American Aurora: Lecture by Timothy Grieve-Carlson

Please join us for a book talk by Timothy Grieve-Carlson: November 7, 2024 at 6:00 pm.

Lecture will take place in the Library followed by a reception in the Ratskeller.

Timothy Grieve-Carlson’s new book American Aurora: Environment and Apocalypse in the Life of Johannes Kelpius examines the life and legacy of a profoundly influential and stubbornly mysterious figure from Pennsylvania German history, the theologian Johannes Kelpius (1667-1707). Drawing on archival research and newly translated source material, American Aurora explores the esoteric dimensions of Kelpius’s Christianity before turning to his legacy in American religion and literature. Far from being an inscrutable mystic on the colonial frontier, Johannes Kelpius was a major intellectual and religious figure in early Pennsylvania and beyond. The life of Johannes Kelpius shows us the importance of environmental knowledge during the Little Ice Age and reshapes our understanding of early Pennsylvania’s religion and culture.Copies of Dr. Grieve-Carlson's book will be available for purchase at the event.

Timothy Grieve-Carlson is a Pennsylvania-based scholar and teacher who works at the intersection of esotericism, ecology, and American religious history. He is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. His book, American Aurora: Environment and Apocalypse in the Life of Johannes Kelpius (Oxford University Press 2024), explores environmental knowledge, climate change, and esoteric Christianity in early modern Europe and Pennsylvania. Tim received a  German Historical Institute fellowship at the Horner Library in 2021, which is where he did some of the research for his book.