Events

Past Events

Here is a frequently updated list of past events related to At the End of the World's ongoing research, parts of which you can view or listen to:

Lecture with Joel Kuhlin: “Malcolm X: Apokalyptiker & politisk teolog,” 16:00–17:30, 6 November 2024, CTR, LUX Room B417. Invited presentation for teachers in the subject of religion in upper secondary school, in the city of Lund. 

Seminar with Damir Skenderovic: Conspiracy Theories and Right-Wing Populism. 10:15-12:00, 1 November 2024. The LUX-building, Room B417, Lund University. In this seminar we will discuss texts that focus on the relationship between conspiracy theories and right-wing populism. The aim is to explore the extent to which debates on the concept of (right-wing) populism include conspiratorial thinking as a defining dimension. Furthermore, the texts present past and present examples that illustrate the importance of conspiracy theories in right-wing populist politics. There will some reading assignments; information to come. The event is organized by Beyond Truth & Lies: Conspiracy Theories, Post-truth and the Possibility of Public Debate, At the End of the World and Lund Centre for the History of Knowledge (https://newhistoryofknowledge.com/). Economic support for the event was received from Krookska stiftelsen and the Lund Centre for the History of Knowledge.

Lecture with Damir Skenderovic: Counter Media of the New Right.17:15-18:30, 31 October 2024. The LUX-building, Room C121, Lund University. Since the 1970s, a cultural and intellectual New Right has emerged in various Western European countries, producing numerous print periodicals that its protagonists saw as counter media projects. In their view, these periodicals were intended to challenge the dominant public sphere and oppose the ideas and representations in what they called the established media. The lecture asks how the German and French New Right sought to produce counterknowledge and create counterpublics through these journals. The lecture also examines the various political and cultural narratives that emerged and assesses the extent to which they were driven by conspiratorial thinking. Damir Skenderovic is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). His fields of research are the radical right after 1945, populism, migration history, and the sixties. The event is organized by Beyond Truth & Lies: Conspiracy Theories, Post-truth and the Possibility of Public Debate, At the End of the World and Lund Centre for the History of Knowledge (https://newhistoryofknowledge.com/).

Lecture by Jayne Svenungsson: "Political Theologies at the End of the World"; Distinguished lecture, 22 October 2024, 18:00–20:00, at CAPAS, Heidelberg, “The idea that the world is coming to an end has never been far away in cultures rooted in the biblical tradition. In a longue durée perspective, the sense that the end is drawing near seems to have been the rule rather than the exception. Yet it is difficult to deny that the past decades have been particularly ripe of events that seem to herald the end. This heightened sense of urgency is reflected in the notion of ‘polycrisis’, which is regularly invoked today to describe how the world’s most pressing challenges – wealth discrepancies, armed conflicts, climate extremes, energy shortages, pandemics, mass migration, rising authoritarianism, global webs of exploitation, and so on – are intersecting and overlapping in ways that mutually exacerbate each other’s effects. If it is true that our times are facing challenges of apocalyptic proportions, what should be the proper philosophical response the situation? This lecture will address this question in dialogue with some leading political theologians and philosophers of our time.”

Seminar with Genia Schönbaumsfeld: "Partners in Crime? Radical Scepticism and Malevolent Global Conspiracy Theories." October 16, 2024, 16:15–18:00, [CEST] Zoom: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/62645329724. "In this paper, I show that global sceptical scenarios and global conspiracy theories exhibit similarly problematic features – something that causes trouble for the ‘orthodox’ view which holds that while radical scepticism is an important challenge that epistemologists must confront, global conspiracy theories can just be dismissed. If I am right, however, that both scenarios are similarly defective, this gives us good reason to be suspicious of both." Schönbaumsfeld is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton. The event was organized by Beyond Truth & Lies: Conspiracy Theories, Post-truth and the Possibility of Public Debate, At the End of the World and Lund Centre for the History of Knowledge (https://newhistoryofknowledge.com/).

Webinar V: Surviving the Apocalypse. https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/65667016322 16:00–17:30 (Stockholm time), 10 October 2024. In the fifth webinar of the At the End of the World research program’s series 16:00–17:30 (Stockholm time) on 10 October 2024, Mia-Marie Hammarlin and Torbjörn Gustafsson Chorell lead a conversation with S. D. Chrostowska. The conversation related to Chrostowska's book Utopia in the Age of Survival: Between Myth and Politics.

Lecture by Tobias Hägerland: "Apokalypsbegreppet i kristendomen"  7 Oct. 2024 at the seminar "Perspektiv på undergången", organized by Göteborgs konstmuseum in relation to the exhibition Tidens slut. Undergångskonst från Dürer till AI, Göteborg.

Lecture by Blaženka Scheuer: 16:15-17:00, 26 september 2024,  LUX C12, Lund. On 26th of September, Blaženka Scheuer will gave a "docentlecture" at the Centre for Theology and Religious studies. 

Presentation by Patrik Fridlund: "Att förstå konspirationsteorier i politiken" together with Richard Andersson, 10:05–10:20, 29 Sept. 2024 at "Bokmässan", Gothenburg.

Seminar with Aaron Goldman: "The Myth(s) of Other Minds," 10:15–12:00, 1 Oct. 2024. In this seminar at Lund University, Kate Kirkpatrick facilitated a discussion of work in progress on the topic of conspiracy theories, performance theory, and the study of religion by Aaron Goldman.

Lecture by Tobias Hägerland: "Det stora Babylon: Romarriket i Uppenbarelseboken" 17.30-19.30, 1 Oct. 2024.  The lecture was a part of the lectureseries "Vi tänker på romarriket" organized by the Faculty of Humanities, University of Gothenburg, at Göteborgs stadsbibliotek.

Lecture by Ervik Cejvan: "Apocalyptic Imaginary and Truth" 16.00-18.00, 24 September 2024. Ervik Cejvan, PhD, gave a lecture and presented new research on the topic "Apocalyptic Imaginary and Truth," at the Centre for Theology and Religious studies: Lund university, hosted by At the End of the World research program.

Seminar: “Politics and Immersive Performance Art near the End of All Things” 09:00-10:00, Sept 18, 2024. Old Bishops House, Biskopsgatan 1, Lund.

This exciting seminar that explores the intersections of politics and art, featuring a short presentation by Matthew Paterson, Professor of International Politics at Manchester University, titled The End of the Fossil Era: Collapse or Transformation? Paterson will delve into the political and economic futures that are envisioned as we face the decline of fossil fuel dominance. The seminar will also feature a short presentation by Max Liljefors, who will discuss Aesthetics as Hope in Apocalyptic Imaginaries. Liljefors will explore the growing trend in performance art to address the perceived threat of human-induced ecological collapse, arguing that art and aesthetics offer a deeper, more genuine way of relating to the world than technological solutions. It examines the theoretical foundations, methods, and expressions of performance artists like Sisters Hope, Gylleboverket, Linda Lapina, and Steinunn Knúts Önnudóttir, who use immersive, ritualistic performances to counter the alienation of contemporary society and offer hope amid crisis. Participants: Johannes Stripple, Dept of Political Science, Lund University; Matthew Paterson, Department of Politics, University of Manchester.; Max Liljefors, Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University.

Presentation by Cecilia Wassén: "Halakhah in the Kingdom of God: Jesus's Apocalyptic Teaching in Context on the conference" 15:15-16:00, 9 September 2024. During the 18th European Congress of Theology, organized by the Theology Faculty of Heidelberg University and the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Theologie, Cecilia Wassén presented ongoing reasarch. 

Populism and religion online seminar with Rickard Andersson: "What if… the Qanon Conspiracy Theory is True? Political Reality According to Conspiracist Imaginaries," on Zoom, 15 May 2024

In this seminar, Rickard Andersson (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Lund University's Centre for Theology and Religious Studies) proceeded from a thought experiment: If the conspiracy theory known as QAnon were true, what would political reality have to be like? This makes it possible to outline some basic features that the political world must possess, should some of the things envisioned by QAnon advocates be correct, and highlight how such conspiracist imagines rely on personalistic conceptions of the constitution of political reality. The seminar ran 16:00–18:00 on Zoom on 15 May 2024. You can find more information at the event's calendar page.

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

Webinar IV: The Heavenly Jerusalem in Medieval Imagery and Imagination, https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/65667016322 16:00–17:30 (Stockholm time), 7 May 2024.

In the fourth webinar of the At the End of the World research program’s series, Kristin B. Aavitsland and Lena Liepe examined 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. A vital repertoire of the Last Judgement and the Heavenly Jerusalem; Aavitsland 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.

Presentation: "Världens slut: förställning och flyktväg" - Skissernas Museum, Lund 15.00-18.00, 2 May 2024. As a part of a collaborative event between artists and reserachers on 2 May, 15.00-18.00, under the rubric "Osäker prognos – Oförutsägbarhetens estetik och forskning om framtiden", Joel Kuhlin presented the overall trajectory of At the End of the World.

Populism and religion online seminar with Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead: "Conspiracy and the Assault on Democratic Institutions," on Zoom, 10 April 2024

Patrik Fridlund, Aaron James Goldman, and Rickard Andersson organized a webinar in association with their project Beyond Truth and Lies with Nancy L. Rosenblum and Russell Muirhead. The seminar ran 16:00–18:00 on Zoom on 10 April 2024. More information can be found at this page: https://www.ctr.lu.se/institutionen/kalendarium/evenemang/conspiracy-and-assault-democratic-institutions-nancy-l-rosenblum-russell-muirhead-populism-and/ 

Den eviga apokalypsen – fyra samtal om mänsklighetens undergång, 10 April 2024. This symposium – organized by the Royal Society of Letters and the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund – featured program scholars Mia-Marie Hammarlin, Blaženka Scheuer, Johannes Stripple and Jayne Svenungsson.

Lecture by Amanda Lagerkvist: "Teknologiska trossprång: evighet, uppståndelse och undergång i AI-ingenjörernas värlsbild" at Sofia Församling, Church of Sweden, 7 April 12:45, 2024: https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/kalender?eventId=436c233b0e6b4568a13ff44520e5a6b8

Populism and religion online seminar with Lauritz Holm Petersen: "Co-constructing Future Pasts: Eschatology & History on 4chan /pol/," on Zoom, 21 March 2024

Patrik Fridlund, Aaron James Goldman, and Rickard Andersson organized a webinar in association with their project Beyond Truth and Lies with Lauritz Holm Petersen. The seminar ran 16:00–18:00 on Zoom on 21 March 2024. More information can be found at this page: https://www.ctr.lu.se/en/about-us/calendar/event/co-constructing-future-pasts-eschatology-history-4chan-pol-second-four-seminars-populism-and/

Lecture by Amanda Lagervist: ”Artificiell Intelligence, digitala existenser och europeiska teknikframtider.” On the 20 March, 12.15–13.00, Framtids akademin organized a series of talks under the rubric “Europas framtid: debatt- och samtalsluncher i Glasgården på Stadsbiblioteken i Uppsala” by Folkuniversitetet Uppsala.

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

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. Programmet leds av Jayne Sveningsson, professor i systematisk teologi och tidigare ledamot av Svenska Akademien. Under kvällen framförs musik av polarprisvinnaren 2023, tonsättaren Arvo Pärt.

Lecture by Cecilia Wassén: “The Historical Person of Jesus - What Can We Know?”

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

Lecture by Cecilia Wassén: "Jesus as an Apocalyptic Prophet and Teacher of Law" at the University of Oslo, 13 March 2024

Cecilia Wassén gave the ONTEC lecture at University of Oslo's Faculty of Theology on 13 March 2024: https://www.tf.uio.no/english/research/groups/biblical-texts-cultures-receptions/ontec/events/2024/guest-lecture-with-cecilia-wassen.html

Webinar III: Post-Apocalyptic Environmentalism

Time: 16:00–17:30 (Stockholm time), 5 March 2024

Guest panelists: Carl Cassegård, Professor of Sociology and Occupational Science (Gothenburg University) and Håkan Thörn, Professor of Sociology and Occupational Science (Gothenburg University)

For this seminar, Carl Cassegård and Håkan Thörn discussed their recent book, titled Post-Apocalyptic Environmentalism: The Green Movement in Times of Catastrophe (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). In this book, they identify three competing narratives that have evolved within the environmental movement. The first is the narrative of green progress, which has been central to the idea of sustainable development since the late 1980s. The second is an apocalyptic narrative, which became prominent in the environmental movement after the Second World War. The apocalyptic narrative expresses the fear of a threatening future, but it is a fear intermixed with a hope that ecological catastrophe can still be averted. In the last decade, a new narrative – post-apocalyptic environmentalism – has emerged. Unlike the other two narrative archetypes, post-apocalyptic environmentalism highlights the grief over loss and injustice that has been suffered in connection to ecological catastrophes, perceived as ongoing and/or unstoppable. Cassegård’s and Thörn’s work raises serious questions for those interested in the apocalyptic imagination, eco-anxiety, and environmentalism more broadly. 

Populism and Religion online seminar with Elżbieta Drążkiewicz: "Microdosing Conspiracy Theories," on Zoom, 26 February 2024

Patrik Fridlund, Aaron James Goldman, and Rickard Andersson organized a webinar in association with their project Beyond Truth and Lies with ERC-grant recipient Elżbieta Drążkiewicz​.​ The seminar took place 16:00–18:00 (Stockholm time) on Zoom on 26 February 2024. More information is available on this page: https://www.ctr.lu.se/institutionen/kalendarium/evenemang/microdosing-conspiracy-theories-politics-first-four-seminars-populism-and-religion-seminar-series/

Lecture by Torbjörn Gustafsson Chorell: “Världens slut: apokalypsen förr och nu,” Studentföreningen Heimdal, Uppsala, on 8 February 2024

Torbjörn Gustafsson Chorell gave a public lecture in Uppsala: http://heimdal.nu/talarlista-hosten-2023/ 

Lecture by Amanda Lagerkvist: "Existential AI Beyond the Apocalypse" at Sigtunastiftelsen, Sigtuna, on 20 January 2024

Amanda Lagerkvist gave a lecture during a seminar titled "Samtal om hur AI kommer förändra kultur och samhälle," organized by the Svenska kyrkans skribentskola. Information is available at this page: https://sigtunastiftelsen.se/kalendarium/

Popular lecture: “Världens slut – apokalyptiska föreställningar då och nu”

On 14 December 2023, Torbjörn Gustafsson Chorell gave a lecture in Swedish for a general audience at Heimdal in Uppsala. More information about the lecture series is available here: http://heimdal.nu/var-verksamhet/torsdagsmoten/

Popular lecture: “Donald Trump, Conspiracy Theories, and Professional Wrestling”

On 13 December 2023 (12:15–12:45), Aaron James Goldman gave a public lecture at LUX läsesalen in Lund. You can read more at this page: https://www.ht.lu.se/om-fakulteterna/vara-hus/lux/lasesalen/

Open lecture and seminar: “Apocalyptic Political Theology”

Guest: Tommy Lynch, Reader in Political Theology at Chichester University

Time: 15:00–18:00 (Stockholm time), 12 December 2023

Location: Lund University Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, LUX Building B129, Lund, Sweden

Tommy Lynch, Reader in Political Theology at Chichester University, visited Lund University for a public lecture on political theology, followed by a panel discussion, open seminar, and a buffet-style reception, open to attendees. The panel discussion included Jens Bartelson, Johannes Stripple, Hannah Strømmen, and Jayne Svenungsson.

Webinar II: The Ancient Roots of Apocalypticism

Guest: Domenico Agostini, Associate Professor of Ancient History at Tel Aviv University

Time: 16:00–18:00 (Stockholm time), 6 December 2023

Apocalypticism as both a literary genre and a socio-cultural phenomenon can be traced back to antiquity. During this seminar, three prominent scholars in the field explored the early roots of apocalypticism in Persian and Near Eastern mythology as well as in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. How are these sources related to one another? In what ways do today’s apocalyptic ideas and images reflect challenges to past socio-political orders? Which motifs can be discerned in this original phase of apocalypticism, and how do they resonate with later apocalypticisms throughout western history, including those of the present day? 

Domenico Agostini is Associate Professor of Ancient History at Tel Aviv University. He specializes in the history, religion, literature and languages of Pre-Islamic Iran, and their interaction with Jewish and Mediterranean traditions in Antiquity. 

Blaženka Scheuer is Senior Lecturer in Old Testament Studies at Lund University. Her expertise is in prophetic literature, focusing on how this literature formed in reaction to socio-political disruptions of the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek empires.  

Cecilia Wassén is Professor of New Testament Studies at Uppsala University. She has published extensively on the apocalyptic worldview of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including on angels and demons, as well as on the apocalyptic conviction of the historical Jesus. 

Seminar: Utopia as Noah's Ark – Ernst Bloch on the Apocalypse of Preservation

Time: 16:15–18:00 (Stockholm time), 28 November 2023

Location: Lund University, LUX B417

In this seminar we discussed the afterword to the forthcoming Swedish translation, by Mårten Björk, of Ernst Bloch's classic 1918 Geist der Utopie (The Spirit of Utopia). The book, which Bloch actually wanted to call "Musik und Apokalypse," is an expressionist work that encompasses everything from a complex discussion of philosophy of art and music, a long critique of Marxism and the at-the-time ongoing Russian revolution, to a defense of the Platonist theory of the migration of the souls. Aaron James Goldman moderated the seminar with Björk.

Populism and Religion Zoom seminar: The Truth of Implausible Conspiracy Theories

On 27 November 2023, 16:15–18:00, Dr. Aaron James Goldman, researcher for At the End of the World and Beyond Truth and Lies, gave a public webinar presentation on apocalyptic conspiracy theories. More information, including an abstract, can be found on this page.

Open symposium: Manipulating Scriptures

Kristina Myrvold, Visiting Professor of History of Religions at Lund University, organized an open syposium on 13 October 2023. Among other speakers is Hannah Strømmen, a researcher for At the End of the World, who gave a presentation titled “The Feel-Good Bible: Scripture on Social Media” 14:00–14:45 in LUX B417. You can read more about the event here: https://www.ctr.lu.se/institutionen/kalendarium/evenemang/symposium-manipulating-scriptures/

Webinar I: At the End of the World – Apocalyptic Imaginaries Now and Then

Guest: Alison McQueen, Associate Professor of Political Science at Stanford University

Time: 16:00–18:00 (Stockholm time), 9 October 2023

Zoom link: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/65667016322

At our very first webinar, we hosted the prominent political scientist Alison McQueen, who discussed the political nature of apocalypticism with the jurist Tormod Otter Johansen and the program’s PI, Jayne Svenungsson. A key assumption of our joint research is that apocalypticism per se is neither destructive nor emancipatory. Yet history knows numerous examples of apocalyptic visions that have ended in disaster, even as other apocalyptic visions in other context have served to bolster resistance against oppressive social orders. What can we learn from these different historical examples? And what are the dangers and potentials of apocalyptic imaginaries in a contemporary political perspective?

Alison McQueen is Associate Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and the author of Political Realism in Apocalyptic Times (Cambridge University Press, 2018).

Tormod Otter Johansen is a researcher in Public Law at the University of Gothenburg. He works on in constitutional and administrative law, legal theory, and political theology.

Jayne Svenungsson is Professor of Systematic Theology at Lund University and the author of Divining History: Prophetism, Messianism and the Development of the Spirit (Berghahn Books, 2016).

Panel Discussion about Jesus the Jew, 28 September 2023

Cecilia Wassén participated in a panel discussion about Jesus the Jew, together with Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Archbishop Martin Modéus, and Rabbi Ute Steyer at a seminar at the Gothenburg book fair, on September 28, 2023. The discussion was moderated by author and journalist Göran Rosenberg. The seminar was organized by Judisk kultur i Sverige / Jewish Culture in Sweden, in cooperation with the Swedish Church and the Catholic Church: https://bokmassan.se/programs/juden-jesus/

Conference in Kiruna, Sweden: Commercial Space Exploration and Travel – Chances and Risks, 25–27 September 2023

David Dunér organized a conference in Kiruna, Sweden, 25–27 September 2023, titled “Commercial Space Exploration and Travel – Chances and Risks.” You can find information at this page: https://europeanastrobiology.eu/kiruna-conference-2023/ 

Seminar at Uppsala University: Law as Command or Instruction?: Hans Barion and Gustav Radbruch on the Nature and End of Law, 21 September 2023, 13:00–15:00

Mårten Björk presented his work at a seminar at Uppsala University's Department of History of Science and Ideas. The event took place in the Rausing Room (Engelska parken, hus 6, vån 3). Björk, with Torbjörn Gustafsson Chorell, provided introductory remarks before the seminar. You can find an abstract and more information here: https://www.idehist.uu.se/kalendarium/evenemang/?eventId=83208

Interview with David Dunér for Swedenborgspodden, 7 June 2023

David Dunér guested for an episode of the Swedenborgspodd, titled “Swedenborgs resor i rymden.” The episode will be available after postproduction, on the podcast’s homepage.

Interview with Marie Cronqvist for the MKV-podden podcast, 4 June 2023

Marie Cronqvist was interviewed for an episode titled "Apokalyps," which includes mentions of At the End of the World's research and Frank Kermode's classic The Sense of an Ending (1967). 

Interview with Jayne Svenungsson on the apocalyptic imaginary, 20 April 2023

Principal investigator Jayne Svenungsson was interviewed for the podcast Eskatologi Podden. You can listen to the interview here.

Lecture by Aaron James Goldman on Donald Trump and QAnon's apocalyptic politics, 14 April 2023

Platform researcher and secretary Aaron James Goldman gave a lecture titled "Donald Trump as a Religious Hero" for Lund University's HT-Dagarna, which was recorded and produced for the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies' Religion och teologi podcast.

Interview with Mårten Björk on politics and eschatology, 9 December 2022

Platform researcher Mårten Björk was interviewed for the podcast Eskatologi Podden. You can listen to the interview here.

Interview with Katarina Pålsson on the eschatology of the church fathers, 9 April 2022

Platform researcher Katarina Pålsson was interviewed for the podcast Eskatologi Podden. You can listen to the interview here.