Psychedelic Humanities: Lecture at Davy's House

How is scientific research into the clinical use of psychedelics shaping contemporary culture? Clinical research into psychedelics has been followed by a cultural revival of interest in these substances.

Alongside the scientific and clinical work, a new field is emerging fast: the psychedelic humanities. It aims to understand how psychedelic substances affect culture and society. Across philosophy, cultural anthropology, history, religious studies and media studies, scholars are taking a fresh interest in psychedelic culture and analysing this new “psychedelic enthusiasm”.

This public lecture, in association with UWE, introduces the psychedelic humanities and places the field within the rise of the “new humanities”, alongside digital, medical and environmental humanities. It shows how science and cultural analysis are increasingly converging.

The lecture strikes a balance. It takes seriously the potentially transformative moment the psychedelic renaissance represents for contemporary society, while acknowledging the limits of the scientific findings so far and the risks this transformation brings.

Oostveen argues for a new way of looking at the psychedelic research community, through the lens of posthumanism and “posthuman assemblages”. This approach treats the many interests involved, from scientists and clinicians to philosophers, practitioners and users, without ranking one form of knowledge above another. The aim is to open up genuine interdisciplinary collaboration, with each field learning from the others.

About the speaker:

Daan F. Oostveen is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht and editor-in-chief of the journal Future Humanities. He joins us from the Netherlands to give this lecture at Davy’s House in Hotwells, Bristol, the former Pneumatic Institution where Humphry Davy carried out his nitrous oxide experiments in 1799.

Please note the event involves stairs.