INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: An Extraordinaly Substance - History of Blood and Demons Across Time 2026
October 3, 2026
An online conference that explores the connections between demons and blood
Download Call for Papers
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The history of demonic possession in various cultures and religions since antiquity seems to suggest a deep physiological connection that humans and demons share with blood. The relationship between blood and demons is a complex topic for scholars to approach for a number of reasons. One such reason is because the study of demons in any field often requires an interdisciplinary approach. Demonic figures appear in myth, religion, literature, medical texts, manuscripts, art, archaeology, and iconography. The other challenge for scholars is how to best sift through the various theoretical approaches to demons.
This conference focuses on demonic realism, which takes the view that nonhuman malevolent demons were perceived by humans as real physical (both material and immaterial) entities, and not just as metaphors for evil. Such a perspective is particularly useful for studying these ideas as they exist in various cultural systems of knowledge. The idea that demons may have existed in the human mind as tangible, real, and understood as being capable of intermingling with humans on a physiological and biological level, suggests the need for a revision of our assumptions as to the importance of demons and blood.
PROPOSED TOPICS
We welcome a broad range of topics, particularly those that are interdisciplinary in nature, including, but not limited to:
- Anthropological analyses or approaches to the relationship between demons and blood in human culture
- Historical studies of the changing conceptions of demons and blood in religious, mythological, or folkloric systems of knowledge
- Sociological analyses or approaches that explore the changing cultural understandings of demons and blood
- Philosophical or theological taxonomies or ontologies of demons and blood across time
- Material or archaeological analyses of the connection between demons and blood in human societies across culture, time, and space.
- Literary analyses or approaches of the history of demons and blood in textual evidence
ORGANIZERS
Tiana Blazevic
Tiana Blazevic is in her final months of her PhD in Medieval History at Macquarie University. Her work uses sociological research methods to analyse 13-14th century medical texts on epilepsy. Her work offers new models of categorisation for epilepsy treatments—diagnostic, prevention/intervention, and celestial materiality—to reflect medieval understandings of diseases and demons in the medieval period.
Ryan Denson
Ryan Denson is Assistant Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, working as part of the NCN-funded project “Beyond the Sacred: Conceptions of Nature in Byzantium (4th–15th centuries)”. His research focuses on folklore and cultural conceptions of the supernatural, imaginary animals, and the natural environment in the ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine worlds.
Charlotte Spence
Charlotte Spence is a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Oxford. She completed her PhD at the University of Exeter, which examined the conceptions of the dead and the gods in ancient curse tablets. Before that, Charlotte studied Ancient History at the University of Birmingham. Her research continues to be on ancient curse inscriptions. She is currently working on her next monograph, which focuses on the use of Jewish and Christian powers in curse tablets in Late Antiquity.
SPONSOR
Trivent Publishing and Trivent Medieval
REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSIONS
To apply for this conference please send an abstract of no more than 250 words for a 15-20 minute paper. Please include your name, affiliation, and a brief bio (50-100 words) with submissions.
Please complete the conference registration form HERE.
DATES AND DEADLINES
Contribution description deadline: August 3, 2026
PUBLICATION
Selected conference materials will be published by Trivent Publishing in the book series Lived Realities of Ancient History.
CONFERENCE LANGUAGE
The conference language will be English.
CONFERENCE FEES
Participation and attendance is free but requires prior registration. Please register HERE.
CONTACT
For any questions, please contact us at:
publishing@trivent-publishing.eu
