As an academic and a magician, I love using my academic knowledge and skills to research and study magic, as well as devise new routines, effects, and scripting in ways that bring more meaning to my magic. I find mentalism and bizarre magic the better genres for melding the two disciplines. There is a great body of literature in the academic world on magic and there are great magicians writing from an academic perspective. Laurence Haas runs an annual conference in Muhlenberg Pennsylvania on the theory and performance of magic that has a call for papers, presentations, and performances. This is a very welcome trend. I used an online survey of mentalists as the basis of a long essay on mentalism and I have been busy researching the history of magic and magick to add more material to my performances. I am not sure if this topic warrants a new sub-forum, but there have been some excellent threads already to whch Mandrake alludes, and the essay section has had some nice stuff as well. I have blogged a few things in the vein as well (
drtoddlandman@blogspot.com).
Here are some good references that illustrate what I mean
Academics working on magic and related topics
Keith Thomas: Religion and the Decline of Magic
Morrison: Modern Alchemy
Albanese: Republic of Mind and Spirit
Warner: Phantasmagoria
Styers: Making Magic
Davies: Popular Magic
Yates: The Occult Philosophy of the Elizabethan Age
Thagard: Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience
Lamont: The First Psychic and The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick
Steinmeyer: Hiding the Elephant
and many more...
Magicians with an academic style
Darwin Ortiz: Strong Magic and Designing Miracles
McBride and Burger: Mystery School
Bob Neale: This is Not a Book
Chuck Hickok: Mentalism Incorporated I and II
Derren Brown: Absolute Magic and Pure Effect
Ken Weber: Maximum Entertainment
Scott Grossberg: Bauta
Jon Thompson: The 'Naked' series
Harlin and Nyrup: Sleight of Mind
Fabio Tabbo: Stop Smoking Mentalism
and many more...