CFP: Patterns of Being: Archetypes in thought and tradition

We encourage BA, MA and PhD students, as well as early PhDs and postdocs, to contribute with research abstracts related to the event's topic areas. Abstracts should be written in English and should not exceed 300 words.

Abstracts will receive full consideration if sent before April 25th, 2025 at the following address: [email protected] Word or PDF attachments preferred, with the message titled "abstract submission".

All submissions will go through a process of blind peer review. (Please write your identifying details in the body of the email, and leave the attached abstract anonymized.) We intend the last notifications of acceptance to be sent out on or before April 30th, 2025.

The conference programme will be announced as soon as review is completed. For any questions, please don't hesitate to email [email protected]

Panels include:

1. How relevant is Jung’s conception of the archetypes in understanding cultural symbols, myths, and religious narratives today? 

2. How might eastern conceptions of recurring symbolic figures align or contrast with Jung’s theory of archetypes?

3. Are myths narrative vessels for transmitting archetypal contents across generations?

4. Does the interpretation of religious figures as archetypal patterns enrich or undermine theological understanding?

5. How does the integration of alchemical imagery from Jung’s work bridge and enhance knowledge from myths, religion and psychology?

6. To what extent can archetypes be integrated into contemporary cognitive science frameworks, such as cognitivism?

7. Can archetypes be seen as representational systems? What role does culture play in acquiring them?

8. Can archetypes be understood as neurobiologically grounded action patterns that shape our embodied experience in the world?

9. How might archetypes be understood within the 4E cognition framework, and what can this reveal about their emergence and function in human experience?