At the End of the World Newsletter – 15 March 2026
|  | This is the 13th newsletter for the At the End of the World research program, based at Lund University. It is the first newsletter from our fourth year of activity. If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you’ve subscribed to our mailing list. Below, we’ll fill you in on some upcoming events and also what we've been up to since the last newsletter. | | |
Upcoming webinar on 24 March 2026 | | |
 | Webinar: Apocalyptic Imaginaries in Jewish Psychedelic Discourse
24 March 2026 16:00-17:30, Stockholm time (Zoom) Jews are central voices in the ongoing “psychedelic renaissance” shaping research, practice, and public conversation. What happens when psychedelic experiences are brought into dialogue with classical Jewish sources and visions of divine encounters, mystical ascent, and eschatological and messianic expectations? In this webinar, we explore how apocalyptic imaginaries and psychedelic engagement intersect with Jewish thought, both in Israel and in the U.S. We consider how notions of aliyat ha-neshama (ascent of the soul), mystical revelation, and radical transformation resurface in contemporary Jewish psychedelic exploration – and what they might mean for Jewish theology, practice, and activism today. The webinar will feature Sam S. B. Shonkoff, Leor Roseman, and Natalie Bloch as speakers. Sam S. B. Shonkoff, is the Taube Family Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union. His scholarship focuses primarily on German-Jewish and Hasidic theologies, as well as integrations of Hasidic spirituality in relatively secular spheres. Leor Roseman, is a Senior Lecturer and Psychedelic Researcher at the University of Exeter. His interdisciplinary research encompasses neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology, anthropology and conflict resolution. Natalie Bloch is a researcher in Hebrew Bible Exegesis at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University. Her research interests include Jewish apocalypticism across the ages as well as psychedelics and religion/spirituality. Aaron James Goldman will chair the webinar. He is a research fellow in Philosophy of Religion at Lund University's Centre for Theology and Religious Studies. PLEASE NOTE: Our protocols for webinar attendance have changed. You must register in advance to attend this webinar. Please fill out this very short form, and a link to the Zoom webinar will be emailed to you at the email address you supply about 24 hours before the webinar begins: https://forms.gle/z5vGtARJ1Fzd6shV6. We look forward to seeing you there! | | |
Recent publications and media appearances by our team | | |
Announcements
Congratulations to Tobias Hägerland! Great news!: Tobias Hägerland has just been promoted to the position of Professor of Religious Studies and Theology at the Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion at the University of Gothenburg. Course offerings Blaženka Scheuer will again be coordinating the Swedish-language summer course, featuring several members of our research team. It is titled “Vid världens slut: Apokalyptiska föreställningar i historia och nutid” (7,5 hp ; CTRD13). The course will be offered in Swedish from 8 June until 16 August 2026. Signup should be completed by 16 March 2026, though it may be possible to enroll later. Allan Burnett has developed a new course for the Spring 2026 History undergraduate program at Linköping called 'Media and War'. This course is for Level 3 History students enrolled at the university and it is an expansion of a course he developed earlier for Level 2 students. Further information will be made available on Linköping University's website. From Chaos to Creativity – Young People Explore the Apocalypse on Stage On September 22, the research team of At the End of the World held a digital meeting with playwrights at Riksteatern/Länk to launch the collaboration From Chaos to Creativity – Young People Explore the Apocalypse on Stage. This joint initiative between Lund University and Riksteatern engages young people across Sweden in exploring and reimagining apocalyptic imaginaries through the performing arts. In dialogue with the research conducted within At the End of the World and in close collaboration with the research team, playwrights will create five new plays that will be made available to youth theatre groups throughout the country. The collaboration is supported by a research communication grant of nearly SEK 2,000,000 from Formas, awarded to Johannes Stripple. The project is managed jointly by Stripple and Natalie Bloch. Further details about the project will be shared as the collaboration progresses. How Bodies Matter: Religion, Disability, and Just Futures Blaženka Scheuer is organizing a conference at Lund University 21–23 October 2026, for which the deadline for paper submissions is 31 March 2026. You can read more information about the conference here. | | |
Other upcoming events
On 18 March 2026 at the University of Zurich, Hannah Strømmen will give a lecture titled “After Secularism? Uses of the Bible in Contemporary Right-wing Politics.”
On 18 March 2026, Mårten Björk and Tormod Johansen will participate in a book launch event titled ”Rätten vid lagens slut” for their new book The End of Law at Gothenburg's Literature House. Then on 24 March 2026, they will have a second book launch event at Lund University.
On 21 March 2026, Torbjörn Gustafsson Chorell will discuss apocalyptic dystopias at a symposium titled Liv: Samskapa och ge rum för liv i destruktionens tid at Sigtunastiftelsen in Sigtuna.
On 17–18 April Mårten Björk will present a paper titled “Aether and Eternity, or Why the Stars of Heaven One Day Will Circle Around the Earth: Hedwig Conrad-Martius and Edith Stein’s Apocalyptic Anthropologie” at the International Conference on Edith Stein at the Newman Institute in Uppsala.
On 6 May 2026, a number of researchers from At the End of the World – including Jayne Svenungsson, Cecilia Wassén, Tobias Hägerland, Aaron James Goldman, Mårten Björk, Lena Liepe, Katarina Pålsson, and David Dunér will present papers or on panels at Patristic Day 2026 at Lund University.
On 12 May 2026, Aaron James Goldman will present two papers at the University of Helsinki for a conference titled Religion and Theology in Times of Uncertainty: “Apocalyptic Theology and Conspiracy Theories: The Shape of Crises with Historical Scope” and “Sine Quibus Non for the Moral Adequacy of the Creation: Rethinking the Problem of Evil with Kierkegaard.”
On 23–24 May 2026, At the End of the World is partnering with Judisk kultur i Sverige for an event titled Apocalyptic Temple Imaginaries Across the Ages at the Jewish Book Festival at Konstakademien in Stockholm. The first is “Apokalyptiska tempelmotiv - från antiken till idag,” a conversation (in Swedish) between Cecilia Wassén, David Dunér and Blaženka Scheuer, moderated by Natalie Bloch. The second is in English, titled "Apocalyptic Temple Imaginaries in Contemporary Hebrew Literature," in which authors Ruby Namdar and Yishai Sarid discuss the role of the Jerusalem Temple in contemporary Hebrew literature, moderated by Bloch.
On 27 May 2026 at 17:30, At the End of the World, in collaboration with Kulturhuset/Stadsteatern (Klarabiografen) and Bokförlaget Faethon, will present a screening of the 1927 film Metropolis. Following the screening, a panel discussion will feature author Torbjörn Elensky, Lena Liepe, and Allan Burnett, moderated by Natalie Bloch.
On 12–15 June 2026 at a conference at the University of Gothenburg, Cecilia Wassén will give a lecture on “Third Temple Movements and the Use of the New Testament in Contemporary Apocalyptic Discourse”. | | |
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