Presentations & Publications
Dr. Sledge sees his career primarily as a public educator. His lectures and presentations seek to make knowledge and wisdom that is otherwise hidden, couched in jargon, or very technically complicated accessible to the greater public. Whether it is avant-garde french philosophy, the ins and outs of gnostic cosmology, or the arcane symbolism of occult wisdom, Dr. Sledge hopes to make his lectures lively, entertaining but ultimately intellectually and spiritually rewarding.
If you are interested in inviting Dr. Sledge to speak or teach please use the contact page to reach him!
Below are a few of his most recent lectures and publications:
Sublime Transmutation: The Art and Science of Alchemy
An invited lecture introducing the alchemy from its philosophical, theoretical, and spiritual aspects focusing especially on the artistic and technical aspects of the 'Great Work'
The Fiery and the Fallen
A three part lecture series on the history of angels and demons given throughout 2017 to the Flint Institute of Art invited and sponsored by the Sheppy Dog Lecture Series with hundreds in attendance
Between Magic and Monotheism
A history of the hidden world of magic found in the ancient Jewish and Christian traditions. Normally thought forbidden, I show that magic was a common practice despite the tabooed place it has in these faiths.
Sense Beyond Sense: John Dee, Angelic Language and the Early-Modern Crisis of Representation
Given at Berkeley and for the Cohn-Haddow Center for Jewish Studies, this talk investigates John Dee's mystical philosophy of symbolism and language in the context of early modern semiotics
A Daughter of the Voice - Lecture Series
A history of prophecy and prophets in the Ancient Near Eastern World with special attention to gender and the social position of prophets.
Craft Spirituality: A History of Alcohol in the Ancient Near East
A lecture and workshop on the history of fermentation and the secular and religious uses of alcohol in ancient Israelite and neighboring civilizations.
A Vote not a Veto - Lecture Series
An introduction to Reconstructionist Judaism and the the thought of Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan.
Class Struggle in the Recent Egyptian and Tunisian Revolutions
Invited lecture in which I try to use some of Marx's ideas to grapple with the revolutionary outburst of the "Arab Spring" especially in light of actions by the workers at the Maḥalla plant in Alexandria, Egypt.
The Cabala of Being: John Dee's Semiotic Ontology in the Monas Hieroglyphica
A presentation of my MA thesis at Cambridge. I argue that the difficulty in understanding Dee's most obscure work can be relieved by the application of contemporary semiotics and ontology.
For one of Dr Sledge's most referenced texts see:
“Between Loagaeth and Cosening: Towards an Etiology of John Dee's Spirit Diaries.” Aries, Vol. 10, No. 1., pp.
1-35., 2010
