Missouri State University

Skip to content Skip to navigation
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Religious Studies Blog

Thomas Moore Johnson Symposium

November 18, 2019 by Jane Terry

photo showing the Thomas Moore Johnson Library with guests Dr. Vadim Putzu (MSU), Tom Johnson (TMJ's grandson), and others
At the Thomas Moore Johnson Library and Museum in Osceola; from left, Dr. Vadim Putzu (MSU),Tom Johnson (Thomas Moore’s grandson), and other scholars and members of the JLM board

by Dr. Vadim Putzu

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of TMJ’s passing and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Johnson Library and Museum, which is a partner of MSU Libraries, I organized, in collaboration with Dean Peters and his staff, a two-day event. Plato’s supposed birthday (November 7) was our date of choice since on that day TMJ himself had organized Platonic symposia in 1888-90.

On Thursday afternoon, after greetings from Provost Einhellig and introductions by Dean Peters and myself, all the four scholars who have written about TMJ since the early 1990s (excluding yours truly) gave presentations on various aspects of his work. Patrick Bowen spoke about TMJ’s role as a galvanizer of new religious movements, Paul Johnson discussed his collaboration with an eccentric esotericist known under the pen name Zanoni, Jay Bregman compared his understanding of Neoplatonism with that of his co-editor’s Alexander Wilder, and Natalie Whitaker (an MSU alumna) analyzed his annotations to various books of occultism. Anne Baker of Special Collections put together an intriguing display of TMJ’s letters, manuscripts, and rare old books which attracted the attention of all attendees. An audience of about 60 students, MSU faculty, and community members attended the afternoon lectures, including TMJ’s grandson, Tom Johnson, who welcomed all participants.

On Friday morning, a small group of TMJ scholars and members of the JLM board gathered in Osceola, at the Johnson mansion, to tour the library and museum with Tom Johnson—the first time since the establishment of the JLM that all living scholars of TMJ gathered together at his house and library (see picture, above).

From what I have heard over this past week, all attendees were very happy with the symposium, and glad to have learnt about “Missouri’s greatest man” in 1915. As we prepare to make the symposium presentations available on YouTube, and possibly to publish them in the JLM Journal, it is hoped that making TMJ and the JLM more widely known to the MSU community and the Ozarks will raise an interest for related preservation and research projects—the most urgent being the creation of a complete catalogue of the Johnson Library holdings.

 

 

Filed Under: College of Humanities and Public Affairs, community, diversity, Experts, public affairs, religious studies, research

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

  • May 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011

Categories

  • Alumni
  • Audio and Video
  • College of Arts and Letters
  • College of Health and Human Services
  • College of Humanities and Public Affairs
  • community
  • community
  • diversity
  • Experts
  • Faculty
  • Faculty and Staff Page
  • Gezer Project
  • Guest Lectures
  • missouri state journal
  • Modern and classical languages
  • News
  • News Releases
  • public affairs
  • public affairs
  • publication
  • publications
  • REL Office
  • religious studies
  • research
  • Staff
  • Students
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Make your Missouri statementMake your Missouri statement
  • Last Modified: November 18, 2019
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Disclosures
  • EO/AA/M/F/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
  • © Board of Governors, Missouri State University
  • Contact Information
  • Healthcare MRFs