Paulsoni loenguid religiooniuuringutes korraldab Eesti Akadeemiline Usundiloo Selts
koostöös Tartu Ülikooli usuteaduskonnaga. Sel aastal peab Paulsoni loenguid
rahvusvaheliselt hinnatud religiooniuurija Kocku von Stuckrad, kes on eriti tuntud
uurimustega Lääne esoteerikast ja diskursiivsest religiooniuurimisest, kuid ühtlasi teistegi
uurimuste poolest, mis puudutavad religiooni, teaduse ning filosoofia ajalugu Euroopas ja
Põhja-Ameerikas.

Ajad ja kohad:
7.11.2023 kell 16:15-17:45 – Jakobi 2-114: The Colonial Invention of Animism
8.11.2023 kell 16:15-17:45 – Jakobi 2-114: European Animisms Today
9.11.2023 kell 16:15-17:45 – Jakobi 2-114: The Relational Turn and the Study of Religion

Loengute pikemad sisukirjeldused:
The Colonial Invention of Animism
7.11.2023 kell 16:15-17:45 – Jakobi 2-114
The concept of animism is deeply rooted in colonial structures. Introduced by the British
anthropologist Edward B. Tylor (1871) as the belief in the animation of nature and the
existence of spirits, colonial religious studies imagined animism as a ‘failed ontology.’ This
‘primitive religion’ could be found outside of Europe, mainly in Indigenous, Buddhist, and
Hindu traditions, but also in segments of European societies that seemed to be untouched by
the project of rational, disenchanted European modernity. The lecture situates the early
discourse on animism in an ambiguous European setting that is torn between fascination and
rejection of animism and related trends in religion and philosophy.

European Animisms Today
8.11.2023 kell 16:15-17:45 – Jakobi 2-114

While postcolonial critique resulted in a rejection of the concept of animism in most
academic settings, since the 1980s, the term has gained a lot of traction in new religious and
spiritual movements, first in North America and then in Europe. Particularly in nature-based
spiritualities such as paganism or shamanism, animism became a positive identity marker for
many people, including environmental activists and artists. Scholars, too, revisited the
concept of animism and suggested new interpretations that look at animism as a relational
approach to the more-than-human world. The lecture describes these developments as a
general societal change, which involves ‘discourse communities’ formed by scholars,
practitioners, artists, and other actors.

The Relational Turn and the Study of Religion
9.11.2023 kell 16:15-17:45 – Jakobi 2-114
The academic and popular work on the concept of animism is clearly linked to a broader
change that characterizes European and North American intellectual culture today. The new
scholarly interpretations of animism resonate with the ‘relational turn’ across academic
disciplines, the arts, and politics. Taking seriously the relationality, entanglement, and
situatedness of our knowledges is key for the study of religion as well. As it turns out, the
acknowledgment of animism as a European tradition may even contribute to attempts at
decolonization and de-Westernization. Against this background, the lecture formulates a few
programmatic ideas for the study of religion in the 21st century.

Kocku von Stuckrad on Hollandis Groningeni ülikooli religiooniuuringute professor. Ta on
avaldatud suurel hulgal mitmesuguseid teadustöid, tegeledes valdavalt religiooni, teaduse ja
filosoofia ajalooga Euroopas ja Põhja-Ameerikas. Rakendades diskursiivset lähenemist on ta
eriti tegelenud looduse-kesksete ja esoteeriliste spiritualiteetidega, nii nagu neid on
kujundanud Euroopa mõttetraditsioon. Tema kõige värskemaks teoseks on A Cultural History
of the Soul: Europe and North America from 1870 to the Present (Columbia University Press,
2021).

Ivar Paulsoni nimelised loengud keskenduvad märkimisväärsematele teemadele,
suundumustele ja uutele teadmistele kaasaja religiooniuuringutes. Ivar Paulson (1922-1966)
paistis oma teadustöös silma ambitsioonika laiahaardelisusega nii käsitlust leidva materjali
kui ka küsimuste ja uurimistöös rakendatavate lähenemisviiside poolest. Nõnda on ka
Paulsoni loengute eesmärgiks tuua kokku tähelepanuväärsemaid uurimissuundi
religiooniuuringute erinevatest valdkondadest.