FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 · 10 AM - 10 PM
The Philosophical Research Society

DAY-LONG SYMPOSIUM + AFTER PARTY

10:30 · Introductory Remarks

10:45  · The Art of Fairy Tales: Wonder, Imagination, and the Macabre
Joanna Ebenstein, Author of The Art of Fairy Tales, Morbid Anatomy Founder and Creative Director

11:45 · The Unicorn: Myth and Magic
Jessica Hundley, Author and Series Editor for Taschen’s Library of Esoterica

12:15 · Mythologies of Metamorphosis in Folktales: “Tam Lin” and “Donkeyskin”
Evans Lansing Smith, PhD., Mythological Studies Professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute

1:30 · Beyond Beauty & the Beast: Animal Brides & Bridegrooms
Liz Andres, Morbid Anatomy Mythologist in Residence

2:30 · Panel: Making Monsters: Celebrating the Grotesque in the Modern Age
Joshua Napier, Cohost of Fright School Podcast with Quatoyiah Murray, Film Critic and Author, and additional guests!

3:45 · The Frog Way: Fairy Tales as an Amphibian Artform
Devon Deimler, PhD., Mythological and Depth Psychology Scholar

4:15 · Wish-Magic in Tales of Jinn and Guardian Angels
Maryam Sayyad, PhD., Mythological Scholar

4:45 · Spinning Straw into Gold: P. L. Travers' Passion for Fairy Tales
Patricia Llosa, M.F.A., L.P., Jungian Analyst and Board Member of The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism

5:30 · “The Art of Fairy Tales” Book Signing

6:00 · After Party
Join us in the atmospheric courtyard of the Philosophical Research Society for drinks, conviviality, and the music of DJs SV68 & the Mystical Sea Hag

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4 · 10 AM - 4 PM
Market, workshops, and offsite events

10am - 12pm · Death Cafe Picnic · Philosophical Research Society
Liz Andres, Mythological Scholar

10am - 1pm · The Fairytale Journey Workshop · Philosophical Research Society
Lisa Cox, Death Midwife

11am - 4pm · The Goblin Market · Philosophical Research Society
A thematic market featuring the work of favorite artists and makers

12:30pm - 2pm · Why We Retell Fairy Tales Workshop (And How They Work) · Philosophical Research Society
Alicia K. Anderson, PhD., Mythology and Depth Psychology Scholar

2pm - 4pm · The Corpse Transformed Workshop · Philosophical Research Society
Guadalupe Arellanes, PhD, Artist, Researcher, and Educator

2pm - 4pm · Morbid Getty Villa Tour · The Getty Villa
For VIP ticket-holders, an exploration of highlights from the Getty Villa’s treasures through a morbid lens, led by arts educator—and Morbid Anatomy Mythologist in Residence—Liz Andres.

SPEAKER AND TEACHER BIOS

Liz Andres is a museum professional and scholar based in Los Angeles. She holds degrees in Art History, Classical Archaeology, and Museum Studies from U.C. Berkeley and the University of Leicester, and currently oversees gallery education at the J. Paul Getty Museum. She is pursuing her PhD in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and is a resident mythologist and frequent presenter with Morbid Anatomy, as well as a regular Death Café host. Her current research interests include hybrid and liminal creatures in ancient Greek art and mythology, museum taxidermy, and representations of death, myth, and nature in western art.

Guadalupe Arellanes, PhD is an artist, researcher, and educator. Her PhD research, (Im)migrant Ecologies: Relating Beyond Borders, draws from critical memory and performance studies to examine the centrality of “place” and relationality across borders. She was one of the first fellows of the Crossing Latinidades Mellon Foundation initiative and in her capacity as a Contributing Artist at the Philosophical Research Society, she has led a number of workshops and lectures, including most recently, Life Inside the Dream: The Black Lodge, Tulpas, and the Hauntings of David Lynch.  

As a visual artist, she investigates the lingering textures of hauntings using surrealist techniques, nonlinear temporalities, repetitive motifs, and dream logic. Her experimental films have been featured in programs by the American Cinematheque, The Film-makers' Cooperative, LEIMAY Foundation, Boston Cyberarts, Beyond Baroque, Harkat Studios, Griffith College Dublin, and more.

Lisa Cox is a shamanic practitioner and Wyoming's Death Midwife. She grew up in Maine and lived all over northern New England before migrating to Wyoming in 2003. With degrees in history, education, public administration and soil science, Lisa has spent much of her adult life teaching, researching and writing. Several years ago she embarked on advanced formal training in Core Shamanism, followed by Death Midwife training and opened her own small practice providing shamanic healing and end-of-life-care and beyond. When not providing exceptional physical, emotional and spiritual care to beings of all sorts, she likely can be found reading, cooking for community, hiking or sitting on a lake in her kayak.

Devon Deimler, PhD is a writer, artist, and mythologist. She is Associate Core Faculty of Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute and is Curator of exhibits and events at OPUS Archives and Research Center. She has served as a Contributing Artist-Scholar and Special Editions Editor at the Philosophical Research Society and has led many arts and music projects over the years.

Joanna Ebenstein is a Brooklyn-based artist, writer, curator, photographer and graphic designer. She is the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy. Her books include The Art of Fairy Tales, Memento Mori: The Art of Contemplating Death to Live a Better Life, Anatomica: The Exquisite and Unsettling Art of Human Anatomy and Death: A Graveside Companion.

Jessica Hundley is a writer, editor, and creative producer specializing in art, mythology, music, and esoteric traditions. She is the series editor of TASCHEN's internationally acclaimed Library of Esoterica, which includes Tarot, Astrology, Plant Magick, Witchcraft, Sacred Sites, Spirit Worlds, and the forthcoming Mystical Beasts. Through books, lectures, and immersive events, her work explores the enduring relationship between creativity, symbolism and the sacred imagination.

Patricia Llosa, M.F.A., L.P., is a Peruvian-American Jungian analyst maintaining a private practice in New York City. With a background in archaeology and art history, she previously spent over two decades as an administrator and educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She serves on the board of ARAS, teaches internationally, and is on the faculty of the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association and the Marion Woodman Foundation and the BodyDreaming in Developmental Trauma Training.

Joshua Napier is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at the University of San Diego’s CalVet grant funded Tele‑Mental Health Training Clinic. He earned his Master of Arts in Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy from The Chicago School.  Joshua is also the cohost of Fright School on the Geekscape Network. Fright School is a podcast in which Joshua, horror nerd, takes Joe, horror newbie, on a weekly discussion focused on the academic, social, political, and cultural relevance of horror media.

Maryam Sayyad, PhD is an independent scholar of mythology, translator, and producer of culturally and mythologically informed work. She is the founder of The Garden of Noetic Arts, an interdisciplinary platform for myth, art, and philosophy, through which she conceived, curated, and hosted the second Mythos of Iran conference (2025).

Dr. Evans Lansing Smith served as Chair for twelve years and is currently a Professor in the Mythological Studies Program at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, in Santa Barbara, CA. In the 1970s, he traveled with Joseph Campbell in Northern France, Egypt, and Kenya. He has taught at colleges and institutes in Switzerland, Italy, France, Maryland, Texas, and California, and is the recipient of awards for distinguished teaching from Midwestern State University in Texas, and the Pacifica Graduate Institute in California. He has a Ph.D. from The Claremont Graduate School, an M.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch International (London and Dublin), and a B.A. from Williams College.

He is the author of two books of poems, two novels, in addition to ten books and numerous articles on comparative literature and myth. He has given presentations for the C.G. Jung Institutes in Küsnacht and New York City, the Seattle Friends of Jung, the Modern Language Association, the American Association for the Study of Popular Culture, the Study of Myth Conference at Pacifica Graduate Institute, the Ojai Writer’s Conference, and the Casa dei Pesci at Circeo San Felice. He has also led Mythological Studies tours on the Arthurian Romances in England and Northern France. His edited volume of Joseph Campbell’s writings and lectures on the Grail Romances was published in 2015, and his edition of the Selected Correspondence of Joseph Campbell in 2019. His most recent publication is Tikkun: Collected Essays on Poetry, Myth, and Literature (2021).