In the year that Glastonbury should have been celebrating its half century, festival fields fell quiet with many mourning the loss of the potential for collective celebration and community in a hallowed space.  

Festivals Research and COVID-19: Virtual Community, Activism, Spirituality is an online conference hosted by the school of Religious Studies at The Open University on Tuesday September 15^th.  

The conference will present analysis of past fieldwork on festivals, whilst taking an inter-disciplinary approach to examining what COVID-19 can teach us about modern festivals and how scholars interested in festivals, protestivals, activism, community and spirituality, are re-inventing their research in the wake of such a challenging year.  

Dr Leonore van den Ende of Vrije University, Amsterdam will be giving the opening keynote speech. Leonore is an anthropologist and ethnographer studying temporary and alternative organisational forms that can facilitate transition. Professor Sarah Pike of California State University who has written numerous books and essays on contemporary Paganism, ritual, New Age, ancestral skills, Burning Man, spiritual dance, environmental activism, and youth culture will be sharing a plenary keynote. 

To secure a place at the conference, register here now.