The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC), in collaboration with the Allard Pierson of the University of Amsterdam and the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (HHP), invites abstract submissions for its Annual Autumn Meeting on ‘Alchemy, Freemasonry, Hermeticism and Rosicrucianism’, to be held at the Allard Pierson on 11 October 2024. The meeting will be hybrid, although we strongly encourage in-person attendance. In its extensive collections, the Allard Pierson holds the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica State collection of around 4,400 rare manuscripts and printed works relating to the hermetic tradition, assembled by Dutch businessman Joost Ritman.
For this meeting, we invite proposals for papers related to the alchemical material in the collection. The keynote speaker will be Prof. Stephen Clucas (Birkbeck, University of London). There will be an exhibition of some of the highlights of the collection.
Submissions can be individual presentations, panels with 3 speakers, or roundtable proposals. Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes in length. Please submit your abstract of 250-300 words, together with a CV or a paragraph detailing your background, to Peter Forshaw: p.j.forshaw@uva.nl by 22 July 2024.
Preliminary Timetable:
45-minute Keynote + 12 20-minute papers
9:00 registration and coffee
9:30 Welcome
Keynote 10:00-11:00
Coffee 11:00-11:15
Session 1 11:15-12:30
Lunch 12:30-13:30
Session 2 13:30-14:45
Session 3 14:45-16:00
Coffee 16:00-16:15
Session 4 16:15-17:30
Roundtable: 17:30-18:00
Titles of works in the collection can be found via the University of Amsterdam Library Catalogue (using the search terms Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica and selecting ‘Allard Pierson Depot’ in the Library filter on the right of the screen): Approximately 100 manuscripts from the collection have been digitized: The Allard Pierson can provide an Excel file of all the books and manuscripts in the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica State collection.
Allard Pierson on Google Maps