PROGRAMME

29 - 31 October 2020

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “BETWEEN THE WORLDS: MAGIC, MIRACLES AND MYSTICISM”

IEFSEM – BAS

Time 29 October 2020 (Thursday)

9.00-9.30 Registration

9.30-9.45 Welcome address

9.45-10.15 Keynote speech

Defining Magic in the Ancient World

Prof. Mark Geller, PhD, UCL, UK / Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

10.15-10.45 Coffee break

Panel I Panel II

TRACKING MAGIC, MIRACLES AND MYTH AND MAGIC TRANSFORMATIONS

MYSTICIMS THROUGH THE AGES

Moderator: Moderator:
Assoc. Prof. Mila Maeva, PhD Vanya Ivanova, PhD
10.45-11.00 Magicians and Magical Practice in Medieval The Birth of Philosophy: from Mythos to Logos
Slavonic Legal Texts Prof. Dr. Abdülkadir Çücen (Turkey)
Assoc. Prof. Desislava Naydenova, PhD
(Bulgaria)
11.00-11.15 Magic and Miracle: Is There a Difference? A Setting up a Ritual in Deleuze’s Thought-
Look through Medieval Latin Texts Architecture
Assoc. Prof. Stilyana Batalova, PhD (Bulgaria) Cecilia Inkol, PhD Student (Canada)
11.15-11.30 Representation of the Miracles in ‘Kyiv The Danger of Spiritual Reality in the
Diocesan Bulletin’ (1861–1917) S. Grabinski’s Fiction
Assoc. Prof. DSc. Antonina Kizlova (Ukraine) Tatiana Samarina, PhD (Russia)
11.30-11.45 The Concept of Good and Evil in Jewish Transformation of Magic: From the Primitive
Folklore and Mysticism ‘Core’ to Various Ethno-Cultural Forms
Assoc. Prof. Vladimir Janev, PhD Prof. DSc. Victoria Kravchenko (Russia)
(North Macedonia)
11.45-12.00 Discussion Mystical as Ordinary Way of Living
Assist. Prof. Nevena Dimitrova, PhD (Bulgaria)
12.00-12.30 Discussion

12.30-14.00 Lunch
Panel III Panel IV
MIRACULIOUS LANDSCAPES MAGICAL OBJECTS

Moderator:
Assoc. Prof. Elya Tsaneva, PhD
14.00-14.15
Urban Mythology. A Discussion of Urban
Aesthetics, Architecture and Mythology
Assoc. Prof. Ana Negoiță, PhD (Romania)
14.15-14.30 Vilnius as the Sacred City: the Mysticism of
Saint Maria Faustyna Kowalska and the
Revival of the Cult of Divine Mercy at the End
of 20th – Beginning of 21st Century
Radvilė Racėnaitė, PhD (Lithuania)
Moderator:
Assoc. Prof. Desislava Naydenova, PhD
Precious ‘Magic’ from the East – an Example of
How the Imperial Court in Vienna Acquired
Bezoars from the Ottoman Empire
in the 16th Century
Aneliya Stoyanova, PhD Student (Bulgaria)
A New Magical Bowl
Prof. Gaby Abou Samra, PhD (Lebanon)
 PROGRAMME

29 - 31 October 2020

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “BETWEEN THE WORLDS: MAGIC, MIRACLES AND MYSTICISM”

IEFSEM – BAS

14.30-14.45 Sacred Places and Ritual Movement. Notes
on the Impact of Space on Bulgarian Folk
Customs
Bozhidar Parvanov, PhD Student (Bulgaria)
14.45-15.00 Incredible Miracles in Crimean Legends
Anastasiia Zherdieva, PhD (Turkey)
Painters’ Names as Saints’ Amulets: of Inscribing
Oneself into Sacredness
Jakov Đorđević, PhD (Serbia)
Banishing Acts in the Arslan Tash Amulets
Marilyn Love, PhD Student (USA)

15.00-15.30 Discussion Discussion

15.30-16.00
Moderator:
Assoc. Prof. Ksenia Klimova, PhD
16.00-16.15 Mystic Relations to the Homeland
Assoc. Prof. Mila Maeva, PhD (Bulgaria)
16.15-16.30 Sacred Places and Miracles (To the
Legendary Heritage of Heterodox Islam in
Northeastern Bulgaria)
Assoc. Prof. DSc. Veneta Yankova (Hungary)
16.30-16.45 Wonderworking Objects and Miracles at Holy
Sites in Pernik Region in the Past and
Nowadays
Assist. Prof. Tanya Matanova, PhD (Bulgaria)
Coffee break
Moderator:
Mina Hristova, PhD candidate
Magic and Ritual in the Roman Amphitheatre of
Beit Guvrin, Israel
Noy Shemesh, PhD Student (Israel)
Creating an Amulet: Parallels between Christian
and Jewish Magical Traditions in the Balkans
Vuk Dautović, PhD Candidate (Serbia)
Sacred Objects and Miracles Associated with the
Folklore Narrative Element F531.3.2.3 – Giants
Throw Tools Back and Forth
Assoc. Prof. Svetlana Y. Korolyova, PhD (Russia)

16.45-17.15 Discussion Discussion

18.00-20.00 Welcome Reception

30 October 2020 (Friday)

9.15-9.45
Keynote speech

The Writing of Magic and the Formation of Knowledge Communities: The case of Magic Books in
the Early Modern Period

Prof. Ane Ohrvik, PhD, University of Oslo, Norway

Panel V
RELIGION AND MYSTICISM
Moderator:
Prof. DSc. Bogdana Todorova
10.00-10.15 Miracle in the Contemporary Orthodox
Fiction: between Esotericism and
Christianity
Prof. DSc. Pavel Nosachev (Russia)
10.15-10.30 Modern Paganism among the Mari of the
Republic of Tatarstan
Assoc. Prof. Elena Frolova (Russia) and
Arslan Mingaliev (Russia)
Panel VI
MAGICAL ENTANGLEMENTS
OF PAST AND PRESENT
Moderator:
Assist. Prof, Nevena Dimitrova, PhD
Transformation of Magic: From the Primitive ‘Core’ to
Various Ethno-Cultural Forms
Prof. DSc. Victoria Kravchenko (Russia)
Magic Rites at Kryashen-Pagans
Prof. DSc. Tatyana Titova (Russia) and Elena Gushchina
(Russia)
 PROGRAMME

29 - 31 October 2020

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “BETWEEN THE WORLDS: MAGIC, MIRACLES AND MYSTICISM”

IEFSEM – BAS

10.30-10.45 Performing Miracles by Pentecostal Greek Magical Practices to See the Predestined
Women Husband in a Dream
Assist. Prof. Magdalena Slavkova, PhD Oksana V. Tchoekha, PhD (Russia)
(Bulgaria)
10.15-11.15 Discussion Discussion
11.15-11.45 Coffee break
Moderator: Moderator:
Prof. Elena Marushiakova, PhD Prof. DSc. Albena Georgieva

11.45-12.00 The Magic of Mugham and Azerbaijani Traditional Beliefs in Modern Komi-Permyak Culture
Mysticism Assoc. Prof. Iuliia Shkuratok, PhD (Russia)
Prof. DSc. Bogdana Todorova (Bulgaria)
12.00-12.15 Embodied ‘Miracles’: Crossing the On the Question of Magical Practices in the Cult of
Boundaries of Pain Ancestors as a Tool for Forming Collective Memory
Ioannis Mylonelis, PhD Candidate (Greece) among Romanians in Ukraine
Elena Dyakova (Russia)
12.15-12.30 Spirit Possession, Javanese Magic and Saint Patronage: a Modern Point of View
Islam: Current State of Affairs Victoria Legkikh, PhD (Austria)
Eva Rapoport (Thailand)
12.30-13.00 Discussion Discussion
13.00-14.30 Lunch
Panel VII Panel VIII
RITUAL LIVES OF PEOPLE MAGICAL FIGURES AND SOCIAL RELATIONS

Moderator:
Prof. DSc. Valeria Fol
14.30-14.45 The Magical ‘Tying’ Action. Changes in its
Use and Significance in the Bulgarian
Culture of the 19th – 21st Centuries
Assoc. Prof. Dzheni Madzharov, PhD
(Bulgaria)
14.45-15.00 Between the Worlds: The Touch as a
Magical Gesture
Ekaterina Todorova, PhD (Bulgaria)
15.00-15.15 The Empty Night Ritual in Literature, Film
and the Life of Modern Kashubians,
Assist. Prof. Maša Guštin, PhD Assist. Prof.
Natalia WyszogrodzkaLiberadzka, PhD
(Poland)
15.15-15.30 Mystical Perceptions of Sacred Spaces
along Their Tourist Socialisation between
the Worlds of Faith and Art
Liana Galabova (Bulgaria)
15.30-15.45 Discussion
15.45-16.15
16.15-16.45
Panel IX
E-MAGIC AND ONLINE MIRACLES
Moderator:
Prof. DSc. Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
Gypsy Fortune-tellers in Eastern Europe
Prof. Elena Marushiakova, PhD
Prof. Vesselin Popov, PhD
(United Kingdom / Bulgaria)
The Folk Magician and Healer as a Mediator
Prof. DSc. Albena Georgieva (Bulgaria)
Contemporary Images of Healers –
between Holiness and Magic
Assist. Prof. Violeta Kotseva, PhD
(Bulgaria)
Magic in the Eyes of the Muslim Roma
(Cases from Bulgaria)
Assist. Prof. Yelis Erolova, PhD
(Bulgaria)
Wizardry and Magic Ritual Practices of
Amazigh/Berber Women in Morocco
Assoc. Prof. Houssine Soussi, PhD (Morocco)
Discussion
Coffee break
Panel X
INTERPLAY BETWEEN MAGIC AND NARRATIVES
 PROGRAMME

29 - 31 October 2020

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “BETWEEN THE WORLDS: MAGIC, MIRACLES AND MYSTICISM”

IEFSEM – BAS

Moderator:
Prof. DSc. Pavel Nosachev
16.45-17.00 New Mythologies and Miracles in
Bulgaria: Outsmarting ‘Fate’
Mina Hristova, PhD Candidate (Bulgaria)
17.00-17.15 Use and Sharing of Numerical Codes as a
Magical Practice within the Virtual Space
Anja Zlatovic, PhD Student (Serbia)
17.15-17.30 ‘Media-Witches’ in the 21st Century
Russia
Tatiana Khoruzhenko, PhD (Russia)
Moderator:
Jakov Đorđević, PhD
Challenging Realities in Life-Narratives and Memoirs:
Roma Authors (not) Writing about Magic
Sofiya Zahova, PhD (Iceland / United Kingdom)
In Pursuit of Magic Lamp: toward the Nexus of Fiction
and Knowledge
Prof. Kujtim Rrahmani, PhD (Kosovo)
Allusive Magic: The Bibliomantic Transfer of Ethos
from Homer to Virgil to Dante to Notley to Saterstrom
Robert Eric Shoemaker, PhD Student (USA)

17.30-18.00 Discussion Discussion

18.00 End of Conference Day

31 October 2020 (Saturday)

9.30-10.00 Keynote speech

Post Ottoman Embodied Religiosity and Heterogenous Communities. Death Worship and
Pilgrimage Practices among Christians and Muslims in the Balkans and Anatolia

Prof. Fotini Tsibiridou, PhD, Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies,
University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

10.00-10.30 Coffee break

Panel ХI Panel ХII
WORLD BEYOND MAGICAL CREATURES

Moderator:
Assoc. Prof. Vladimir Janev, PhD
10.30-10.45 Obtaining Information from the Dead
Prof. DSc. Valeria Fol (Bulgaria)
10.45-11.00 Sound Codes in Karelian Mythological
Prose as Markers of Liminal State of a
Human
Liliiya Tkachuk, PhD (Russia)
11.00-11.15 Twilight Zone: The Topos of Miracles (on
‘Life of St. Macarius of Rome’)
Prof. DSc. Vanya Lozanova-Stancheva
(Bulgaria)
Moderator:
Sofiya Zahova, PhD
There and Back Again: Little People in Mythology and
Fiction
Prof. Mare Kõiva, PhD (Estonia)
Demons, Genies and Divine Madness
Hannes Schumacher, PhD Student (Germany) Sanem
Su Avcı (Greece)
The Phantasms in the Japanese Culture – both
Ancient Myths and Contemporary Pop Culture
Creatures
Emil Antonov, PhD Student (Bulgaria)

11.15-11.30 Magic in the Turkish Family in Beliefs about Flying Serpents in the Belarusian
Northeastern Bulgaria Tradition and in the Folklore of Russians in Estonia
Behrin Shopova, PhD (Bulgaria) Alena Boganeva (Belarus)
11.30-11.45 Discussion Magic, Mysticism and Miracles in Folk Mythology of
Pomaks’ Community in Greece (Xanthi Region)
Assoc. Prof. Ksenia Klimova, PhD (Russia)
 PROGRAMME

29 - 31 October 2020

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “BETWEEN THE WORLDS: MAGIC, MIRACLES AND MYSTICISM”

IEFSEM – BAS

11.45-12.15 Discussion
12.15-14.00 Lunch
Panel ХІII Panel ХIV
BETWEEN HUMAN WORLD AND NATURE MAGIC, MIRACLES AND MYSTICISM WITHIN
SOCIETIES: POLITICAL AND GENDER ASPECTS

Moderator:
Prof. Kujtim Rrahmani, PhD
14.00-14.15 Etiological Legends and Narratives of
Metamorphosis Related to Trees
Andres Kuperjanov (Estonia)
Moderator:
Prof. Mare Kõiva, PhD
Rehabilitation оf Miracle in Post-Soviet Russia
Assoc. Prof. Elena V. Shakhmatova, PhD (Russia)

14.15-14.30 Sheep-Goats and Shepherds Relationship
in Anatolia in Respective to
Magic, Mysticism and Festivals
Assist. Prof. Ayse H. Tuztas-HorzumluPhD
(Turkey)
14.30-14.45 The (Ir)rational Human-animal
Relationship in Agricultural Traditions
and Contemporary Practices in Bulgaria
(on the Example of the Outbreak of Foot-
and-mouth Disease in 2011)
Assoc. Prof. Petya Bankova, PhD (Bulgaria)
14.45-15.00 The Miraculous Power of Nature on
Children’s Health in Children’s Camps
Radina Radenkova, PhD Student (Bulgaria)
Josip Broz Tito, Imagination and Post-Yugoslav
Quest for a Miracle
Sanja Lazarević Radak, PhD (Serbia)
The New Mysticism in Bulgarian Society after the
Political Changes in 1989
Assist. Prof. Plamena Stoyanova, PhD (Bulgaria)
Sub/versions: The Poetics of Resistance in the
Mysticism of Lal Ded and Mirabai
Sonakshi Srivastava, MA Student (India)

15.00-15.15 Discussion Narratives about Magic in Armenia:

Gender and Power
Amaliya Prtavyan, MA Student (Еstonia)
15.15-15.45 Discussion
15.45-16.15 Final discussion
16.15-18.00 Tour of Sofia’s Magical Places