The UK-Skeptics conference 2009 will take place at Muncaster Castle in Cumbria during the weekend 18^th - 20^th September. Muncaster Castle is a fabulous location on the west coast where a lot of research has been done into haunting experiences and so serves as an excellent backdrop for a conference examining the topics of paranormal and anomalous experiences.

The aim of the conference is to take a balanced view of parapsychological issues and we will be getting talks from all perspectives (not only from skeptics) in the hope of increasing understanding of the issues and generating healthy debate in a friendly manner with those on all sides of the Paranormal debate.

In order to achieve this, an excellent selection of internationally renowned speakers from several disciplines including neuroscience, social psychology, parapsychology, history, and sociology have been invited to give their perspectives on anomalous experience.

Speakers and topics include:

Chris French

The Psychology of Anomalous Experiences.

Chris French is a Professor of Psychology and Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths. He has published over 100 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics within psychology. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims. He is the editor of The Skeptic magazine (UK version).(www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/apru/)

Jason Braithwaite

The Haunted Brain: Towards a Cognitive Neuroscience of Anomalous Cognition.

Dr Jason Braithwaite is a Senior Research Fellow at the Behavioural Brain Sciences Centre, University of Birmingham. His mainstream research interests are the visual cognitive neurosciences, more specifically - visual selective attention, memory and awareness. He publishes widely in top international peer-reviewed journals in the field of visual cognition. Dr Braithwaite has also published studies investigating aspects of hallucination and anomalous cognition including Apparitions / Hauntings, the Out-of-Body Experience and Near-Death Experiences.

Nick Pope

The Ministry of Defence X-files.

Nick Pope used to work at the Ministry of Defence, where from 1991 to 1994 he was posted to a division where his duties included investigating UFOs. Initially sceptical, his official research and investigation convinced him that the UFO phenomenon raised important defence, national security and flight safety issues. He was particularly interested in cases where the witnesses were pilots or where UFOs were tracked on radar. Nick is now recognised as a leading authority on UFOs and the unexplained. (www.nickpope.net)

David Wilde

Interpreting the anomalous: finding meaning in out-of-body and near-death experiences.

David Wilde gained his undergraduate Degree in Psychology with Human Physiology at the University of Sunderland in 1996. Following that he graduated with an MSc in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey in 1997. After working for a time as an Environmental Psychologist, he took up a research post in 2000 at the University of Sheffield working in the field of Palliative Care. In 2005, he attained a Diploma in Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology from Liverpool John Moore's University and in the same year joined the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Manchester, working as a research and teaching assistant. David is currently a PhD candidate at Manchester investigating the occurrence and phenomenology of out-of-body and near-death experiences. Outside of work, he enjoys a wide variety of activities such as reading, hill walking, computing and visiting the cinema and theatre.

Karen Douglas

The social psychology of conspiracy beliefs.

Karen Douglas received her PhD in social psychology from the Australian National University and has worked in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. She is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Kent. Karen's research examines the psychological factors underlying people's beliefs in conspiracy theories. She is also interested in language and communication, persuasion and attitude change, and justice beliefs. Karen's research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the British Academy. She has published her work widely in social psychological journals and books.

Wendy Cousins

Just Sex, Lies & Séances? The Curious Chronicles of Science & Psychics.

Dr Wendy Cousins is a psychologist and university lecturer with research interests in health and social care provision. Her doctoral work at Queens University Belfast was on the topic of health and social services complaints, although she prefers to describe herself as having a PhD in Complaining! Currently carrying out research on epilepsy care, she has a growing interest in altered states of consciousness, such as hypnosis and sleep. She is an Honorary Associate of the Centre for Research on Consciousness and Anomalous Psychology at Lund University in Sweden. Outside of work she is fascinated by the history of Psychical Research.

Chris Roe

Psi as Unconscious: A review of some recent research developments in parapsychology.

Chris Roe graduated with his PhD from Edinburgh University in 1996 and now works at the University of Northampton where he is senior lecturer in Psychology and Research Leader for the Psychology Division. In 1999 he won the D. Scott Rogo Award for Parapsychological Literature and was a Perrott-Warrick Researcher 2000-5, working on a project to explore the interaction between sender, receiver and experimenter in free response ESP experiments. He currently serves as a Board Member for the Parapsychological Association and as a Council Member of the Society for Psychical Research. He is Editor of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research and an Editorial Consultant for the European Journal of Parapsychology. His research interests include the nature and origin of paranormal beliefs and experiences as well as experimental tests of putative PK and ESP effects, particularly looking for psychological correlates.

Christine Mohr

A Neuroscientist looks at the Paranormal.

Dr. Mohr obtained a PhD in 2001 for her work on the "neuropsychology of magical belief" at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and has continued working in this field ever since. After taking on post-doctoral positions in Geneva (Switzerland) and Edmonton (Canada), she joined the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol in 2004 where she teaches neuropsychiatry. Strongly guided by her neuropsychological background, she mainly investigates and publishes on the brain correlates of paranormal beliefs and experiences (including out-of-body experiences). Although not primarily concerned with the question of whether the paranormal exists or not (she is a skeptic), her research seeks to understand why paranormal belief is widely distributed in the general population in the face of scant supporting scientific evidence.

John Walliss

Between the Worlds: Mediumship in the 21st Century.

Dr John Walliss is Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Religion and Director of the Centre for Millennialism Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Liverpool Hope University. His research interests are situated broadly in the study of contemporary millennialism/apocalypticism, particularly in the areas of millennialism and violence and the influence of apocalyptic texts within popular culture. Towards the end of his PhD work he became interested in spiritualism, and has researched the role that mediumship plays in maintaining bonds between the living and the dead, the lives of mediums themselves and the process by which they became mediums. He has published widely, most notably The Brahma Kumaris as a Reflexive Tradition (Ashgate, 2002), Apocalyptic Trajectories: Millenarianism and Violence in the Contemporary World (Peter Lang, 2004), Apocalypse in Uganda: The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (Ashgate, forthcoming), and Apocalyptic Texts and Popular Culture (Equinox, forthcoming). He is also editor for the Sheffield Phoenix Press series The Apocalypse and Popular Culture.

As is clear from the location chosen and the invited speakers, we have decided to make the conference a quality event rather than go for minimum cost; however, the price per head will still only be £75.

This price includes: access to both days of the conference (10 talks, 5 per-day); access to the Friday night welcoming wine reception (meet the speakers) to be held in the castle; tea, coffee and biscuits each morning and afternoon session; a two course hot fork buffet style lunch on Saturday and Sunday, full access to the castle and grounds for the duration of the conference (note castle is open Friday and Sunday - grounds open all the time).

In addition, an optional 3-course dinner for speakers and delegates is available on Saturday evening in the castle (priced separately £45 per-head).

Numbers will be limited and allocated on a first come first served basis.

Booking details

For more information on the castle, its surroundings, accommodation details (early bookers may be able to get accommodation in the castle itself), and how to order your booking pack see:

UK-Skeptics conference at Muncaster Castle

The booking form is available here: Conference booking form (PDF)

---

Related:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=71593479781

More background information is available in our newletters:

Newsletter-1 (PDF)

Newsletter-2 (PDF)

---

This conference is not just another ‘skepticism for skeptics’ event. It will appeal to those who are interested in engaging with topics and considering them from more than one angle. It will prove to be educational, stimulating, and even challenging, no matter where you currently stand on the issues.

We’d love to see you there.

Regards,
UK-Skeptics team.