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Dr Simon Wilson

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I currently teach on the MA Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred, and supervise three PhD/MPhil researchers. I have a wide range of academic interests, including sacred art and literature, wisdom traditions, the Grail, Eastern Orthodox mystical theology, the writings of Charles Fort, Earth Mysteries, Sky Mysteries and mythopoetic representations of the East Kent landscape.

In 1994 I was awarded a PhD on the life and writings of Thomas De Quincey. Subsequently I moved to Munich, where I taught Business English at the BMW Academy, coaching BMW executives up a level directly below the Board of Directors. I also founded a language-solutions agency which acquired clients at major international companies in and around Munich.

From 2005 onwards I began publishing and lecturing on the subjects which later formed the basis of my academic interests, such as the Grail, Charles Fort, John Michell and stone circles.

On returning to Britain in 2012 I began teaching on the Community Arts and Education programme of Canterbury Christ Church University. Since 2016 I have been a Senior Lecturer at the University.

I teach primarily on Module 4 of the MA Myth Cosmology and the Sacred, which explores the encounter of the individual psyche with larger conceptions of psyche or spirit, and looks at ways in which this encounter has been understood.

Supervision

I am acting as First Supervisor for two researchers: one is working on the Seven Liberal Arts in Masonic education; and the other has just begun work on the Sacred Marriage and education. I am Second Supervisor for a research project on esoteric approaches to conflict resolution and 'space'.

Research projects

I am currently working on the theology of Eastern Orthodox icons, the possibilities and limits of Transformative Learning, and the re-imagining of the East Kent landscape in literature.

I am also co-developer and deliverer of the well-received Walk Ways project, a series of on-campus walks which aim to stimulate the imagination and creativity as well as exercise the body.

Research Projects

  • ‘The Sacred Marriage –dancing from dominance to delight?’. Researcher(s): Rev SAM WERNHAM. Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Wilson, Professor Lynn Revell. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • A comparative exploration of the relationship of mystical / religious experiences with paranormal and non-ordinary states with a particular focus on initiatory experiences and the interplay with mythopeic conceptions of death.. Researcher(s): Mr Tarquin Rees. Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Wilson, Dr Simon Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • An alchemical inquiry into the experience of embodying the wise woman archetype. Researcher(s): Ms Debra Deaville. Supervisor(s): Dr Sarah Christie, Dr Simon Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • An exploration of ancient Greek conceptions of music and the transformation of soul, making use of a structure at the sanctuary at Epidaurus to develop central themes.. Researcher(s): Mrs BETTINA BORG CARDONA. Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Wilson, Professor Bob Bowie. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Louise Livingstone. Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Wilson, Professor Linden West. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • EXPLORING ACADEMIC READING: MEDIUMSHIP, INTUITION AND THE ACADEMY. Researcher(s): Dr Julia Moore. Supervisor(s): Dr Angela Voss, Dr Simon Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • James Hillman, the Post-Jungians and the Study of the Sacred. Researcher(s): Mr Stone Fitzgerald. Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Wilson, Dr Ralph Norman. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Moving through uncertainty with George Meredith. Researcher(s): Mrs Sylvia Hornsby. Supervisor(s): Professor Carolyn Oulton, Dr Simon Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • THE IMPACT OF DAYDREAMING ON CREATIVE EXPLORATION AND PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH ENGLISH LITERARY TEXTS. Researcher(s): Dr Danielle Limos. Supervisor(s): Dr Andrew Humphries, Professor Lynn Revell, Dr Simon Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • The influence of Vedanta as a theological framework underwriting Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man, with reference to his contemporaneous autobiographical, creative and religious writings.. Researcher(s): Mr Joel Fisher. Supervisor(s): Dr Andrew Palmer, Dr Simon Wilson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • The myth and cosmology of past and contemporary cultures demonstrating as metaphor stages and processes of a universal self –organizing principle at work associated with ideas of the sacred.. Researcher(s): Mrs Alexandra Derby. Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Wilson, Dr Angela Voss. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
  • Using transformative techniques drawn from ancient wisdom traditions to help inmates gain self-knowledge, and thereby manage their time in prison and their reinsertion into society more effectively.. Researcher(s): Mr SIMÃO FERREIRA CORTÊS. Supervisor(s): Dr Simon Wilson, Professor Bob Bowie. [Postgraduate Research Project]

I have given regular talks to the Temenos Academy in London, and have presented and chaired panels at conferences at the University of Kent (2011) and Canterbury Christ Church University (2015). In 2015 I appeared in a television documentary on the Grail broadcast in Britain and Germany.

I am a member of the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge.

People search

Contact me

simon.wilson@canterbury.ac.uk

Based in

Faculty of Arts Humanities and Education
School of Humanities and Educational Studies