Joseph Gelfer

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Joseph Gelfer
Born1974 (age 49–50)
Southampton, England
NationalityBritish
EducationBA Hons, University of Bristol, PhD, Victoria University, New Zealand
Occupation(s)Researcher in religion and masculinities, academic editor and coach
Notable workNumen, Old Men: Contemporary Masculine Spiritualities and the Problem of Patriarchy, 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse

Joseph Gelfer (born 1974) is a British author and academic who analyses spirituality, religion and masculinity. His book 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse (which brought together scholarly analyses of the end of the world phenomenon from anthropology, Mayan studies, religious studies and cultural studies) attracted considerable media attention. He founded and edits Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality , created the Future Masculinity online course and styles himself Director of Masculinity Research.

Contents

Early life and education

Gelfer was born in 1974 in Southampton, England.[ citation needed ]

He has a BA Hons from University of Bristol [ citation needed ] and a doctorate in religious studies from Victoria University of Wellington (2008). [1] His thesis was titled Numen, Old Men: contemporary masculine spiritualities and the problem of patriarchy. [2]

Academic research and professional positions

Joseph Gelfer is a lecturer and tutor at Université Catholique de l'Ouest. [3] He has had concurrent careers in research in religion and masculinities and in academic editing and coaching. He has held positions as Adjunct Research Associate at the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University, [4] Honorary Research Associate at University of Divinity, Melbourne, [5] as editorial specialist at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and an assistant editor at the University of London. [3]

2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse

Leading up to and during 2012 Gelfer received media attention [6] [7] [8] for his book, 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse, which brought together scholarly analyses of the end of the world phenomenon from anthropology, Mayan studies, religious studies and cultural studies. It examines the "merits and demerits of cultural appropriation" and "the lack of consensus between different scholars and the inconsistent goals of different disciplines". [9] He aimed "to strike some balance between visionary and critical thinking" [10] and he was criticised by members from the skeptical, catastrophist, conspiracy and spiritually inclined communities for his non-partisan views. [10] [11] His proposition from the book's analysis was that no physical event would occur but "that people [would] realise the changes they dearly wish to see in the world will not come from some cosmic source, but rather instead political agency and social activism. And that, ironically, may result in 2012 being a catalyst for a shift in human consciousness, exactly as the prophets predicted." [7] [11]

Other writing

Gelfer has been active in social commentary. publishing articles about topics such as psychedelic substances within a spiritual context, [12] [13] [14] the commercialisation of spiritualities, [15] child discipline, [16] open access publishing [17] and teetotalism. [18] He has also published a number of travel articles [19] [20] [21] and a book of Latrinalia called The Little Book of Toilet Graffiti (which according to Gelfer was simply a fund raising exercise and was followed by The Little Book of Student Bollocks and The Little Book of Office Bollocks). [22]

Five Stages of Masculinity

The Five Stages of Masculinity is a model used to view a person's understandings of masculinity. This model is the basis of the Masculinity Research organisation directed by Joseph Gelfer which offers "insight into men and masculinity in three key areas: Market research for products and services, Social research for non-profit and governmental policymakers [and] People and culture development for businesses and organizations". [23]

InformitTV interviews

In 2012 Gelfer undertook a number of interviews on a variety of topics published through InformitTV.

Books

Articles

Academic journals

Book chapters

Encyclopedia entries

Reviews

Related Research Articles

The meaning of spirituality has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man", oriented at "the image of God" as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world. The term was used within early Christianity to refer to a life oriented toward the Holy Spirit and broadened during the Late Middle Ages to include mental aspects of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masculinity</span> Attributes associated with men

Masculinity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors considered masculine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. To what extent masculinity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate. It is distinct from the definition of the biological male sex, as anyone can exhibit masculine traits. Standards of masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods.

The men's rights movement (MRM) is a branch of the men's movement. The MRM in particular consists of a variety of groups and individuals who focus on general social issues and specific government services which they say adversely impact, or in some cases, structurally discriminate against, men and boys. Common topics discussed within the men's rights movement include family law, reproduction, suicides, domestic violence against men, false accusations of rape, circumcision, education, conscription, social safety nets, and health policies. The men's rights movement branched off from the men's liberation movement in the early 1970s, with both groups comprising a part of the larger men's movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayanism</span> Collection of New Age beliefs

Mayanism is a non-codified eclectic collection of New Age beliefs, influenced in part by Pre-Columbian Maya mythology and some folk beliefs of the modern Maya peoples.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Kimmel</span> American sociologist (born 1951)

Michael Scott Kimmel is an American retired sociologist specializing in gender studies. He was Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University in New York and is the founder and editor of the academic journal Men and Masculinities. Kimmel is a spokesman of the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS) and a longtime feminist. In 2013, he founded the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities at Stony Brook University, where he is Executive Director. In 2018 he was publicly accused of sexual harassment. He filed for retirement while Title IX charges were pending; no charges were subsequently filed.

The mythopoetic men's movement was a body of self-help activities and therapeutic workshops and retreats for men undertaken by various organizations and authors in the United States from the early 1980s through the 1990s. The term mythopoetic was coined by professor Shepherd Bliss in preference to the term "New Age men's movement". Mythopoets adopted a general style of psychological self-help inspired by the work of Robert Bly, Robert A. Johnson, Joseph Campbell, and other Jungian authors. The group activities used in the movement were largely influenced by ideas derived from Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, known as Jungian psychology, e.g., Jungian archetypes, from which the use of myths and fairy tales taken from various cultures served as ways to interpret challenges facing men in society.

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Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality (JMMS) is a free, online, scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, open access journal about men's studies. JMMS was established 2007, and is published twice a year with provision for other special editions. JMMS was founded by Joseph Gelfer who remains the executive editor.

Toby Johnson is an American novelist and writer in the field of gay spirituality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 phenomenon</span> Eschatological beliefs surrounding 21 December 2012

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The Christian Research Association (CRA) was founded in 1985 to study the Christian faith in Australia. Its work consists of major research projects which have focussed on overviews of research on spirituality and religion in relation to Australian culture, contract research for Christian organisations, including local reports based on Australian Census data, and support for other organisations in research that enhances the mission of the churches and the wellbeing of individuals and society in Australia.

Scholarly studies have investigated the effects of religion on health. The World Health Organization (WHO) discerns four dimensions of health, namely physical, social, mental, and spiritual health. Having a religious belief may have both positive and negative impacts on health and morbidity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teetotalism</span> Abstinence from the consumption of alcohol

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<i>Selling Yoga</i> 2015 book by Andrea R. Jain

Selling Yoga: from Counterculture to Pop culture is a 2015 book on the modern practice of yoga as exercise by the scholar of religion Andrea R. Jain.

<i>A History of Modern Yoga</i> 2004 book by Elizabeth De Michelis

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References

  1. ↑ "Joseph Gelfer". The Conversation. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Te Waharoa – gelfer". tewaharoa.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 16 February 2016.[ dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "Joseph Gelfer | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Joseph Gelfer". The Conversation. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Honorary Researchers". University of Divinity. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "The end of days is coming, but Christmas is not". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Episode One Hundred And Forty Eight – On Apocalypse (Now?) 2012 – Interview With Dr Joseph Gelfer". Token Skeptic. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "2010 | TheAtheist.net". atheism.quantechsolutions.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  9. ↑ Whitesides, Kevin (1 January 2012). "Review of 2012: Decoding the Countercultural Apocalypse". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 16 (1): 110–113. doi:10.1525/nr.2012.16.1.110. JSTOR   10.1525/nr.2012.16.1.110.
  10. 1 2 "2012: Between Critical and Visionary Thinking – Reality Sandwich". Reality Sandwich. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  11. 1 2 Gelfer, Joseph (2 January 2012). "2012 cometh: how to prepare for the apocalypse". The Conversation. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Gelfer, Joseph (2012). "Entheogenic Spirituality and Gender in Australia" (PDF). Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  13. ↑ Gelfer, Joseph (2010). "Towards a Sacramental Understanding of Dextromethorphan: A Research Story" (PDF). Entheogenesis Australis Journal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Gender, Sexuality and Psychedelic Spirituality. ~ Joseph Gelfer". Elephant Journal. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Gelfer, Joseph (October 2010). "LOHAS and the Indigo Dollar: Growing the Spiritual Economy" (PDF). New Proposals: Journal of Marxism and Interdisciplinary Inquiry. 4 (1): 48–60. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "Smacks of denial - On Line Opinion - 5/8/2013". On Line Opinion. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  17. ↑ Gelfer, Joseph (June 2009). "Editorial: Open Access Economics". Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality: 97–99. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "The Teetotal Consciousness Shift -". The Good Men Project. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  19. ↑ "Pology Magazine – Adventures in Travel and World Culture – Climbing the Old Man: The Vanuatu Volcano". pology.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Perceptive Travel – I Remember Adlestrop". perceptivetravel.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "Travelmag – A cynic in a sweat lodge: can heat win him round? – Travelmag". travelmag.co.uk. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  22. ↑ Gelfer, Joseph (14 August 2011). The Masculinity Conspiracy. Joseph Gelfer. p. 65. ISBN   9781463781705.
  23. ↑ "Services". masculinityresearch.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
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