Psychedelic Pasts, Presents, and Futures

Recordings of workshops are available here.

The Psychedelic Pasts, Presents, and Futures workshop aims to foster conversations about psychedelics in society from outside of psychedelic clinical science and drug development as a means to generate a deeper understanding of what “psychedelic studies” might look like in the years ahead. We will offer a virtual and face-to-face program of events to investigate unresolved tensions around the contexts, consumption, commerce, and control of psychedelic and psychoactive substances in the past, present, and future. Through a series of lectures, workshops, roundtables, public engagement activities, and opportunities for graduate student professionalization, this Borghesi-Mellon workshop will foster inquiry around the following questions: Is it possible to reconcile psychedelics as medicines, sacraments, and dangerous drugs? Who do the compounds and plants benefit? Who has access? How are they being commodified? And what are the political and societal stakes of consciousness-shifting? This project contextualizes sociocultural and biomedical developments in psychedelic science and medicine and aims to bridge gaps between the humanities and the health sciences. Integrating the humanities into this dialogue will enhance understanding of the ethical landscape of drug development, medication outcomes, and clinical science, as well as foster dialogue about psychedelics in pharmacy, scientific, and medical settings.