Nag Hammadi and Gnosticism

Call For Papers: Session 1: At the cross roads of East and West, Egypt was for centuries the meeting point of Oriental and Occidental cultures. Alexandria’s strategic position increased the traditional import and export of cultural innovations to such an extent that during the Hellenistic period it already radiated the whole Mediterranean with new ideas regarding science, religion, philosophy, astronomy, astrology, and magic. In this stimulating environment Gnosticism found its natural habitat: Greek philosophy at Alexandria and Egyptian religion provided the innovative and traditional aspects that transpire this dynamic revolutionary worldview. We invite contributors to present papers exploring the role Egypt played in the genesis of Gnostic thought and the manifold aspects that may have influenced its development and the formation of the Nag Hammadi library: namely Egyptian religion, Greek philosophy at Alexandria, the archeological findings of Nag Hammadi, the Corpus Hermeticum and its relationship to Nag Hammadi, the Coptic language of the manuscripts, papyrology, etc.

Session 2: As a result of the important studies of the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th century, and the foundation of the Theosophical Society and the Église gnostique, the first years of the 20th century saw a rising interest in ancient esotericism and Gnosticism. Philosophy, literature, art and film of last century widely echo this interest. A second session will be devoted to the analysis of the reception of Gnostic themes, mythemes, figures, and motives in philosophical, literary, artistic and cinematographic expressions of the 20th century. We invite contributors to the SBL IM in Berlin to present papers on Gnosis in the intellectual discourse until 1945 (art and literature: f.e. G. Meyrink, P. Wegener, T. Mann, F. Pessoa, J.L. Borges; analytical psychology: C.G. Jung; existential philosophy: M. Heidegger and H. Jonas; Albert Camus) and its impact on later popular culture.

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