“Women at the Center: Historic and Contemporary Resonance with Marija Gimbutas’ Work”
Symposium Program 12:00-1:30 EDT, Saturday July 17, 2021
Moderator: Dr. Mara Keller
- “Preservation of Indigenous Language and Women’s Traditions,” Miigam’agan, Wapna”kikewi’sk; N’totm Jagejk, Sovereign of Gespegawagi Tribal Council
- “Crisis Learning and the Work of Marija Gimbutas: Critical Feminist Pedagogical Reflections on Community, Resiliency, and Healing,” Dr. Laura Truxler
- “The Old European Roots of Women’s Circle Dance,” Laura Shannon
- “The New Ideology of Patriarchy in regard to the Neolithic,” Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth
Today there are many repercussions, resonances, and direct responses to Gimbutas’ research and writings. In this panel we will discuss the role of Indigenous language in cultural preservation of women’s traditions, the responses of university students to the study of Gimbutas’ work, the Old European origins of women’s circle dance, and a critique of the recent proposition that the societies of Old Europe were patriarchal.
Miigam’agan is a Wabanaki/Mi’kmaw grandmother of the Jagej Clan from Esgenoôpetitj/ Burnt Church also known as Atlantic Canada. She is Elder-in-Residence at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, NB, a role in which she provides support for Indigenous students and offers opportunities for the students and faculty to learn from Indigenous knowledge keepers.
Dr. Laura Truxler is an Assistant Professor of Integrative Studies Across Cultures and co-director of the First-Year Experience Program at Holy Names University in Oakland, CA where she teaches gender and cultural studies courses through an intersectional feminist lens. She holds a Ph D in Philosophy and Religion with a concentration in Women’s Spirituality from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Considered a ‘grandmother’ of the worldwide Sacred/Circle Dance movement, Laura Shannon has been researching, teaching, and writing about traditional women’s dances for over thirty years. Laura is a faculty member of the Findhorn Foundation Sacred Dance Department and Founding Director of the Athena Institute for Women’s Dance and Culture.
Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth, PhD, has published extensively on matriarchal societies and culture, and is the founder of the discipline of Modern Matriarchal Studies. Her magnum opus is Matriarchal Societies. Studies on Indigenous Cultures across the Globe (2003).
Dr. Mara Keller is Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). She is a Goddess thealogian and spiritual feminist philosopher committed to women’s embodied spirituality and multicultural eco-social justice, and has published numerous articles on these topics.
Please note: We realize that there may be schedule conflicts during the weekend of the symposium. To give you plenty of time to view the program at leisure, all sessions will remain available, to those who register, for twelve months following the event.
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