Daily Archives: 27 November 2015

ANZAMEMS Member News: Katherine Jacka – Thoughts on the 10th ANZAMEMS Conference @ UQ, July 2015

Katherine Jacka, Doctoral Candidate, University of New South Wales

The 2015 ANZAMEMS conference at the University of Queensland was a stimulating and fruitful event and I am very grateful to ANZAMEMS for receiving a bursary which assisted me in attending. The bursaries that ANZAMEMS offers to postgraduate students and ECRs not only allow this cash-strapped cohort to attend important events but signifies the support ANZAMEMS provides to those who are at the very beginning of their academic careers. At many Australian and New Zealand universities, medieval and early modern researchers are in the minority and events like the ANZAMEMS conference are crucial in reminding us that we are part of a vibrant and robust intellectual community.

In terms of my own research interests, I was particularly excited by the round table event ‘The Global Medieval in the Antipodies’, organised by Dr Clare Monagle. As a researcher working on the Islamicate world, I have often felt a little on the outside of medieval studies which has tended to focus on the history of Europe, and in particular western and northern Europe. Thankfully in recent years there has been a growing recognition amongst historians that a deeper understanding of cross-cultural exchange and influence is necessary; culture does not develop in a vacuum and globalisation, albeit on a smaller scale, has been in play for more than two millennia. This session was an important call to action and provided many at the conference with food for thought, indeed immediately following the session a lively discussion ensued (aided by free drinks!) at the Postgraduate drinks event at the Red Room. Amongst those I talked with, there was a feeling of enthusiasm about the possibility of applying a wider historical view to their own research and for opportunities for scholarly collaboration with those working in different areas of specialisation.

As a result of this session, at the University of Sydney the Global Middle Ages Research Faculty Group has been established and a conference planned for 16-18 June 2016 on the topic of ‘Modernities in the Medieval and Early Modern Period’. Those interested in presenting and/or attending can consult the website for updates: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/research/global_middle_ages

In terms of guidance for postgraduates and ECRs, the ‘Career Options for Graduates’ round table served to remind us all to be realistic about our opportunities for future employment but to remain optimistic. The panellists advised us to keep an open mind and to recognise work opportunities besides academic positions such as editing, publishing and learning support. This was a useful session but I would have also liked to talk more about ways we can ‘sell’ ourselves in the job market as holders of a PhD. The skills required to successfully complete a PhD include high level writing and research skills, time and project management skills, as well as old-fashioned staying power. Surely there are work opportunities within government, NGOs or other organisations that would value this skill set.

I left the ANZAMEMS conference feeling buoyant, having met some great people and feeling optimistic about the future of medieval and early modern studies in Australia and New Zealand. See you at the 2017 conference in Wellington!

Pseudo-Paracelsus: Alchemy and Forgery in Early Modern Medicine and Natural Philosophy – Call For Papers

Pseudo-Paracelsus: Alchemy and Forgery in Early Modern Medicine and Natural Philosophy
Villa Vigoni (Italy)
25-28 July, 2016

Over the last 30 years, a number of major publications have considerably expanded our knowledge of the works of the Swiss physician Paracelsus (1493/94–1541) and his followers. Paracelsus is best known for his radical criticism of Aristotle and Galen along with his radical positions as a lay theologian and spiritual reformer. He ignited a long process leading to the emergence of chemistry as an autonomous science. His theological ideas nourished early modern debates on religious tolerance. He was also instrumental in Tycho Brahe’s reform of cosmology.

The production of forgeries under Paracelsus’s name was an integral part of the diffusion of Paracelsianism. Many of those forgeries were widely read and extremely influential, not only in the fields of medicine and “chymistry” (alchemy/chemistry), but also in cosmology, anthropology, theology and magic. For example, the famous “Philosophia ad Athenienses” included the dangerous idea on the uncreated “prime matter” of the world, while the “De natura rerum” described how to create a homunculus. Those were clearly alien to Paracelsus’s own philosophy but were taken at face value by both Paracelsians and their opponents. A number of other apocryphal works are no less interesting. All of them have yet to be studied in their own right.

The present conference, which opens a four-years project, aims to put together the knowledge of specialists with diverse backgrounds. Studying the content, sources, topics, potential authorship and dating of pseudo-Paracelsian treatises, it will reveal their distinctive and common features, their mutual connections, their kinship in style and content with the genuine works of Paracelsus. It will also explore their historical impacts on the evolution of both Paracelsianism and anti-Paracelsianism. This broad survey of the corpus will address many related disciplines and issues: medicine and alchemy, the four elements and the three principles, as well as the corpus attributed to George Ripley, the corpus attributed to Isaac Hollandus, the Ficinian idea of the World-Spirit (spiritus mundi) and its relation to alchemical quintessence, the “signatures” doctrine (signatura rerum), magnetism and imagination.

Our main targets are: Philosophia ad Athenienses; De natura rerum; De tinctura physicorum; Thesaurus thesaurorum; Aurora philosophorum; Apocalypsis Hermetis; De secretis creationis; De occulta philosophia; Liber Azoth; De pestilitate. The conference may even reconsider the dating of Paracelsus’s authentic treatises and explore their connections with the works of major Paracelsians such as Alexander von Suchten, Michael Toxites and Gerhardt Dorn.

Besides our plenary speakers, the conference seeks to involve younger researchers and postgraduate students by way of a call for papers. It also plans a workshop session in which the participants can read and discuss pseudo-Paracelsian texts along with related genuine works. This will foster the creation of an international reading group.

Proposals for 20 minutes papers are welcomed, and the participation of postgraduate students and junior researchers is particularly encouraged. Please send your proposal (300 words max) along with your short CV, by 1 January 2016, to the organizers: