J. Christian Greer

Bio

J. Christian Greer, PhD, is a scholar of Religious Studies with a special focus on psychedelic culture. He holds a MDiv from Harvard Divinity School, as well as a MA and PhD (cum laude) in Western Esotericism from the University of Amsterdam. While a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Divinity School, he led a series of seminars on global psychedelic cultures, which culminated in the creation of the "Harvard Psychedelic Walking Tour," a free audio guide detailing how the Harvard community has shaped the modern history of psychedelic culture. He is also the co-founder, and currently the co-chair of the "Drugs and Religion" program unit at the American Academy of Religion.

His forthcoming book, "Angelheaded Hipsters: Psychedelic Militancy in Nineteen Eighties North America" (Oxford University Press), explores the expansion of psychedelic culture within fanzine networks in the late Cold War era. He has held teaching positions at Harvard University and Yale University, and is currently a lecturer at Stanford University. His other books include, "Void Machines: the Paper Shrines of J. Christian Greer," a collection of his esoteric artworks, and "Kumano Kodo: Pilgrimage to Powerspots" (co-authored with Dr. Michelle Oing) which analyzes the pilgrimage folklore associated with the rainforests of Japan's Kii Peninsula.

Each winter, he partners with the University of Amsterdam to offer an introduction to the study of occultism, hosted on ZOOM, entitled "FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE: Introduction to Esotericism." Similarly, each summer, he organizes an intensive summer school course on the University of Amsterdam's campus entitled, "THE PSYCHEDELIC UNIVERSE: Global Perspectives on Higher Consciousness."

Academic Appointments

• Lecturer, American Studies