1. Erik Davis was born on June 12,1967 and is an American writer, scholar, journalist and public speaker whose writings have ranged from rock criticism to cultural analysis to creative explorations of esoteric mysticism.
11 Facts About Erik Davis
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Erik Davis is perhaps best known for his book Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information, as well as his work on California counterculture, including Burning Man, the human potential movement, and the writings of Philip K Dick.
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In July 1995, Erik Davis published a piece in Wired magazine called "Technopagans", which was one of the precursors for Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information, a dense cultural history of the mystical, magical, and apocalyptic dreams and fantasies that haunt modern technoculture.
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In 2000, Erik Davis won a Maggie Award for his profile of UFO contactee and Silicon Valley mogul Joe Firmage.
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In 2006, Erik Davis cemented his reputation as a seminal writer of California counter-culture when he released The Visionary State: A Journey Through California's Spiritual Landscape, a coffee table book of pictures and rich essays about California's alternative spiritual movements and architecture.
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In early 2006, Erik Davis started working with composer Mark Nichols on the libretto for a rock opera inspired by Burning Man.
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The resulting production debuted in October of 2009 and was entitled How to Survive the Apocalypse: A Burning Opera, in which Erik Davis performed as the bunny-suited, bullhorn-wielding narrator.
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Erik Davis wrote extensively about West Coast festival culture in photographer Kyer Wiltshire's 2009 book Tribal Revival.
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In 2010, Erik Davis began pursuing a PhD in Religious Studies at Rice University in their Gnosticism, Esotericism and Mysticism program.
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Erik Davis has taught courses at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Rice University, Pacifica, and CIIS.
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Erik Davis has appeared in a number of documentaries about technology and countercultural topics, including DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Electronic Awakening, The Source Family, and Hacking at Leaves.