Psychedelics Reading Group
The final two meetings of the Psychedelics Reading Group will be held on Nov 28 and Dec 5 (12-2pm), CSWR Common Room.
Reading Groups are open to Harvard Affiliates. After the introductory meeting, registration is required. Reach out to Paul Gillis-Smith pgillissmith@hds.harvard.edu & Jeffrey Breau jeffreybreau@hds.harvard.edu to register.
Are psychedelics going to save religion? What ethical and moral questions surround psychedelic use, especially for substances which have roots in ancient or indigenous traditions? Who gets to decide what is real vs. hallucination—and how do psychedelics challenge our answers?
This year-long reading and learning group will address these and many other questions shaping the study of psychedelic spirituality—questions that are increasingly urgent for religious scholars, practitioners, and policy makers as we enter new legal landscapes. Through text-based weeks and experiential field trips, participants will explore diverse topics including the psychedelic underground, ind…
Programming Series: Psychedelics and the Future of Religion. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, Event Coordinator
Center for the Study of World Religions
(617)495-4476, ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM.
CSWR, 42 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Enheduanna Reading Group: Voicing the Feminine Divine
Fall 2023: Thursdays, 2-4 pm.
First meeting: Thursday, September 14, 2023, CSWR Conference Room
This Reading Group introduces and explores issues of gender, sexuality, theology, and goddess-worship in early Mesopotamia through a collective reading of the complete works of the first named poet in human history, the Sumerian priestess and prophetess Enheduanna. Questions we will explore include: what role did women play in the religious life of early Mesopotamia? How did Enheduanna understand the gods, especially Inanna, and their bodies? What role did sex and "temple prostitution" play in Sumerian divination? (How) did masculine models of divinity eclipse goddess-traditions in Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East generally? How has the modern rediscovery of Enheduanna shaped the feminist movement? All readings are in translation and no prior study of Mesopotamia or the Ancient Near East is presupposed.
Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie Sedgwick, Events Coordinator, CSWR, 617.495.4476, ldsedgwick@gmail.com.
Thursday, December 7, 2023, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.
42 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit cswr.hds.harvard.edu. Psychedelics and the Future of Religion: Book Talk: Expanding Mindscapes with Erika Dyck and Christian Elcock
Registration required:
Join this book talk with authors Erika Dyck and Christian Elcock. They will discuss their now book, Expanding Mindscapes. Professor Charles Stang will be in conversation with Elcock and Dyck to discuss what it means to write a global history of psychedelics, and of psychedelic psychiatry.
ERIKA DYCK is Professor and Canada Research Chair in the History of Health & Social Justice at the University of Saskatchewan. She is the author of Psychedelic Psychiatry and Facing Eugenics; coauthor of Managing Madness, Challenging Choices, and The Acid Room; and coeditor of Psychedelic Prophets, A Culture's Catalyst, Wonder Drug, and Expanding Mindscapes. She is also a Board Member of Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines.
CHRIS ELCOCK is an award-winning independent historian of psychedelics who has authored Psychedelic New York: A History of LSD in the City along with several articles on the history of the American psychedelic movement.
Programming Series: Psychedelics and the Future of Religion. Contact: Laurie Sedgwick, Events Coordinator, CSWR, 617.495.4476. ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Thursday, December 7, 2023, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM.
Zoom.
For more info visit harvard.zoom.us. Enheduanna: Voicing the Feminine Divine
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
We invite you to a special evening celebrating the life and writings of Enheduana, also En-hedu-Ana; (c. twenty-third century B.C.E.) who is the first named author in human history. Enheduana, an Akkadian princess and daughter of King Sargon I, was appointed high priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sîn) in the holy city of Ur. Her poems and hymns offer unique, first-hand accounts of her personal experiences of the goddess Inana, and provide insights into issues of gender, sexuality, theology, and goddess-worship in early Mesopotamia.
Celine Debourse, Assistant Professor in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard will present on “Women in Mesopotamian Temples: Priestess, Slaves, Weavers” and Dr. Sophus Helle, historian and translator of Enheduana’s poems, will give a talk on “Introducing Enheduana’s World: Grief and Gender”. Their presentations will be followed by a musical performance, drawing inspiration from Enheduana’s…
Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie Sedgwick, CSWR Events Coordinator, 617.495.4476
ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM.
James Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA (Registration required. See link in event description.).
For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com. CSWR Embodied Wisdom Workshop: Studying Religion Through Play (Jan 16-19, 2024)
A play needs embodying. It calls for embodied performance. Could this be a novel approach to understanding and studying what we term as 'religion'? Let's embark on this exploration. Our focal point is an ancient Greek play, a timeless narrative that becomes more than words on a page when performed—it transforms into an embodied manifestation of wisdom. In this week-long workshop, we'll immerse ourselves in this single play, using it as a canvas for an interactive blend of analytic and performative techniques - mind-work and body-work—to devise a different way of studying and experiencing religion.
By infusing the spirit of play into our exploration, this workshop becomes a catalyst for understanding how performances of religion can dynamically alter our cognitive and physical perceptions of what religion is. We're not merely observers; we're active participants, engaging with the cerebral and corporeal dimensions of embodied wisdom as it unfolds on the stage.
Please note that the interested participants need…
Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, Event Coordinator
Center for the Study of World Religions
(617)495-4476, ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
Multifaith Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com. CSWR Embodied Wisdom Workshop: Studying Religion Through Play (Jan 16-19, 2024)
A play needs embodying. It calls for embodied performance. Could this be a novel approach to understanding and studying what we term as 'religion'? Let's embark on this exploration. Our focal point is an ancient Greek play, a timeless narrative that becomes more than words on a page when performed—it transforms into an embodied manifestation of wisdom. In this week-long workshop, we'll immerse ourselves in this single play, using it as a canvas for an interactive blend of analytic and performative techniques - mind-work and body-work—to devise a different way of studying and experiencing religion.
By infusing the spirit of play into our exploration, this workshop becomes a catalyst for understanding how performances of religion can dynamically alter our cognitive and physical perceptions of what religion is. We're not merely observers; we're active participants, engaging with the cerebral and corporeal dimensions of embodied wisdom as it unfolds on the stage.
Please note that the interested participants need…
Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, Event Coordinator
Center for the Study of World Religions
(617)495-4476, ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
Multifaith Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com. CSWR Embodied Wisdom Workshop: Studying Religion Through Play (Jan 16-19, 2024)
A play needs embodying. It calls for embodied performance. Could this be a novel approach to understanding and studying what we term as 'religion'? Let's embark on this exploration. Our focal point is an ancient Greek play, a timeless narrative that becomes more than words on a page when performed—it transforms into an embodied manifestation of wisdom. In this week-long workshop, we'll immerse ourselves in this single play, using it as a canvas for an interactive blend of analytic and performative techniques - mind-work and body-work—to devise a different way of studying and experiencing religion.
By infusing the spirit of play into our exploration, this workshop becomes a catalyst for understanding how performances of religion can dynamically alter our cognitive and physical perceptions of what religion is. We're not merely observers; we're active participants, engaging with the cerebral and corporeal dimensions of embodied wisdom as it unfolds on the stage.
Please note that the interested participants need…
Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, Event Coordinator
Center for the Study of World Religions
(617)495-4476, ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Thursday, January 18, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
Multifaith Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com. CSWR Embodied Wisdom Workshop: Studying Religion Through Play (Jan 16-19, 2024)
A play needs embodying. It calls for embodied performance. Could this be a novel approach to understanding and studying what we term as 'religion'? Let's embark on this exploration. Our focal point is an ancient Greek play, a timeless narrative that becomes more than words on a page when performed—it transforms into an embodied manifestation of wisdom. In this week-long workshop, we'll immerse ourselves in this single play, using it as a canvas for an interactive blend of analytic and performative techniques - mind-work and body-work—to devise a different way of studying and experiencing religion.
By infusing the spirit of play into our exploration, this workshop becomes a catalyst for understanding how performances of religion can dynamically alter our cognitive and physical perceptions of what religion is. We're not merely observers; we're active participants, engaging with the cerebral and corporeal dimensions of embodied wisdom as it unfolds on the stage.
Please note that the interested participants need…
Programming Series: Transcendence and Transformation. Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, Event Coordinator
Center for the Study of World Religions
(617)495-4476, ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Friday, January 19, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM.
Multifaith Room, Swartz Hall, 45 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA.
For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com. Art Exhibition: Framing the Light: Quaker Meetinghouses as Space and Spirit, Photography by Jean Schnell
Please join the CSWR in celebrating the photography of Jean Schnell in an exhibit titled, Framing the Light: Quaker Meetinghouses as Space and Spirit. The Opening Reception will be held Tuesday, January 30 from 5:30-7pm at the CSWR.
Jean Schnell is an emerging artist in fine art photography. After retiring from a career as a nurse and a health coach, she has been immersing herself in the photography world.
Her recent work has been exhibited in solo exhibits including the Moakley Courthouse in Boston, MA, and the S&G Gallery in New Bedford, MA. Jean's photographs have also been exhibited in an exhibition in the Martha's Vineyard Museum, and in a portfolio showcase at the Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, NY, as well as in numerous group shows in the New England region.
In 2017, Jean was a Critical Mass finalist. Her Quaker meetinghouse photographs have been featured in Lenswork and Yankee Magazines. She was also a featured artist on Aspect Initiative and BETA Developments online galleries. The Friends Jou…
Contact: Laurie D. Sedgwick, Event Coordinator
Center for the Study of World Religions
(617)495-4476, ldsedgwick@hds.harvard.edu.
Tuesday, January 30, 2024, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM.
CSWR, 42 Francis Ave. Cambridge, MA 02138.
For more info visit harvard.az1.qualtrics.com.