Chas S. Clifton
Chas S. Clifton (b.1951) is an American academic, author and historian who specialises in the fields of English studies and Pagan studies. Clifton currently holds a teaching position in English at Colorado State University-Pueblo, prior to which he taught at Pueblo Community College.
A practicing Pagan since the early 1970s, Clifton has written widely on the subject, in both a practical and an academic capacity, with a particular emphasis on the Pagan religion of Wicca. He has become a prominent figure in the field of Pagan studies, editing both the peer-reviewed academic journal The Pomegranate,[1] and the Pagan Studies Series of academic books published by AltaMira Press.[2] He also serves as co-chair of the American Academy of Religion's Pagan Studies Group.[3]
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[edit] Biography
Clifton was born in 1951.[4] He first formally took part in the Pagan movement in 1972, when he was an undergraduate at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.[5]
In 2001, Clifton became editor of The Pomegranate, a scholarly journal devoted to Pagan studies that was then based in North America. Taking over the position from Fritz Muntean, who had originally co-founded the journal back in 1996, together they embarked on a search to secure a new publisher, eventually signing an agreement with the London-based company Equinox Publishing. Clifton proceeded to oversee a series of changes to the journal, transforming its subtitle from A New Journal of Neopagan Thought to The International Journal of Pagan Studies and implementing a peer review system for judging the papers submitted to it for publication.[6]
[edit] Publications
- Ghost Tales of Cripple Creek (1983) Little London Pr, ISBN 0936564296, ISBN 0-936564-29-6
- Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics (1992) ABC-Clio Inc, ISBN 0874366003, ISBN 0-87436-600-3
- (Editor) Witchcraft Today, Book One: Witchcraft Today the Modern Craft Movement (1992) Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, ISBN 0875423779, ISBN 0-87542-377-9
- (Editor) Witchcraft Today Book Two: Modern Rites of Passage (1993) Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, ISBN 0875423787, ISBN 0-87542-378-7
- (Editor) Witchcraft Today, Book Three: Shamanism and Witchcraft (1995) Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, ISBN 1567181503, ISBN 1-56718-150-3
- (Editor) Witchcraft today, Book Four: Living Between Two Worlds: Challenges of the Modern Witch (1996) Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, ISBN 1567181511, ISBN 1-56718-151-1
- Sacred Mask Sacred Dance (with Evan John Jones) (1997) Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, ISBN 1567183735, ISBN 1-56718-373-5
- 'The Significance of Aradia.' In Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches: A New Translation, edited by Mario Pazzaglini and Dina Pazzaglini, 59-80. Phoenix Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-919345-34-4.
- 'Smokey and the Sacred: Nature Religion, Civil Religion, and American Paganism,' Ecotheology: The Journal of Religion, Nature and the Environment, 8(1) (August 2003): 50-60.
- The Paganism Reader. Edited by Chas S. Clifton and Graham Harvey (2004) Softcover: Routledge, ISBN 0415303532, ISBN 0-415-30353-2; Hardcover: Routledge, ISBN 0415303524, ISBN 0-415-30352-4
- Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca And Contemporary Paganism in America (2006) Softcover: Rowman & Littlefield . ISBN 0759102023, ISBN 0-7591-0202-3; Hardcover: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0759102015, ISBN 0-7591-0201-5
[edit] References
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies". www.equinoxjournals.com. http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/pom/index. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Pagan Studies / AltaMira Press". www.csulb.edu. http://www.csulb.edu/~wgriffin/paganstudies/. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ "Contemporary Pagan Studies". www.aarweb.org. http://www.aarweb.org/Meetings/Annual_Meeting/Program_Units/PUinformation.asp?PUNum=AARPU139. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
- ^ Rabinovitch, Shelley; Lewis, James (2004). "Clifton, Chas S.". The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism. Citadel Press. pp. 48–49. ISBN 9780806524078. http://books.google.com/books?id=xuvLRbKvyGEC.
- ^ Clifton 2006. p. xi.
- ^ Clifton 2004. pp. 5–6.
[edit] Bibliography
- Clifton, Chas S. (2004). "The Pomegranate Returns from the Underworld: A Letter from the Editor". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies (London: Equinox) 6 (1): pp. 5–10.
[edit] Further reading
- 1999 interview in The Wiccan/Pagan Times
- Profile in Morganna Davies and Aradia Lynch, Keepers of the Flame, (2001) Olympian Press ISBN 978-0970901309
- Colorado State University-Pueblo Faculty page
[edit] Reviews
- Sean McCloud, book review of Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America H-Net American Studies, September 2006.
- W. Michael Ashcraft. book review of Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America. Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft, 2 (1) (Summer 2007): 82-84.
- W. Michael Ashcraft. book review of The Paganism Reader. Nova Religio 11(1) (August 2007): 133-135.
- Jon P. Bloch. book review of Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 47 (1) (March 2008):171–173
- Murph Pizza. book review of Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America. The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 9(2) (2007): 200-201.
- Cliff Landis. book review of Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America.. Cliff Landis Net, 10 January 2008.
