We are introducing our new OVN podcast series 'Vrijmetselarij, geschiedenis en onderzoek' (Freemasonry, history and research). This first installment is in English. Listen to the lectures presented at the international conference about the Dutch Museum of Freemasonry in May 2023. If you could not be there in person, you can still enjoy the fascinating talks by international experts from various fields of study on the history and scope of this amazing collection. Listen to the podcast here or subscribe to it on Spotify or another podcast platform.

Upcoming thesis defence

Our chairwoman, art historian Andréa Kroon, has for the last few years been working on a thesis with the title: Masonic networks, material culture & international trade. The participation of Dutch freemasons in the commercial & cultural exchange with Southeast Asia, 1735-1853. This project has recently been completed. Kroon will defend her thesis on 26 november 2015 at the Leiden University. More information is availale (in Dutch) in the online calendar of the university.

Network Weave

Research network WEAVE (Western Esotericism in modern Art and Visual Culture) is a thematic network of ESSWE (European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism). WEAVE aims to be a a research network connecting scholars studying the interplay of heterodox spiritualties with Modern western art and visual culture. Scholars of all disciplines, interests, backgrounds and convictions are welcome. The phrase “heterodox spirituality” includes Western esotericism, occultism, occulture, mysticism, alternative Modern spirituality, and contemporary spiritualities. See the new website (which includes a conference agenda) for more information: networkweave.com.

Study day for doctoral students on the history of Freemasonry

After London (2012) and Brussels (2013), the University of Bordeaux hosts the third international study day for doctoral students on the history of Freemasonry. The organizers Andrew Pink (University College London), Cécile Révauger (Université Bordeaux Montaigne) and Jeffrey Tyssens (Free University Brussels-VUB) again welcome young Ph.D-students to present their research to a panel of colleagues and experts. Presentations are given by Amanda Brown, Simon Deschamps, Rachel Kopelman, Miguel Hernandez, Brinda Venkaya Reichert and Christian Meyer. 

Thursday March 13, 2014, 9am - 4:30pm, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, France.

Dissertations

- Art historian Tessel Bauduin obtained her doctorate on 20 December 2012 at the University of Amsterdam on The occultation of Surrealism: a Study of the Relationship between Bretonian Surrealism and Western Esotericism. One of her main conclusions states that although Surrealism was 'influenced' by western esotercism, it didn't mean that artists like André Breton were 'followers' of a particular current. According to Bauduin they did take an interest in esoteric ideas, but only used certain concepts and practises as a way to tap into the creative subconscious and create works of art.

- Anaïs Maes defended her dissertation La franc-maçonnerie et la construction d'indentités nationales en Belgique (long XIXe siècle) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel on 9 May 2012. The dissertation looks at the relation between freemasonry and nationalism. How did freemasons react to the rise of nationalistic sentiment at the beginning of the 19th century and the creation of the Belgian state? Maes looked for answers in the documents which got into Russian hands after WWII and stayed there for more than half a century.For a balanced answer she studied both masonic and non masonic sources from these archives.

Websites

- More and more researchers and institues are now active on social media, including The Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism. The JRFF now has its own profile page on facebook and academia.edu

- Louis Trebuchet has launched a website, which allows researchers to  upload and download digitalised sources and literature on masonic study: Masoniclib. The project aims to make as many e-books and digitalised documents as possible available for researchers (provided they are free from copyrights). The site can be searched on title, author or publication. It is also possible to place a request for a particular rare document to be uploaded.

- Simon Burrows and Mark Curran are involved in the online project The French Book Trade in Enlightenment Europe. This database contains all the books produced by bookseller and publisher Société Typographique de Neuchatel (STN), in the period 1769-1794. The website is an important source for bibliographical, historical and literary study, and is now freely available. The collection contains several works that are connected with freemasonry and historical figures such as Cagliostro.