Chronology & Catastrophism ReviewJournal of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies
1995 Special Issue (Volume XVII)Cosmic CatastrophismVelikovsky 100th Birthday Memorial MeetingProceedings of the SIS 1995 Braziers College Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The SIS Conference at Braziers College, Ipsden, Oxfordshire, was planned as a tribute to Immanuel Velikovsky on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Benny Peiser had invited speakers on ancient history, ancient monuments and the scientific evidence for catastrophes in the Earth's recent history. However in keeping with the theme of the event, time was also devoted to more personal reflections on Velikovsky and his legacy. With such a diverse selection of speakers and opinions represented, the Conference objectives were different from the 1993 SIS Cambridge Conference ('Evidence that the Earth has Suffered Catastrophes of Cosmic Origin in Historic Times') - the intention was to stimulate, entertain and inform with a mix of serious material and more speculative ideas. This resulted in some interesting exchanges. John Dayton was challenged over his reliance on ice core evidence - yet his conclusions were potentially valuable and important. Participants were impressed with the wealth of evidence of catastrophe presented by Bernard Delair but they queried its cause and date. Graham Hancock's wonderful photographs went down well but reaction to his theories was more critical, particularly his reliance on astronomical back-calculations for dating. No consensus or firm conclusions, perhaps, but certainly plenty of food for thought. Editor: Thanks are due to Brian Moore, Val Pearce, Jill Abery, David Rohl, Graham Hope and Rob Horne for their work in preparing the material for this publication. © The Society for Interdisciplinary Studies, 1996 ISSN 0953 0053 |