The Alexander Shulgin Anniversary Seminar is a 12-session online program exploring the life, work, and legacy of chemist and pharmacologist Alexander Shulgin (1925–2014). Organized by the Shulgin Foundation, the Polish Psychedelic Society, and Kronos Philosophical Journal, the seminar offers a structured study of Shulgin’s chemical discoveries, self-experimentation methods, and philosophical perspectives.
Each session focuses on a key aspect of his legacy — from methodology and structure-activity relationships to empathogens, tryptamines, and the ethics of psychedelic research. Participants work with selected readings, archival audio-visual material, and transcripts, drawn from Shulgin’s published and unpublished works.
The seminar is chaired by Andrzej Serafin (PhD) and Jitka Nykodemová (MSc), and includes contributions from researchers, collaborators, and historians familiar with Shulgin’s work. All sessions are held online in English, with materials provided in advance and session recordings published afterward.
Session schedule:
- March 10 – General Characterization of Alexander Shulgin
- March 24 – Philosophical Assumptions of Shulgin’s Research
- April 7 – Structural Models and 1960s Discoveries
- May 5 – Structure-Activity Relationships
- May 19 – PiHKAL and TiHKAL
- September 22 – Methodology and the Process of Discovery
- October 6 – 1970s–80s Discoveries and Lab Notebooks
- October 20 – Tryptamines, DMT, and the Principle of Imitation
- November 3 – Mescaline Derivatives, Cacti Alkaloids, and “Cactihuasca”
- November 17 – MDMA, Empathogens, and Psychotherapy
- December 1 – Drug Policy and the Final Years
- December 15 – Legacy, Memory, and Final Reflections
This seminar offers a rare opportunity to engage in a detailed, critical, and respectful exploration of one of the most original figures in psychedelic research.
