Spiritual Warfare and Revolutionary Demonology

Lain Iwakura and S. Jonathon O’Donnell in conversation

Scholar of religion S. Jonathon O’Donnell joins theoretician and blogger Lain Iwakura to discuss the implications of the fundamentalist right’s spiritual war against a world full of demons, and the possibility of subverting its tools. Religious warriors portray anything that fails to fit into the prescribed order as worthy of exorcism. Yet demonology can also be a surprising source of political and social resistance, of subversive occultism and insurrectional necromancy.

Lain Iwakura is a political activist, writer, lecturer, DJ, and sound artist. For several years, they were part of the Institut für vergleichende Irrelevanz in Frankfurt, hosting events for the collective production of art and theoretical discourse. Currently, they are part of the Institute for Sonic Welfare and the curatorial team of Forum Stadtpark. In their artistic work, Iwakura combines sociophilosophical questions with concept art and sonic thinking. Together with Achim Szepanski, they run the labels mille plateaux and Force Inc.

S. Jonathon O’Donnell is a specialist in American religious and cultural studies, with a focus on demonization, sovereign power, and the religious right. They are currently a visiting scholar at Queen’s University Belfast as well as an adjunct assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin and the University of Leeds. Their first monograph, Passing Orders: Demonology and Sovereignty in American Spiritual Warfare (Fordham University Press), was published in 2021.

! This conversation is in English !

• Free Entry, please register: tickets@steirischerherbst.at