University of Essex

Graduate Student, Literature, Film and Theatre Studies

PhD candidate

Thesis Title: A Babylonian Mage in Fin-de-Siècle Paris: The Esoteric-Aesthetic vision of Sâr Péladan

About

I am a PhD candidate at the University of Essex. My PhD thesis focuses on the life and work of Joséphin Péladan: a full scale review of his work in the context of the history of Western Esotericism, and an attempt to reexamine and where necessary, rehabilitate the man and his work.

See my PhD diary website, http://peladan.org for more information. In other academic pursuits, I am the founding director  of Phoenix Rising Academy of Esoteric Studies and Creative Arts, an educational initiative dedicated to furthering the academic study of Western Esotericism and exploration of interdisciplinary perspectives.

I hold an  MA in Western Esotericism (EXESESO, Exeter, 2008), and MA in English Literature (Indianapolis-Athens, 2004) and I am assistant visiting professor in Religious Studies and History at the University of Indianapolis Athens. I write for Avaton Magazine, a Greek-language special-interest journal, have a monthly column in Phenomena magazine, a cultural insert in a national Greek newspaper, and have written book reviews for JRFF and assorted other publications. Please see the list below for a list of forthcoming and published work. My other research interests include art and esotericism, mind and consciousness, ritual and initiation, Modern Greek Masonic history, and Esotericism in Modern Greece.

I have directed two international conferences and several smaller events and colloquia, and continue to do so as part of Phoenix Rising Academy’s activities. Please see the Academy’s Events page for details.
Beyond my academic pursuits, I am also an artist.

See my online gallery and creative writing portfolio here: http://istar.phoenixrising.org.gr/. I have been painting since I was 14,when I began by exploring the synaesthetic images inspired by the poetry of Jim Morrison, whom I blame for a lot of things. William Blake, Arthur Rimbaud, John Milton, and the Beat writers followed, (in no particular order) and I spent the next few years training in art alongside several well-known Corfiot artists, including Spiros Alamanos and Aggelos Gerakaris. In 1998 I  enrolled at Vakalo Art School in Athens, Greece and the University of Indianapolis, Athens campus, where I now teach.

Since 2000 I have completed 6 solo art exhibitions in Corfu and Athens, and while my ever-increasing academic pursuits and other projects have made it difficult to paint full-time, my current research remains art-related, and I am planning a series of paintings that will accompany my PhD dissertation.
In my free time, which is increasingly scarce, I write, design websites (such as this one), read voraciously, and unashamedly enjoy old-school Goth, classic rock, science-fiction series, cats, Harley-Davidsons, iced coffee and cold beer, in no particular order.

Full academic CV: http://peladan.org/about-me/
My art gallery and collection of creative writing and newspaper/journal articles (non-academic): http://istar.phoenixrising.org.gr

Contact Information