zaterdag 26 april 2008
Leerstoel in Cuba
Hoezeer de studie van de vrijmetselarij in academische kringen wereldwijd in opmars is, blijkt wel uit de recente oprichting van een academisch onderzoekscentrum en netwerk in Cuba, gericht op de de studie van vrijmetselarij in Latijns Amerika en het Caribisch gebied. Professor Eduardo Torres Cuevas werd als director van dit nieuwe centrum aangewezen. In december 2008 zal een congres in La Habana opnieuw aandacht vragen voor de geschiedenis van de vrijmetselarij in Cuba, Latijns Amerika en de Caribische eilanden.
dinsdag 8 april 2008
Nieuwe editie Archiefwijzer
Als gevolg van onverwacht grote belangstelling is de gehele 1ste editie van de Archiefwijzer maçonnieke archieven alweer vergeven aan belangstellenden. De OVN bereidt dan ook een 2de editie voor, waarin bovendien adreswijzigingen en aanvullingen op de vermelde archiefgegevens zijn opgenomen. Donateurs worden daarom opgeroepen om eventuele correcties en wijzigingen door te geven aan het bekende adres. De nieuwe druk zal over ca. 3 weken gereed zijn en kan worden aangeboden tegen kostprijs (€ 10,- + porti).
Nieuwe medewerker CRF
Het Centre for Research into Freemasonry aan de Universiteit van sheffield wordt sinds kort versterkt door een nieuwe 'Research Support Coordinator': Dorothe Sommer, MA.
Sommer is afkomstig uit Duitsland, waar zij Politieke geschiedenis van het Midden Oosten en Rhetoriek studeerde. Zij behaalde haar M.A. echter aan de Universiteit van Tel Aviv. Thans verricht zij naast haar werkzaamheden voor het CRF een promotieonderzoek naar de geschiedenis van de loges onder de Grand Lodge of Scotland in Syria en Libanon aan het eind van het Ottomaanse rijk. De komende lezingenreeks van het CRF zal dan ook ingaan op de geschiedenis van de vrijmetselarij in het Midden Oosten.
Sommer is te bereiken via email: d.sommer@sheffield.ac.uk
Sommer is afkomstig uit Duitsland, waar zij Politieke geschiedenis van het Midden Oosten en Rhetoriek studeerde. Zij behaalde haar M.A. echter aan de Universiteit van Tel Aviv. Thans verricht zij naast haar werkzaamheden voor het CRF een promotieonderzoek naar de geschiedenis van de loges onder de Grand Lodge of Scotland in Syria en Libanon aan het eind van het Ottomaanse rijk. De komende lezingenreeks van het CRF zal dan ook ingaan op de geschiedenis van de vrijmetselarij in het Midden Oosten.
Sommer is te bereiken via email: d.sommer@sheffield.ac.uk
Verslag studiedag GODF
Van het Centre for Research into Freemasonry aan de Universiteit van Sheffield ontvingen we een verslag van een recente studiedag rond het thema 'Can Freemasonry be Secular?', die op 2 februari 2008 plaatsvond in Londen:
'By invitation of the Grand Orient de France freemasons in the UK, a public scholarly seminar took place in London 2nd of February [...] The following abstracts give an impression of the general outline of the event:
Priest-wrought and law-protected? Approaches to the History of Secularism and Laïcité in Great Britain, by prof. Andrew Prescott
Laïcité is a French concept that has no exact translation in English. It is a term used to describe the movement to ensure the separation of church and state. The fact that this French word is not used in English might be taken as meaning that the concept has also failed to take root in Britain. However, we nevertheless think of modern Britain as a secular society. In France, Freemasonry has been at the vanguard of the movement for the separation of church and state. In the nineteenth century, a number of British radicals who thought the influence of the church in British life a bad thing were also interested in how far Freemasonry in the French tradition might be used to advance the secularisation of the British society. The best known of these radicals was the atheist Charles Bradlaugh. This paper explores how far the nineteenth-century British free-thought movement was related to parallel movements abroad, and argues that this historic dimension is important in understanding modern issues of multi-culturalism and religious tolerance.
History of Belgium's Freemasonry Progress and Secularism, by prof. Jeffrey Tyssens
Belgian Freemasonry is a typical example of what is sometimes referred to as “Latin” freemasonry. In its confrontation with Roman Catholic clericalism, Belgian lodges developed a militant anticlerical stance at an early stage and became essential actors in liberal politics and secular counterculture. Eventually, they also became the locus where more radical ideas –socialist or even anarchist– could be discussed. If this political militancy faded away, they retained their character of thought societies with a distinctive secular flavour.
The social impact of French Freemasonry over three centuries: a global approach, by Pierre Mollier
One of the most important debates in French masonic historiography concerns freemasonry's contribution to the broader development of French social and political life. As a large number of masons were active in French politics between 1880 and 1940, historians and the general public in France have tended to assume that masonry has been, and is still, deeply involved with social and political affairs. It is therefore necessary to enquire: when did French freemasonry first develop this image and to what extent did freemasonry's many political adherents carry their masonic ideals into the public arena? Was this the outcome of historical development brought about by historical circumstance, or is there something more deeply rooted within the French craft, inherited from its earliest years?
(Quoted from logehiram.com/conf-eng/)'
'By invitation of the Grand Orient de France freemasons in the UK, a public scholarly seminar took place in London 2nd of February [...] The following abstracts give an impression of the general outline of the event:
Priest-wrought and law-protected? Approaches to the History of Secularism and Laïcité in Great Britain, by prof. Andrew Prescott
Laïcité is a French concept that has no exact translation in English. It is a term used to describe the movement to ensure the separation of church and state. The fact that this French word is not used in English might be taken as meaning that the concept has also failed to take root in Britain. However, we nevertheless think of modern Britain as a secular society. In France, Freemasonry has been at the vanguard of the movement for the separation of church and state. In the nineteenth century, a number of British radicals who thought the influence of the church in British life a bad thing were also interested in how far Freemasonry in the French tradition might be used to advance the secularisation of the British society. The best known of these radicals was the atheist Charles Bradlaugh. This paper explores how far the nineteenth-century British free-thought movement was related to parallel movements abroad, and argues that this historic dimension is important in understanding modern issues of multi-culturalism and religious tolerance.
History of Belgium's Freemasonry Progress and Secularism, by prof. Jeffrey Tyssens
Belgian Freemasonry is a typical example of what is sometimes referred to as “Latin” freemasonry. In its confrontation with Roman Catholic clericalism, Belgian lodges developed a militant anticlerical stance at an early stage and became essential actors in liberal politics and secular counterculture. Eventually, they also became the locus where more radical ideas –socialist or even anarchist– could be discussed. If this political militancy faded away, they retained their character of thought societies with a distinctive secular flavour.
The social impact of French Freemasonry over three centuries: a global approach, by Pierre Mollier
One of the most important debates in French masonic historiography concerns freemasonry's contribution to the broader development of French social and political life. As a large number of masons were active in French politics between 1880 and 1940, historians and the general public in France have tended to assume that masonry has been, and is still, deeply involved with social and political affairs. It is therefore necessary to enquire: when did French freemasonry first develop this image and to what extent did freemasonry's many political adherents carry their masonic ideals into the public arena? Was this the outcome of historical development brought about by historical circumstance, or is there something more deeply rooted within the French craft, inherited from its earliest years?
(Quoted from logehiram.com/conf-eng/)'
Calls for papers EASR / ESSWE
Van de Leerstoelgroep Hermetische filosofie en verwante stromingen ontvingen wij de volgende calls for papers:
EASR
'Papers are invited for two panels on the academic study of esotericism at the annual conference of the European Association for the Study of Religion (EASR), 7-11 September 2008, Brno, Czech Republic. The panels ‘The Political Temptations of Western Esotericism’ and ‘Ex Oriente Lux: The Presence of Western Esotericism in Eastern Europe' are organized by the Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam in collaboration with the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE).
Deadline for abstracts is 24 april 2008! For more information and registration see: http://www.phil.muni.cz/relig/easr2008/.
For the full text of the call for papers and submission of proposals, please contact: Osvald Vasicek, MA (o.vasicek@uva.nl)'
ESSWE
The second International Conference of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) will take place in Strasbourg, July 2009. For more information, please see the website: www.esswe.org.
EASR
'Papers are invited for two panels on the academic study of esotericism at the annual conference of the European Association for the Study of Religion (EASR), 7-11 September 2008, Brno, Czech Republic. The panels ‘The Political Temptations of Western Esotericism’ and ‘Ex Oriente Lux: The Presence of Western Esotericism in Eastern Europe' are organized by the Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents at the University of Amsterdam in collaboration with the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE).
Deadline for abstracts is 24 april 2008! For more information and registration see: http://www.phil.muni.cz/relig/easr2008/.
For the full text of the call for papers and submission of proposals, please contact: Osvald Vasicek, MA (o.vasicek@uva.nl)'
ESSWE
The second International Conference of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) will take place in Strasbourg, July 2009. For more information, please see the website: www.esswe.org.
woensdag 26 maart 2008
Returned From Russia
Op donderdagmiddag 3 april 2008 vindt in het Nationaal Archief te Den Haag een symposium plaats: 'Returned from Russia. Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues'.
Sprekers zijn de auteurs van het gelijknamige boek, dat eerder op deze website werd aangekondigd (zie rubriek Archief). Het boek, waarin ook de lotgevallen van maçonnieke archieven in oorlogstijd worden genoemd, is op deze middag met korting aan te schaffen.
Het aantal plaatsen is beperkt; geinteresseerden kunnen zich tot 28 maart opgeven via: afsprakenbureau@nationaalarchief.nl.
Sprekers zijn de auteurs van het gelijknamige boek, dat eerder op deze website werd aangekondigd (zie rubriek Archief). Het boek, waarin ook de lotgevallen van maçonnieke archieven in oorlogstijd worden genoemd, is op deze middag met korting aan te schaffen.
Het aantal plaatsen is beperkt; geinteresseerden kunnen zich tot 28 maart opgeven via: afsprakenbureau@nationaalarchief.nl.
CESNUR 2008
Het jaarlijkse congres van het Centre for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) vindt dit maal plaats in Londen in april. Binnen het zeer omvangrijke programma is een sessie gewijd aan het thema 'From Ancient Wisdom and Freemasonry to New Age'. Sprekers zijn onder meer Jean-Pierre Laurent (École Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Sorbonne University, Paris) over 'Freemasonry and Religion in Paris: How to Cast a Glance Upon Some Preconceived Ideas?' en Róbert Péter (University of Szeged) over 'Twenty Years of Scholarship on British Freemasonry'. Meer informatie is te vinden op de congres website.
Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen Leerstoel
Jaarlijks organiseert de Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen Leerstoel van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel een lezingenreeks over vrijmetselarij. Dit jaar werd deze op 18 maart j.l. geopend met een voordracht van prof.dr. Malcolm Davies: 'The Arts of Poetry and Music in La Lire Maçonne, 1763-1787'. Nog op het programma staan:
- 15 april: 'Francs-Maçonneries pré-révolutionnaires et identités politiques. Théâtre, livres, circulation des idées aux années ‘80 du XVIIIe siècle', Prof. Gerardo Tocchini (Universiteit Venetië);
- 22 april: 'Hedendaagse kunst als levensoriëntatie', Prof. Willem Elias (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) & Paul Van Gysegem;
- 29 april: 'Franc-maçonnerie et beaux-arts en Belgique au tournant des XVIIIe et XIXe siècles', Prof. Christophe Loir (Université Libre de Bruxelles).
Tijdstip: 19.00 uur. Locatie: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Auditorium C van de VUB-Aula, Campus Etterbeek (toegang 6 langs de Triomflaan, toegang 13 langs de Pleinlaan). Aanmelding (tot 5 dagen voor aanvang) is verplicht bij de Dienst Ceremonien: ceremonien@vub.ac.be.
- 15 april: 'Francs-Maçonneries pré-révolutionnaires et identités politiques. Théâtre, livres, circulation des idées aux années ‘80 du XVIIIe siècle', Prof. Gerardo Tocchini (Universiteit Venetië);
- 22 april: 'Hedendaagse kunst als levensoriëntatie', Prof. Willem Elias (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) & Paul Van Gysegem;
- 29 april: 'Franc-maçonnerie et beaux-arts en Belgique au tournant des XVIIIe et XIXe siècles', Prof. Christophe Loir (Université Libre de Bruxelles).
Tijdstip: 19.00 uur. Locatie: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Auditorium C van de VUB-Aula, Campus Etterbeek (toegang 6 langs de Triomflaan, toegang 13 langs de Pleinlaan). Aanmelding (tot 5 dagen voor aanvang) is verplicht bij de Dienst Ceremonien: ceremonien@vub.ac.be.
Geheime genootschappen
'Geheime genootschappen laten, zelfs als ze niet bestaan, talrijke sporen na: ze roepen immers grenzeloze nieuwsgierigheid op, die vroeg of laat haar neerslag vindt in archieven en bibliotheken. Ook het Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis bewaart vele documenten van en over interessante, belangrijke, curieuze en vermeende geheime genootschappen en clandestiene groeperingen van heinde en verre'. De website van het IISG te Amsterdam geeft een beknopte beschrijving van haar verschillende collectiedelen over geheime (politieke en andere) genootschappen, waaronder ook de vrijmetselarij.
Nieuwe dissertatie
Andrew Pink attendeerde ons op een nieuwe dissertatie op het vakgebied: David I. Harrison, The Masonic Enlightenment: Symbolism, Transition and Change in English Freemasonry during the Eighteenth Century, University of Liverpool 2008. De samenvatting luidt als volgt:
'This study investigates the transitional phases of English Freemasonry from the mid-seventeenth century into what can be described as a Masonic Enlightenment during the eighteenth century. This movement was part of a wider enterprising evolution led by the Newtonian experimental natural philosopher Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers and James Anderson, both members of the London based Grand Lodge founded in 1717 and both staunch Hanoverians. The ritual, along with the accompanying Masonic symbolism, quickly became adopted into what would become known as ‘Modern’ Freemasonry, which spread its influence around England.
One of the aims of this thesis is to assess why it was embraced by some areas, yet rejected by others, such as York. Scholarship to date has avoided analysis of the Masonic ritual, with Freemasonry being seen as a secret society, and many of the original documentation relating to Masonic lodges being held in private collections. The United Grand Lodge of England has only recently opened its archive and library to the public, though this has only revealed how much documentary material has either been lost or destroyed. An example of this is the absence of personal correspondence relating to Desaguliers’ Masonic ritual changes, despite the evidence that changes where made by him. An objective of this dissertation is to examine why the development of ‘Modern’ Freemasonry was so successful, and why Desaguliers, and other members of the Royal Society were attracted to the Craft.
The study will also assess the fermentation of Freemasonry as it transmuted from the ‘operative’ society into a more ‘speculative’ one during the seventeenth century. Precious little academic work has been published on this aspect of the society, and this study will analyse the contributions of Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton on the development of the Craft, concentrating on their emphasis upon the search for the divine measurement of Solomon’s Temple. The later changes to the Masonic ritual reflected their work, displaying themes for the search of lost ancient knowledge set against the backdrop of the construction of Solomon’s Temple. In this Masonic quest the ethos of Freemasonry became shaped by fashionable and attractive concepts of the ‘New Science’ merging with the ‘Old Science’ of magic and alchemy. These concepts which became appealing in the light of the social and political atmosphere of the Whig Oligarchy of early eighteenth century England, will also be dis cussed, the study concluding with an examination of the overall contribution of the Masonic Enlightenment on English society.'
'This study investigates the transitional phases of English Freemasonry from the mid-seventeenth century into what can be described as a Masonic Enlightenment during the eighteenth century. This movement was part of a wider enterprising evolution led by the Newtonian experimental natural philosopher Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers and James Anderson, both members of the London based Grand Lodge founded in 1717 and both staunch Hanoverians. The ritual, along with the accompanying Masonic symbolism, quickly became adopted into what would become known as ‘Modern’ Freemasonry, which spread its influence around England.
One of the aims of this thesis is to assess why it was embraced by some areas, yet rejected by others, such as York. Scholarship to date has avoided analysis of the Masonic ritual, with Freemasonry being seen as a secret society, and many of the original documentation relating to Masonic lodges being held in private collections. The United Grand Lodge of England has only recently opened its archive and library to the public, though this has only revealed how much documentary material has either been lost or destroyed. An example of this is the absence of personal correspondence relating to Desaguliers’ Masonic ritual changes, despite the evidence that changes where made by him. An objective of this dissertation is to examine why the development of ‘Modern’ Freemasonry was so successful, and why Desaguliers, and other members of the Royal Society were attracted to the Craft.
The study will also assess the fermentation of Freemasonry as it transmuted from the ‘operative’ society into a more ‘speculative’ one during the seventeenth century. Precious little academic work has been published on this aspect of the society, and this study will analyse the contributions of Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton on the development of the Craft, concentrating on their emphasis upon the search for the divine measurement of Solomon’s Temple. The later changes to the Masonic ritual reflected their work, displaying themes for the search of lost ancient knowledge set against the backdrop of the construction of Solomon’s Temple. In this Masonic quest the ethos of Freemasonry became shaped by fashionable and attractive concepts of the ‘New Science’ merging with the ‘Old Science’ of magic and alchemy. These concepts which became appealing in the light of the social and political atmosphere of the Whig Oligarchy of early eighteenth century England, will also be dis cussed, the study concluding with an examination of the overall contribution of the Masonic Enlightenment on English society.'
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