Nicholas Campion

Masters-level education in archaeoastronomy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David

The class in Archaeoastronomy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David is taught as part of the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, within the Universitys School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology. This paper will present and review some of the postgraduate work produced in the course, reporting on its findings as examples of the level of work that may be expected on a taught MA course at a UK University.

The 2012 Mayan calendar prophecies in the context of the western millenarian tradition

The 2012 Mayan calendar prophecies have attracted considerable popular interest, thought little academic attention. Following the papers presented in the 2012 Session at the conference, I suggest that the ‘2012 phenomenon’ is the latest in a historic series of millenarian movements that form an established part of Christian culture. The 2012 prophecies, while Christian in neither tone nor affiliation, may be contextualised within secularised versions of western millenarianism as a whole. My purpose is to create a framework for analysis, placing the 2012 phenomenon within a wider cultural milieu and analysing its texts. I suggest that Karl Poppers paradoxical theory of historicism and activism, and the model of pre-versus post-millenarianism, may both provide means of analysing competing forms of 2012 prophecy.

Astronomy and political theory

Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology,Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture,University of Wales, Lampeter,Ceredigion, Wales, SA48 7ED, United Kingdomemail: n.campion@lamp.ac.ukAbstract.This paper will argue that astronomical models have long been applied to politicaltheory, from the use of the Sun as a symbol of the emperor in Rome to the application ofCopernican theory to the needs of absolute monarchy. We will begin with consideration of astraldivination (the use of astronomy to ascertain divine intentions) in the ancient Near East. Partic-ular attention will be paid to the use of Newton’s discovery that the universe operates accordingto a single set of laws in order to support concepts of political quality and eighteenth centuryNatural Rights theory. We will conclude with consideration of arguments that the discovery ofthe expanding, multi-galaxy universe, stimulated political uncertainty in the 1930s, and thatphotographs of the Earth from Apollo spacecraft encouraged concepts of the ‘global village’.Keywords.Sociology, politics, Mesopotamia, Platonism, Comte

The Importance of Cosmology in Culture: Contexts and Consequences

Scientific cosmology is the study of the universe through astronomy and physics. However, cosmology also has a significant cultural impact. People construct anthropological cosmologies (notions about the way the world works), drawing in scientific theories in order to construct models for activities in disciplines, such as politics and psychology. In addition, the arts (literature, film and painting, for example) comment on cosmological ideas and use them to develop plot lines and content. This chapter illustrates examples of such work, arguing that scientific cosmology should be understood as a significant cultural influence.

Astronomy and the Soul

Astronomers today talk of the visual awe of the night sky as both a motive for their love of the subject and an explanation for astronomy’s origins. In other words, the sight of the stars can have a psychological effect, exciting the imagination and stimulating the emotions. This talk will examine classical and medieval notions of the connection between consciousness and the stars through concepts of the psyche – or soul – developed by Plato and Aristotle and influential in Medieval and Renaissance astronomy. It will consider the consequences of such ideas for western astronomy up to the seventeenth century. This being international year of astronomy, I am exploring Galileo’s role as one of the last astronomers in this tradition.