Welcome

Produced in collaboration with the Science Museum Group and Senate House Library, ‘The Media of Mediumship: Encountering the Material Culture of Modern Occultism in Britain’s Science, Technology, and Magic Collections’ aims to transform understandings of the relationship between science, technology, and unorthodox forms of spiritual belief in modern Britain. 

This project will produce a knowledge exchange, events, and creative performance programme designed to showcase the occultural use history of artefacts and collections held by the Science Museum Group and Senate House Library. These activities will explore how seemingly secular technological and scientific instruments— cameras, radios, telegraphs, and other objects— have been used by spiritual practitioners and sceptics alike to probe the existence of an unseen world. The project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and follows on from the Popular Occulture in Britain, 1875-1947 research network.

Earlier in 2022, the ‘Media of Mediumship’ team produced three curatorial resources for the Science Museum:

• ‘Telecommunications and the Occult’
• ‘Using Science to Investigate the Paranormal’
• ‘Spirit Photography and the Occult: Making the Invisible Visible’

All events are free and open to the public.