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The Relationship between the Theosophical Society and Western Esotericism

Gruffman, Paulina LU (2021) International Theosophical History Conference p.1-10
Abstract
Since the founding of the field of Western esotericism, The Theosophical Society has been counted among the more obvious cases of the field's objects of study, regardless of how "Western esotericism" itself has been defined. This paper explores the connection between Western esotericism as a research field, esotericism as its object of study, and the Theosophical Society as an example of esotericism. How can we understand why scholars have come to view the Theosophical Society as a self-evident example of esotericism, and could the group potentially be conceptualized in a different way? I argue that while Theosophy is relevant for the study of esotericism, it is more appropriate to speak of esotericism within Theosophy than to characterize... (More)
Since the founding of the field of Western esotericism, The Theosophical Society has been counted among the more obvious cases of the field's objects of study, regardless of how "Western esotericism" itself has been defined. This paper explores the connection between Western esotericism as a research field, esotericism as its object of study, and the Theosophical Society as an example of esotericism. How can we understand why scholars have come to view the Theosophical Society as a self-evident example of esotericism, and could the group potentially be conceptualized in a different way? I argue that while Theosophy is relevant for the study of esotericism, it is more appropriate to speak of esotericism within Theosophy than to characterize the historical Theosophical Society as esoteric. I argue that precision regarding definitions and use of terms might open up for a less monolithic and more nuanced view of how we can understand the historical Theosophical Society today.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
keywords
g.r.s. mead, george robert stow mead, theosophy, theosophical society, western esotericism, esotericism, occultism, blavatsky, g.r.s. mead, george robert stow mead, western esotericism, esotericism, occultism, blavatsky, theosophy, theosophical society, h.p. blavatsky
pages
10 pages
conference name
International Theosophical History Conference
conference dates
2021-10-08 - 2021-10-10
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
27c8d240-3c3e-4837-84b7-4b4979579892
date added to LUP
2022-12-15 21:31:25
date last changed
2023-09-20 14:20:16
@misc{27c8d240-3c3e-4837-84b7-4b4979579892,
  abstract     = {{Since the founding of the field of Western esotericism, The Theosophical Society has been counted among the more obvious cases of the field's objects of study, regardless of how "Western esotericism" itself has been defined. This paper explores the connection between Western esotericism as a research field, esotericism as its object of study, and the Theosophical Society as an example of esotericism. How can we understand why scholars have come to view the Theosophical Society as a self-evident example of esotericism, and could the group potentially be conceptualized in a different way? I argue that while Theosophy is relevant for the study of esotericism, it is more appropriate to speak of esotericism within Theosophy than to characterize the historical Theosophical Society as esoteric. I argue that precision regarding definitions and use of terms might open up for a less monolithic and more nuanced view of how we can understand the historical Theosophical Society today.<br/><br/>}},
  author       = {{Gruffman, Paulina}},
  keywords     = {{g.r.s. mead; george robert stow mead; theosophy; theosophical society; western esotericism; esotericism; occultism; blavatsky; g.r.s. mead; george robert stow mead; western esotericism; esotericism; occultism; blavatsky; theosophy; theosophical society; h.p. blavatsky}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--10}},
  title        = {{The Relationship between the Theosophical Society and Western Esotericism}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/140622366/The_Relationship_between_the_Theosophical_Society_and_Western_Esotericism.pdf}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}