At the End of the World Newsletter – 15 March 2024

This is the fifth newsletter for the At the End of the World research program, housed at Lund University. It is the first from our second year of activity. If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you’ve been subscribed to our mailing list. Below, we’ll fill you in on some upcoming events for the spring of 2024, and also what we've been up to since the last newsletter.

Recent Publications

Are there Challenges of Envisioning Life and Humanity in Space?

David Dunér together with Octavio Alfonso Chon-Torres, et. al. has published an article entitled “Astrobiocentrism: reflections on challenges in the transition to a vision of life and humanity in space” in International Journal of Astrobiology (2024):

Astrobiocentrism: reflections on challenges in the transition to a vision of life and humanity in space | International Journal of Astrobiology

Ricœur and Conspiracy?

Patrik Fridlund has published the article 'Les théories de la conspiration, l’herméneutique et Ricœur — quelques facettes de l’existence humaine’ in Logoi.ph IX:23 (2023):

Logoi.ph | Les théories de la conspiration, l’herméneutique et Ricœur. Quelques facettes de l’existence humaine

Podcasts and interviews featuring program team members

David Dunér is featured in an episode of "HT-samtal" under the rubric Domkyrkans idéer och världsbilder Cecilia Wassén has recorded an episode for the podcast "Historia Nu" and talked about Jesus Christ as an apocalyptic prophet, which is set to be released on Easter, on historia.nu/historia–nu

Webinar iv: The Heavenly Jerusalem in Medieval Imagery and Imagination - 7 May 2024

Twice per academic term, At the End of the World hosts a webinar, featuring experts in topics pertaining to our collaborative areas of study. These events are attended by our internal research team and are open to the public. In spring of 2024, we will have two webinars. Further details about the webinars will be published at the beginning of the new year.

In the fourth webinar of the At the End of the World research program’s series 16:00–17:30 (Stockholm time) on 7 May 2024, Kristin Bliksrud Aavitsland and Lena Liepe will examine the various forms that the idea of the Heavenly Jerusalem took in medieval thought, with particular focus on medieval church art. The earthly Jerusalem was the principal locus of divine intervention in human history, while the future reality of the Heavenly Jerusalem, where the saved would rejoice eternally after the end of time, reached into the present of this world and was sacramentally actualized every celebration of Mass. Aavital repertoire of the Last Judgement and the Heavenly Jerusalem; Aavistland will present the concept of the Jerusalem Code, recently explored in a large research project of the same name: Liepe will outline the medieval idea of the physical church building as an image of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Other upcoming events of interest

Lecture: The Historical Person of Jesus - What Do We Know?

On 17 March 13.00–14.30, 2024, Cecilia Wassén will give a lecture at Katedralakademin, Storkyrkan Stockholm,witht the topic ”Den historiske personen Jesus: vad kan man veta?”

Lecture by Jayne Svenungsson: "Vid världens slut" at the S:t Johannes kyrkan Malmö, 20 March 18.00, 2024

Vid världens slut - Svenska kyrkan, Malmö: "Har vi någonsin varit närmare undergången? Föreställningar om att världen är på väg att ta ett dramatiskt slut har funnits i hela den västerländska historien. Med dagens upprustning, världens alla krig, miljöförstöring och global uppvärmning kan vi väl aldrig ha varit närmare? I forskningsprogrammet At the end of the world undersöker 22 deltagare hur apokalyptiken format och formar historieskrivningen, hur de påverkar politiskt tänkande, populistisk retorik och rapportering om AI, klimathot och migration."

Seminar: "Co-constructing Future Pasts: Eschatology & History on 4chan /pol/"

Patrik Fridlund, Aaron James Goldman, and Rickard Andersson have organized a webinar in association with the project Beyond Truth and Lies with Lauritz Holm Petersen, under the rubric: "Co-constructing Future Pasts: Eschatology & History on 4chan /pol/," on Zoom 16:00–18:00, 21 March 2024.

Lecture: "Teknologiska trossprång"

Lecture by Amanda Lagerkvist: "Teknologiska trossprång: evighet, uppståndelse och undergång i AI-ingenjörernas världsbild" at Sofia Församling, Church of Sweden, 7 April 12:45, 2024: Svenska kyrkans kalender

Seminar: "Conspiracy and the Assault on Democratic Institutions"

The project Beyond Truth and Lies organizes a seminar with Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead that will run 16:00–18:00 on Zoom on 10 April 2024:

Symposium: "Den eviga apokalypsen – fyra samtal om mänsklighetens undergång"

This symposium 10 April 2024 is organized by the Royal Society of Letters and the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund and features program scholars Mia-Marie Hammarlin, Blaženka Scheuer, Johannes Stripple and Jayne Svenungsson.

Dissertation defence

On 23 May, 10:00 2024, Allan Burnett will defend his dissertation "Order in Ruins: British Society and the Media Assemblage of The World at War c. 1970–1975" at SOL hörsalen, Lund University

Seminar: "What if . . . the Qanon Conspiracy Theory is True?"

Populism and Religion Seminar Series with Rickard Andersson : "What if… the Qanon Conspiracy Theory is True? Political Reality According to Conspiracist Imaginaries," on Zoom, 15 May, 16:00–18:00 2024

If the conspiracy theory known as QAnon were true, what would political reality have to be like?

Program website As a reminder, the program’s website is located at https://www.endoftheworld.lu.se/. The website will also log each of these newsletters.

Web version

Editor: Aaron Goldman
End of the world
Updated: 2024-03-15