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Paranormality and occultural production

McLaughlin, C. (2018) Paranormality and occultural production. Invited Presentation presented to: Conjuring Creativity: Art and the Esoteric, Stockholm, Sweden, 28-29 April 2018.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Invited Presentation)
Abstract: Occulture, best known to scholars of Western esotericism as the sociological category put forward by Christopher Partridge in The Re-Enchantment of the West, is rapidly becoming the word du jour in occultist circles. Partridge famously repurposed the term from artist, “esoterrorist” and self-styled “cultural engineer”, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, whose very intentional language de/re-construction and wordplay has no doubt had an impact on the uptake of its increasingly popular usage, outside of the academy. The word occulture itself, along with numerous other neologisms, is a product of their wider project to subvert, disrupt and challenge normative readings and interpretations within the discourse of the wider culture; “for the esoterrorist, cut-up and the cultivation of occult culture are central to the subversion of social control”. This paper will utilise Jeffery Kripal’s “re-theorization” of the paranormal and Partridge’s analysis of “reenchanting bricolage” in relation to P-Orridge’s cut-ups, to put forward an argument that the ultimate source of occulture—and occultural production—is events/experiences of paranormality.
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF1404 Occult sciences
Creators: McLaughlin, Cavan
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: Faculties > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology > Journalism, Media & Performance
Date: 29 April 2018
Date Type: Publication
Event Title: Conjuring Creativity: Art and the Esoteric
Event Dates: 28-29 April 2018
Event Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Event Type: Conference
Language: English
Status: Published / Disseminated
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/10334

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