
Spirituality and Technoscience in UFO Contact Modalities
Patrick Dunn, recipient of the 2025 LLES Award for the Study of Myth, will present research on how the modern UFO phenomenon has been shaped by creative syntheses of traditional spiritual practices and technoscientific operations. He will discuss living communities engaged in CE-5 (Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind) protocols and other “contact modalities,” exploring the idea that UFOs can be understood both as “consciousness-assisted technology” and as “technology-assisted consciousness.” This talk draws from Patrick’s ongoing dissertation research, which examines the boundary-blurring formations of modern UFO/UAP culture and its complex relationship to the history of religions.
The No More Than a Page series offers faculty and graduate students informal opportunities to share work in progress. Presenters pre-circulate no more than a page about a current research project, give brief remarks, and then join in discussion.
This event is free and open to the public. Co-hosted by the Center for the Study of Religion, the Department of Comparative Studies and the Humanities Institute.