SPECIAL GUESTS INCLUDE
Alfie Bown is Senior Lecturer in Digital Media Culture and Technology in the Department of Digital Humanities. His research focuses on psychoanalysis, digital media and popular culture. His books include Dream Lovers (Pluto, 2022), an investigation into dating apps, sexbots and virtual relationships, Post-Comedy (Polity, 2024), Post-Memes (Punctum, 2019) and The Playstation Dreamworld (Polity, 2017), a psychoanalytic study of video games which is available in Spanish, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovak and many other languages. Currently, he is working on the relationship between psychoanalysis and cybernetics. He is also editor of Everyday Analysis, a pamphlet house and monthly talk series and is a writer/producer for The Magician's Niece.
Kate Burgess is a doctor who has been working closely with me for the past few years. Ever since she did Atheism for Lent, Kate took a passionate interest in the work and world of pyrotheology and quickly consumed everything she could. Since then she has been leading studies and facilitating online groups.
Nicole’s martial arts career spans 24 years. She currently holds the rank of 5th degree black belt.and placed 4th in fighting in the women’s division of the world championships.Nicole’s presentation style is a combination of live demos, humorous stories, and analysis on the mind and spirit connections of martial arts, including psychoanalytic theory.
Duke Special has released 17 albums and EPs, toured all over the world and has been involved in a diverse array of other projects, including writing the music for Deborah Warner’s critically acclaimed 2009 production of Mother Courage and Her Children at London’s National Theatre and being commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to write a series of original songs based on photographs for their exhibition of the photographers Stieglitz, Steichen and Strand.
Kevin Crouse is an emerging church practitioner, community creator, social entrepreneur and coffee professional. He continues to reach back into his fundamentalist origins and teaches at Grace Christian University a course now named, “Ministry After Postmodernity.” He is currently exploring what it might mean to lean into a Metamodern Christianity influenced by ideas of Pyrotheology.
Bethany Garner is a longtime improv performer with ComedySportz in Portland, Oregon, where she plays, referees, and teaches. She’s also performed with ComedySportz theaters across the country and in the UK. Bethany believes improv is more than comedy—it’s a life practice that builds presence, mindfulness, and self-discovery, both onstage and off. She will also happily discuss all things Taylor Swift at any time.
Henrike Gootjes is an artist and regenerative strategist from the Netherlands, holds a Fine Art degree from Minerva, Groningen, and a Master's degree from ArtEZ. With international experience in arts, education, reconciliation, and ecology work, she applies an artistic methodology to enable regenerative processes and activate system change. She is the author of Regeneration, a critical examination into structures of power and a radical approach to reversing intertwined crises and initiating restorative processes.
Cadell Last is a philosopher with a background in anthropology, history and complexity studies. He is the founder of Philosophy Portal and the author of Global Brain Singularity; Sex, Masculinity, God; and Enter the Alien.
Sawyer Macres is a filmmaker, improv performer, and community organizer. He has a background in philosophy and psychoanalysis and runs a group called Negative Space in Colorado, U.S. which - he claims - is his failed attempt at pyrotheology in practice.
Leonie McDonagh is founding member and director of ponydance, with a focus on marrying comedy and dance theatre. In 2014 she was choreographer in residence at the American Dance Festival and was associate artist at the MAC, Belfast. Leonie studied dance at Middlesex University, Sallynoggin College and London Contemporary Dance School. She has been granted several bursaries in professional development from Arts Council Ireland and Northern Ireland. In 2016 she was commissioned by Belfast International Festival to make her first solo show, which was supported by Belfast City Council and presented at Holland Dance Festival. With ponydance, she has produced numerous full scale productions. She also works as a facilitator for community projects in dance, movement and as a freelance choreographer and performer.
Julie Reshe is a Ukrainian philosopher who has developed a theory and technology under the name of negative psychoanalysis. She is a professor at the School of Advanced Studies (SAS) at the University of Tyumen in Siberia, and director of the Institute of Psychoanalysis at the Global Center for Advanced Studies (GCAS).
Helen Rollins is a writer, filmmaker and public intellectual who has worked on various award-winning projects. She lectures and writes across topics related to film and psychoanalysis. She has been a co-host on two philosophy podcasts and has a book on film theory (Psychocinema) with Polity.
Barry Taylor is writer, speaker and public intellectual as well as the chair of theology for GCAS .His work focuses on the intersections between religion, theology and culture, with a particular emphasis on the impact and interplay of contemporary digital life on religion and belief (particularly Western Christianity).
WAKE | Program
SUNDAY 17TH MAY
7:00PM | REGISTRATION | THE BARGE
Wake used to start on the Monday, but people would infomrally congregate on the Sunday evening, so we eventually incorporated that into the official program and made it into our registration event. Now people informally hangout on the Saturday night, which we will eventually incorporate. By around 2050 Wake will be about 3 months long.
MONDAY 18TH MAY
10 | COFFEE | NATIVE
For people who want to grab a coffee before heading to the first event, we’ll be hanging out at a beautiful outdoor coffee shop by the Lagan river, just a couple of minutes walk from Wake HQ.
11 | MOURNING SERVICE | THE WAKE OF GOD | ROSEMOUNT
13 | LUNCH
For lunch there are a lot of great local spots, or you can grab something and eat it back at The Barge.
14:3 | EVERYDAY ANALYSIS | ALFIE BOWN | THE BARGE
16 | BREAK
16:3 | NEGATIVE ANALYSIS | JULIE RESHE | THE BARGE (UPPER LEVEL)
17:3 | DINNER
19:3 | IT’S A MIRACLE | HELEN ROLLINS | THE BARGE
21 | GOD’S NOT READY FOR ME YET | HELEN ROLLINS | THE BARGE
TUESDAY 19TH MAY
10 | COFFEE | NATIVE
For people who want to grab a coffee before heading to the first event, we’ll be hanging out at a beautiful outdoor coffee shop by the Lagan river, just a couple of minutes walk from Wake HQ.
11 | MOURNING SERVICE | AVOIDING THE VOID | ROSEMOUNT
13 | LUNCH
For lunch there are a lot of great local spots, or you can grab something and eat it back at The Barge.
14:3 | EVERYDAY ANALYSIS | ALFIE BOWN | THE BARGE
16 | BREAK
16:3 | NEGATIVE ANALYSIS | JULIE RESHE | THE BARGE (UPPER LEVEL)
17:3 | DINNER
19:3 | WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING? | NICOLE FINKBEINER | THE BARGE
21 | MANIQUINNED | SAWYER MACRES | THE BARGE
WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY
10 | BUS TO THE OLD INN | NATIVE
OR
10:3 | COFFEE | LOAF
11 | BREAKOUT GROUPS
11:45 | BREAKOUT GROUPS
12:15 | LUNCH | PROVIDED
13:3 | THE FUTURE OF CCON | KATE BURGESS AND PETER | GALLERY
15 | FOREST WALK OR FIRESIDE DRINK
17 | PIZZA | LOAF
18 | BUS BACK TO BELFAST | RECEPTION
19:3 | HYMNS TO NOTHING | BARRY TAYLOR | ROSEMOUNT
21 | DANCE PARTY | THE BARGE
THURSDAY 21ST MAY
10 | COFFEE | NATIVE
11 | MOURNING SERVICE | LIVING THE VOID | ROSEMOUNT
13 | LUNCH
14 | PHILOSOPHY PORTAL | CADELL LAST | THE BARGE
15:3 | BREAK
16 | BEYOND DESPAIR | PETER ROLLINS | THE BARGE
17:3 | DINNER | JOHN LONGS
18:3 | PUB CRAWL | STARTS AT JOHN LONGS
21:3 | PUB QUIZZ | LEONIE MCDONAGH | TBC
FRIDAY 22ND MAY - BOLT-ON
11 | SUPER EXCLUSIVE, EXTRA FANCY, VIP BREAKFAST
For those who were kind enough to purchase the bolt-on, we’ll be having a home cooked Ulster Fry together, along with glazed donuts, fresh orange juice, espresso drinks and Mimosas.