On behalf of its editorial board and Michigan State University, under the
sponsorship of the College of Arts and Letters, with the assistance of MATRIX
and MSU Press, we take great pleasure in announcing the first issue of:
*ESOTERICA*
THE JOURNAL OF ESOTERIC STUDIES
http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/
*Esoterica* is a state of the art electronic journal devoted to the study of
Western esotericism, a relatively new field in the humanities. Areas of study
includes such disparate movements and traditions as alchemy, Freemasonry, the
Kabbala, magic, mysticism, and secret or semi-secret orders, as well as these
movements' or traditions' impact on artistic, literary, political and social
figures. By examining esoteric influencesin Western society, scholars are not
only uncovering hitherto unknown figures and works, but also shedding new light
on such questions as how the sciences emerged in the early modern period, or
how deeply interwoven are the fields of art, literature, and religious studies.
*Esoterica*, as an electronic journal and academic resource, has two main goals:
providing, on the one hand, illustrated original articles on aspects of
esotericism by specialists in the field, and on the other hand, primary
research materials of use to scholars and teachers, including links to special
collections and archives as well as lists of recent dissertations in the field.
The journal also features book reviews and announcements. To the best of our
knowledge, *Esoterica* is the first electronic journal in the humanities to be
fully indexable, paginated, and citable exactly like a paper publication, using
only html.
The current issue includes:
"Some Remarks on the Study of Western Esotericism" by Wouter Hanegraaff
"Western Esotericism and the Harmony Society" by Arthur Versluis
"Another Eve: A Case Study in the Earliest Manifestations of Christian
Esotericism" by Laura Hobgood-Oster
"Following Lucifer: Miltonic Evil as Gnostic Cabala" by Philip Beitchman
"Stages of Ascension in Hermetic Rebirth" by Dan Merkur
"Things Done Wisely by a Wise Enchanter: Negotiating the Power of Words in the
Thirteenth Century" by Claire Fanger
"The Alchemy of the Voice at Ephrata Cloister" by Jan Stryz
The journal also features archival texts including Georg von Welling, *Opus
Mago-Cabalisticum et Theosophicum* (1735 Johannes Kelpius, *A Short, Easy and
Comprehensive Method of Prayer,* (1761 trs.) George Rapp, *Thoughts on the
Destiny of Man* (1824/1825) and other works, as well as book reviews and a
complete database of recent Ph.D. dissertations in the field.
We hope that you find *Esoterica* of value for both research and teaching, and
look forward to hearing from you. Please pass on this announcement to any list
or individual you think may be interested.
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