Bay Area
Zandbergen, A.D.
Citation
Zandbergen, A. D. (2011, May 25). New edge : technology and spirituality in
the San Francisco Bay Area. Retrieved fromhttps://hdl.handle.net/1887/17671
Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown)
License: Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden
Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/17671
New Edge
Technology and Spirituality in the San Francisco Bay Area
DORIEN ZANDBERGEN
Produced by F&N Boekservice
© 2011, Dorien Zandbergen, Leiden, The Netherlands
Front and back covers designed by Lise van der Linden, Jantien Mijwaart and Dorien Zandbergen.
The photographs on both covers were taken at the Burning Man festival 2005 by
New Edge
Technology and Spirituality in the San Francisco Bay Area
PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van
de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden,
op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties
te verdedigen op woensdag 25 mei 2011 klokke 15.00 uur
door Dorien Zandbergen geboren te Hardenberg
In 1977
PROMOTIECOMMISSIE
Promotor: Prof. Dr. P.J. Pels
Co-Promotoren: Dr. I.L.Stengs, Meertens Instituut Dr. S.D.Aupers, EUR
Overige leden
Promotiecommissie: Prof. Dr. P. ter Keurs Prof. Dr. P. Spyer
Prof. Dr. D. Houtman, EUR
v Table of Contents
Introduction: The Dawn of the Age of the Homo Cyber 1
Suspended Between Enlightenment and Enchantment 1
Cybergnosis 4
New Edge 8
Studies of Technoreligion and Technospirituality 9
Bringing the San Francisco Bay Area into View 14
The Ideal and Practice of Multi-Sited Ethnography 16 Doing Anthropology and Ethnographic Self-Reflexivity 19
My Fieldwork Practices 22
The Chapters of this Dissertation 24
Chapter One: The Emic Sociology of New Edge. Celebrating Augmentation
and Dissociation 27
1.1. Studying Cybergnosis 29
Charting the New Edge Paradox 29
The Accelerating Change Conference – Palo Alto September 2005 35
High-tech Life in the San Francisco Bay Area 41
1.2. Studying New Edge 45
Homey's Technospirituality 46
Rave Culture 48
Mondo 2000 51
“The Sound of Panting” 53
Opposing Factory Culture 55
Bypassing the Reducing Valve 56
Celebrating Dissociation: Raves, Rollercoasters and Virtual Reality 57
Celebrating Augmentation 58
Opposing Anchors On Development 61
The Ambiguity of New Edge 63
1.3. A Historical Perspective: The Whole Earth Catalog
and the Merry Pranksters 65
The Merry Pranksters: Celebrating Dissociation 66
The Whole Earth Catalog: Celebrating Augmentation 72
A History of New Edge 81
Conclusion 81
2.1. Gnosis As Transformational Knowledge 86 Eclectic Transformation 1: The Gnostic Sanctuary and Raves as Molting Rituals 87 Eclectic Transformation 2: VIDEOPLACE and Singing To The Trees 91 Rave Culture and Virtual Worlds as 'Molting Rituals' 93 2.2. Molting Rituals: Burning Man and Virtual Worlds 95
Burning Man 95
Repertoires of Transformation at Burning Man 105
Narratives of Risk and Survival at Burning Man 107
Pronoia, Magic and Slack: Tales of Possitive Connection: 111
The Expansive Body 113
Virtual Worlds 116
Apocalyptic Visions 119
A Cosmic-Religious Sense 123
Molting Rituals for the New Species 125
2.3. New Edge Transformation in Historical Perspective 126
The Sensorium 127
The Sensorium and Synchronicity 128
The Sensorium and Technology 131
Conclusion 135
Chapter Three: The Style of New Edge. Negotiating Technoscience
and New Age 137
3.1. Being 'In-Between' 140
New Edge rejections of New Age 140
The Fractal 142
The Fractal as Spiritual Tool 144
New Age and New Edge 149
3.2. New Edge Style 152
Irony 154
Different Interpretations of Irony 156
Multiplicity 159
Hyperbolic Performance 160
3.3. The Backstage of New Edge 163
Challenging the Religion-Science Dichotomy 163
Gender 168
vii Chapter Four: The Sociality of New Edge.
Temporary Autonomous Zones 173
4.1. Relational Understandings of Ritual 175
Pronoia and Paranoia 175
Immersive Environments as Intrinsically Sacred 178 Immersive Environments as Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZ) 180
4.2. The Emic Sociality of New Edge 187
New Edge Readings of Hacking 189
4.3. Generating Trust 200
The Psychedelics Advocate 201
The Artist 206
The Hacker 211
The Reality Hacker 214
Temporary Autonomous Zones and Trust 218
Returning To Burning Man 221
Conclusion 227
