Conference “Demon│ization”

What is a demon? Forms and manifestations, functions and interpretations – these have changed many times since antiquity, making it almost impossible to achieve a systematic definition across epochs. By contrast, demons, which in antiquity were intermediaries between gods and humans, appear to be the outcome of diverse acts of demonization. In the Christian Middle Ages and in the early modern period, demons were increasingly understood as evil beings that were harmful to humans. Goethe’s concept of the “demonic human” demonizes the combination of great, but at the same time frightening, genius.

The conference is primarily concerned with the changing ideas of demons and metaphorical demonizations through history. Demons appear as figures and figurations of knowledge that is grounded on specific epistemic preconditions, these being inscribed in their modes of manifestation and agency, but also in their messages to humans. The conference will pay particular attention to the linguistic and artistic mediality of demonic manifestations, as well as to the specific rhetoric and discursive patterns used to depict them. Also discussed will be the processes of fictionalization that both emanate from deceitful and illusion-creating demons and allow them to appear in the first place. Conference programme