, California) Ich wähle R... more Die glamourösen Heldinnen der Oksana Robski 11 Larissa Rudova (Claremont, California) Ich wähle Russland -ich wähle Glamour! 13 Olga Mesropova (Ames, Iowa) Der Glamour-Diskurs in Russland 16 Birgit Menzel (Mainz/Germersheim) kultura. Russland-Kulturanalysen Herausgeber: Forschungsstelle Osteuropa an der Universität Bremen. Redaktion: Hartmute Trepper M.A., Assistentin: Judith Janiszewski M.A Technische Redaktion: Matthias Neumann Die Meinungen, die in den Russland-Kulturanalysen geäußert werden, geben ausschließlich die Auffassung der AutorInnen wieder. Abdruck und sonstige publizistische Nutzung sind nach Rücksprache mit der Redaktion gestattet. Wir danken für die Förderung durch die Gerda-Henkel-Stiftung.
The Harriman Review, 2007
One of the most obvious and radical changes in the Russian literary field within the past decade ... more One of the most obvious and radical changes in the Russian literary field within the past decade has been the appearance of a new mass-or popular culture which goes along with a dissipation of literary hierarchies and canones and with a marginalization of the traditional intelligentsiia.
Wir leben heute, knapp zwei Jahrzehnte nach der Auflösung der Sowjetunion, nach dem Ende des Ost-... more Wir leben heute, knapp zwei Jahrzehnte nach der Auflösung der Sowjetunion, nach dem Ende des Ost-West-Konflikts, der die Welt jahrzehntelang beherrschte, in der" postkommunistischen Situation"(Groys 2005: 36). Die Erfahrung des Kommunismus, als ...
Es ist schwierig, eine genaue Einschätzung der sowjetischen Parapsychologie zu geben." Was der ka... more Es ist schwierig, eine genaue Einschätzung der sowjetischen Parapsychologie zu geben." Was der kalifornische Parapsychologe und Bewusstseinsforscher Stanley Krippner, dem wir die ersten ausführlichen Berichte (1979 1 ) zu verdanken haben, 1984 feststellte, 2 gilt bis heute. Auch in einem neuen Aufsatz von Martin Schneider und Andreas Anton wird das Fehlen quantitativer Daten und Untersuchungen bedauert. Wenn die Autoren allerdings behaupten, die "Situation [sei] für die Sowjetunion zu weiten Teilen erforscht", 3 trifft das leider keineswegs zu. Ich versuche im Folgenden, einige Mosaiksteine zu dieser erst zukünftig zu schreibenden Geschichte beizutragen. Parapsychologische Forschung ist in der Sowjetzeit bis in die postsowjetische Gegenwart immer -mehr oder weniger intensiv -betrieben worden, und zwar in einer kaum übersehbaren Anzahl von Institutionen unterschiedlichster Disziplinen, mit und ohne offizielle Unterstützung, mit und ohne finanzielle Mittel, offen wie auch geheim, vereinzelt wie auch vernetzt. 4 Ihr Status war jedoch immer prekär: Offiziell war die parapsychologische Forschung unvereinbar mit der marxistischleninistischen Ideologie, die auch in den Naturwissenschaften bis zuletzt rigoros mechanistisch-materialistische Positionen vertrat. Aber bei allem Anspruch auf monolithische Einheit nach außen gab es intern, besonders in der nachstalinschen Zeit, widerstreitende Lager und Positionen. Und es fanden sich immer einzelne Anhänger, bis in die höchsten Ebenen der politischen und wissenschaftlichen Nomenklatur, die 1 Krippner: Human Possibilities. 2 Krippner: Sowjetische Parapsychologie, 211-215. 3 Schneider/Anton: Politische Ideologie, 141. 4 "Man musste seine Forschungsthemen immer ‚chiffrieren', verschlossene in offene umformulieren, allen ‚Okkultismus' daraus entfernen", Plechanov: Tajny telepatii. Vgl. hierzu auch die ausführliche Chronologie in Uit: Misticizm v russkoj kul'ture.
Биргит Менцель (Университет г. Майнц/Гермерсхайм). Статья по итогам конференции «Национальные ист... more Биргит Менцель (Университет г. Майнц/Гермерсхайм). Статья по итогам конференции «Национальные истории русской литературы», Столичный педагогический университет (Capital Normal University), Китай, Пекин 20-23.11.2015, совместно с Институтом Русской Литературы РАН (Пушкинским Домом), Санкт-Петербург, Россия. Историография русской литературы в немецкоязычных странах «История литературы, будучи повествованием, являет собой один из важнейших мифов той или иной культуры. Ее изменение или преодоление означает неизбежный конфликт с традицией, который либо приведет к поражению, либо станет основой новой традиции». 1 1 Wilfried Barner: Tradition als Kategorie der Literaturgeschichtsschreibung, in: Prinzipien der Literaturgeschichtsschreibung. Beiträge vom ersten deutsch-sowjetischen literaturwissenschaftlichen Literaturgeschichtsschreibung. Beiträge vom ersten deutsch-sowjetischen literaturwissenschaftlichen Symposium in Göttingen vom 22.-28.6.81, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 1988 (hg. Reinhard Lauer), S. 27-48, hier ". 31 перевод Б.М.). 2 Понятие "invented traditions" впервые использовал историк Эрик Хобсбаум. Eric Hobsbawn/Terence Ranger: The Invention of Tradition, 1983.
This draft paper offers a survey and in part a critical discussion of studies on ASC in a number ... more This draft paper offers a survey and in part a critical discussion of studies on ASC in a number of disciplines in Western scholarship over the past decade which are viewed in relation to an equally rising boom of multidisciplinary studies on neuroscience. Transhumanism and the Systems View of Life are then presented in this context as different approaches to the basic perspectives and some new publications are briefly introduced offering approaches of reconciliation between science and spirituality.
https://newageru.hypotheses.org/1903, 2020
In the early 1980s, one of the most dramatic periods of the Cold War, diplomatic ties between the... more In the early 1980s, one of the most dramatic periods of the Cold War, diplomatic ties between the two superpowers were almost cut off. Massive protests and the peace and nuclear freeze movement, fired up in America and Europe. Triggered by the fear that failure of communication would lead to final nuclear destruction, thousands of American citizens began to establish personal relations with citizens of the Soviet Union. They were inspired by an unusual private citizen initiative pioneered by the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. On the other hand, in the USSR, the only official form of anti-military movement, omnipresent in the educational system and everyday life, was headed by the state's arm of propaganda, the Soviet Peace Committee. The fear of nuclear war was not what occupied the minds of people in the Soviet Union. But in America, the "Fear of the Red Peril" was cultivated in the media and in popular culture, by science fiction films, TV, broadcasts and literature. Philosophies of the New Age flourished to counter fear with visions of reenchantment and hopes for spiritual health through empathic and psychic union. The