Event date: Friday 19 April 2002, 12-1pm

Seminars spell magic

Apocalypse expert opens seminar series on theme of 'magic'

A series of seminars on the theme of magic will begin this Friday at the University of Glasgow. Professor David S. Katz of Tel Aviv University will speak on 'Magic and the Millennium'.

Professor Katz has published widely in religious and intellectual history. He is particularly interested in apocalyptic theorists, the occult and American fundamentalism. It is an unplanned coincidence that Professor Katz will speak on an apocalyptic date, 19 April being the anniversary of the siege in Waco, Texas and the Oklahoma City bomb, two of America's most recent apocalyptic tragedies.

Introducing this year's Arts and Humanities Research Institute series, Institute Director, Dr Amy Wygant said: "The notion of 'magic' has always been strong in popular culture, as we can see from current examples such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. However, 'magic' also has serious connotations. Osama bin Laden allegedly spoke of the September 11th attacks on America 'crushing its towers, disgracing its arrogance, undoing its magic.' Whilst in early Modern Europe, beliefs in 'magic' led to the deaths of many thousands of people accused of witchcraft.

"One of the most fascinating things about magic is that it defies definition, yet it is the defining limit of both science and religion. We can't use words such as alchemy, miracles, curses, special effects or Surrealism without implying the existence of 'magic'."

Below is the seminar timetable. All take place at 12 noon in the seminar room of the Department of the History of Art, 7 Univeristy Gardens. Lists of optional, recommended reading can be forwarded on request.

• 9 April - Professor David S. Katz, Tel Aviv University, 'Magic and the Millennium'. His most recent book, co-authored with Richard H. Popkin, is 'Messianic Revolution' which traces the tradition of messianism from the Renaissance to beliefs in the end of the world and the nuclear messiah. His seminar talk, 'Magic and the Millennium', is taken from his work in progress, 'The Occult Tradition from the European Renaissance to American Fundamentalism'
• 26 April - Professor Lyndal Roper, Royal Holloway, Univeristy of London, 'The Figure of the Witch'
• 3 May - Dr Alyce Mahon, Trinity College, Cambridge, 'In Search of Other Dimensions: Surrealism and Magic'
• 10 May - Dr Sara Melzer, The University of California at Los Angeles, 'Of Broomsticks and Floating Islands: Magical Encounters of a Close Kind Between the New World "Savage" and the French "Other"
• 17 May - Dr Nicholas Hammond, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, 'All the Devils: Port-Royal and Pedagogy in Seventeenth-Century France'
• 24 May - Dr Justin Meggitt, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 'Early Christianity and Magic: Consumption and Competition'
• 31 May - David Weston, The University of Glasgow, 'A Magus of the North? Professor John Ferguson and his Library'
• 7 June - Professor John Gager, Princeton University, 'Was Jesus a Purveyor of Spells?: The Role of Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in Ancient Mediterranean Culture'
• 14 June - Professor Ronald Walters, Johns Hopkins University, 'Cowboys and Magicians: Buffalo Bill, Houdini and Real Magic'

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The 'Magic' seminars will be held from 12-1pm in the seminar room of the Department of the History of Art,

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

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• The ?Magic? seminars will be held from 12-1pm in the seminar room of the Department of the History of Art, 7 University Gardens
• For further information on the seminar series and visiting academics, contact Dr Amy Wygant, Director of the Arts and Humanities Research Institute, A.Wygant@french.arts.gla.ac.uk, tel 0141 330 4588 or the University Press Office on 0141 330 3535

First published: 18 April 2002