&lsquo\;The pluralism of a postcolonial or decolonial philosophy of religion should be &ldquo\;on both ends&rdquo\; of the discipline\; that is\, both the phenomena and subjects considered and contemplated by the discipline should be diverse\, but also the people\, perspectives\, and methods engaged in this project should come from diverse backgrounds&mdash\;not only in terms of race\, class\, gender\, geography\, etc. but also in terms of ritual practice\, training (both academic and otherwise)\, initiation or membership in tribes\, societies\, or &ldquo\;religious&rdquo\; traditions.&rsquo\;
\n&mdash\;Oludamini Ogunnaike\, &ldquo\;Expanding the Menu or Seats at the Table? Grotesque Pluralism in the (Post)Colonial Philosophy of Religion.&rdquo\; Journal of the American Academy of Religion 89\, no. 2 (2021): 734.
\n&lsquo\;It was in the context of the colonial encounter that Christendom granted other communities and traditions the name it had only ever given itself&mdash\;religion&mdash\;and reincarnated it as &ldquo\;secular.&rdquo\;&rsquo\;
\n&mdash\;Erica Lagalisse\, Occult Features of Anarchism (Oakland: PM Press\, 2019)\, 7.
\n&lsquo\;Occultism is the metaphysic of dunces.&rsquo\;
\n&mdash\;Theodor Adorno\, Minima Moralia (London: Verso\, 1951)\, §\;151-VI.
\nThe term &ldquo\;grimoire\,&rdquo\; refers to a genre of magical literature\, specifically denoting manuals of magic or sorcery whose etymological roots in the Old French word grammaire (grammar) reflect its origin as a repository of specialized knowledge and constitutes a codified manual of occult ritual techniques and illustrations. The grimoire is a culturally and historically situated textual artefact appearing predominantly in the form of the manuscript or printed handbook. These books systematize ritual\, symbolic\, and operative knowledge within a magical or occult framework. This can be seen especially through spirit lists\, prescriptive instructions for the manipulation of supernatural agencies (e.g.\, spirits of the dead\, angels\, demons)\, the production of efficacious objects (e.g.\, talismans\, amulets)\, guides for various forms of divination and the intentional use of technologies to create new forms of spirituality among many others.
\nThese claims to hidden or occulted knowledge have rendered many scholarly traditions grimoire-like in form and function. However\, unlike disciplines like theology where the influence of theistic discursive traditions on scholarship is rendered explicit\, the intersubsumption of esotericism\, occultism\, and magic with the study of such is often occulted. So how have scholarly texts functioned as these repositories of magical or occult knowledge?
\nThis conference invites scholars to explore the idea of any form of scholarly text as grimoire. We welcome contributions from across disciplines that interrogate any scholarly form that self describes as a grimoire. Philosophically\, we especially hope to explore what it would mean to do academic philosophy from occult perspectives\, such as the application of philosophical reasoning to occult texts a la analytic methods or the use of occult concepts in social analysis a la the critical tradition.
\nPossible topics of occult-and-scholarly intersubsumption include\, but are not limited to:
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Alchemy as Chemistry\, Chemistry as Alchemy
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Astrology as Medicine\, Medicine as Astrology
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Magick as Media\, Media as Magick
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Theurgy as Philosophy\, Philosophy as Theurgy
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Demonology as Political Science\, Political Science as Demonology
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Geomancy as Topography\, Topography as Geomancy
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Mnemonica as Calculus\, Calculus as Mnemonica
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Egregore as Extended Cognition\, Extended Cognition as Egregore
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Hypersigils as Literature\, Literature as Hypersigils
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \; \; \;Sorcery as Coding\, Coding as Sorcery
\nImportant Dates
\nFormat
\nThe conference will be held in person. Attendance at the conference is free\, though food and accommodations are not provided. We will be hosted at St John&rsquo\;s College\, Oxford\, where there is a café\; and food options throughout the day of the conference.
\nSubmission &\; Contact
\nPlease send submissions and inquiries to: grimoire@theology.ox.ac.uk
\nSubmission Guidelines
\nPlease submit:
\nProposals for complete panels (3&ndash\;4 speakers) are also welcome.
\nSymposium Output
\nWe invite our fellow symposiasts to join us as participants for an application of the Delphi method\, a research approach for mediating scholarly discussion and generating expert consensus. The purpose of the study will be to make recommendations for the future of occult studies and sister disciplines\, grounded in the findings of this symposium. Upon their approval of the research\, participants who collaborate throughout the entire Delphi process will be credited as co-authors of the paper. Further details about the method and study will be given upon invitation to the conference.
\nAccessibility Info
\nThe conference organizers are committed to holding a symposium which meets the needs of its contributors. Meetings spaces\, accessible toilets\, and the cafe area are all on the ground floor of our meeting area\, with no stairs or steps required for access. Most doors are automatic\, but a small number aren&rsquo\;t\; conference organizers and/or the college&rsquo\;s Porters will be available to help with most accessibility needs as requested. If there is anything the organizers can provide related to accessibility matters\, please let us know.
\nConference Organizers
\nKachine Moore
\nUniversity of Glasgow
\nScott Ryan Maybell
\nUniversity of Oxford\, St John's College
ORGANIZER;CN=Scott Ryan Maybell;CN=Kachine Moore: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260723T130326Z DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260902T090000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260904T170000 SUMMARY:British Society for the Theory of Knowledge Biennial Conference 2026 UID:20260726T122003Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@fe80:0:0:0:44ff:18ff:fedf:47b8%3 TZID:Europe/London LOCATION:Walton St\, Oxford\, United Kingdom\, OX1 2HG DESCRIPTION:The British Society for the Theory of Knowledge is a registered charity (SC050235) dedicated to furthering philosophical research in epistemology.
\nEvery two years\, the British Socitey for the Theory of Knowledge holds a major conference on themes in epistemology. For more information about the BSTK and previous conferences\, see here: \;https://bstk.org.uk/events.html \;
\nCall for Abstracts
\nBSTK invites contributions to the conference.
\nEligibility
\nThe call for abstracts is open to philosophers at all career stages. \;
\nSubmission details
\nPlease submit a title and abstract (400-500 words\, \;suitable for blind review) \;to \;info@bstk.org.uk.
\n\;Abstract submission deadline:
\n30 April 2026
\n\;Notification of result:
\n30 May 2026
\nRegistration
\nOpen. Participation in the conference is conditional on paying a registration fee of £\;240. Payments can be made via this link: https://bstk.org.uk/bstk-biennial-conference.html Deadline: August 15 2026. The registration fee covers coffee/tea\, lunches\, and drinks receptions for all conference days\, as well as the conference dinner (September 2nd\, Dining Hall\, Exeter College\, Turl Street). Registered participants also benefit from access to booking College accommodation in Oxford as special\, low rates (approx. £\;80/night). \; \;
ORGANIZER;CN=Bernhard Salow;CN=Mona Simion: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260723T130326Z DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261001T100000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261002T170000 SUMMARY:Does Hyperintensionality Earn Its Keep? UID:20260726T122004Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@fe80:0:0:0:44ff:18ff:fedf:47b8%3 TZID:Europe/London LOCATION:St John's College\, Oxford\, United Kingdom\, ox1 3jp DESCRIPTION:Intensionalists claim that necessarily equivalent propositions are identical\; hyperintensionalists deny this. Whereas possible worlds semantics provides a canonical intensionalist framework\, there is no canonical hyperintensionalist framework. Recent years have rather seen a thousand flowers bloom with the \; development of truthmakers semantics\, aboutness theory\, grounding theory\, and logics of essence\, to mention but a few hyperintensionalist theories. \;
\nA lot of recent work has focused on various paradoxes that threaten hyperintensionalism - the so-called Russell-Myhill paradox in particular. We now have reason to think that these paradoxes can be resolved. \;
\nThe mere consistency of hyperintensionalist theories does not\, obviously\, mean that they are worth having. Even staunch adherents of hyperintensionalists approaches would admit that they are more complicated than their intensionalist competitors. So\, what work can be done by hyperintensionalists theories that cannot be done by their intensionalist competitors? Is the work being done worth the price of the greater complexity? The goal of the workshop is to bring together some leading proponents and opponents of hyperintensionalism to discuss these questions.
\nThe workshop will be held at St John's College\, Oxford\, 1-2 OCtober 2026.
\nDue to space constraints\, we ask participants to regsiter in advance at the following address: \;https://forms.office.com/e/mFnskUJKAb.
\nRegistration deadline is 2 weeks before the workshop\, or once the available spaces are filled.
\nUpdates to the timins and schedle will appear on this site.
ORGANIZER;CN="Øystein Linnebo";CN=Jon Litland;CN=Nicholas K. Jones: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260723T130326Z DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261113T090000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261114T170000 SUMMARY:University of Oxford's 30th Annual Graduate Philosophy Conference UID:20260726T122005Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@fe80:0:0:0:44ff:18ff:fedf:47b8%3 TZID:Europe/London LOCATION:Oxford\, United Kingdom DESCRIPTION:Registration is required for \;attendance\; registration information will be posted in September on this event page and on our website (https://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/oxford-philosophy-graduate-conference)
\n* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
\n5th May\, 2026 update:
\nSubmissions \;are now CLOSED.
\nWe expect that we will notify the authors of accepted papers via email by early August 2026.
\n* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
\n4th Feb\, 2026 update:
\nCALL FOR PAPERS:
\nWe invite submissions from all graduate students working in philosophy for the 30th Annual Oxford Philosophy Graduate Conference\, to be held on the 13th-14th November 2026 at the University of Oxford.
\nPapers can be on \;any topic in philosophy. We aim to represent a broad range of philosophical debates and traditions in our final selection\, across theoretical philosophy\, practical philosophy\, and the history of philosophy.
\nEach selected graduate student will be asked to present their paper in a 30-40 minute presentation. Each presentation will be followed by a response\, typically from a member of the Oxford Philosophy Faculty.
\nWe are also delighted to announce our keynote speakers for this year&rsquo\;s conference: \;
\nDavid Chalmers (New York University)\,
\nMonima Chadha (University of Oxford)\, \;
\nRob Simpson (University College London)\,
\nIn addition\, \;
\nAdrian Moore (University of Oxford) \;will be holding a workshop on how to publish in philosophy journals.
\n
Eligibility:
Submission details: \;
\nIf you have any questions\, feel free to email \;gradconf@philosophy.ox.ac.uk
\nWe look forward to your submission!
ORGANIZER;CN=Reginald Chua;CN=Wanda von Knobelsdorff;CN=Xichen Li;CN="Otto Räsänen";CN=Meredith Ross-James;CN=Mhairi Tait: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260723T130326Z DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261119T140000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261120T170000 SUMMARY:Grimoires as scholarship\, scholarship as grimoires UID:20260726T122006Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@fe80:0:0:0:44ff:18ff:fedf:47b8%3 TZID:Europe/London LOCATION:21 St Giles\, Oxford\, United Kingdom DESCRIPTION:'The pluralism of a postcolonial or decolonial philosophy of religion should be &ldquo\;on both ends&rdquo\; of the discipline\; that is\, both the phenomena and subjects considered and contemplated by the discipline should be diverse\, but also the people\, perspectives\, and methods engaged in this project should come from diverse backgrounds&mdash\;not only in terms of race\, class\, gender\, geography\, etc. but also in terms of ritual practice\, training (both academic and otherwise)\, initiation or membership in tribes\, societies\, or &ldquo\;religious&rdquo\; traditions.&rsquo\;
\n&mdash\;Oludamini Ogunnaike\, &ldquo\;Expanding the Menu or Seats at the Table? Grotesque Pluralism in the (Post)Colonial Philosophy of Religion.&rdquo\; Journal of the American Academy of Religion 89\, no. 2 (2021): 734.
\n&lsquo\;It was in the context of the colonial encounter that Christendom granted other communities and traditions the name it had only ever given itself&mdash\;religion&mdash\;and reincarnated it as &ldquo\;secular.&rdquo\;&rsquo\;
\n&mdash\;Erica Lagalisse\, Occult Features of Anarchism (Oakland: PM Press\, 2019)\, 7.
\n&lsquo\;Occultism is the metaphysic of dunces.&rsquo\;
\n&mdash\;Theodor Adorno\, Minima Moralia (London: Verso\, 1951)\, §\;151-VI.
\nThe term &ldquo\;grimoire\,&rdquo\; refers to a genre of magical literature\, specifically denoting manuals of magic or sorcery whose etymological roots in the Old French word grammaire (grammar) reflect its origin as a repository of specialized knowledge and constitutes a codified manual of occult ritual techniques and illustrations. The grimoire is a culturally and historically situated textual artefact appearing predominantly in the form of the manuscript or printed handbook. These books systematize ritual\, symbolic\, and operative knowledge within a magical or occult framework. This can be seen especially through spirit lists\, prescriptive instructions for the manipulation of supernatural agencies (e.g.\, spirits of the dead\, angels\, demons)\, the production of efficacious objects (e.g.\, talismans\, amulets)\, guides for various forms of divination and the intentional use of technologies to create new forms of spirituality among many others.
\nThese claims to hidden or occulted knowledge have rendered many scholarly traditions grimoire-like in form and function. However\, unlike disciplines like theology where the influence of theistic discursive traditions on scholarship is rendered explicit\, the intersubsumption of esotericism\, occultism\, and magic with the study of such is often occulted. So how have scholarly texts functioned as these repositories of magical or occult knowledge?
\nThis conference invites scholars to explore the idea of any form of scholarly text as grimoire.
ORGANIZER;CN=Scott Ryan Maybell;CN=Kachine Moore: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR