Author: Johanna Stuckey, PhD
From the Archives of MatriFocus
A Cross-Quarterly Web Magazine for Goddess Women Near & Far
Preeminent scholar of Women’s Spirituality, Johanna H. Stuckey died in 2024 at the age of ninety. Professor Stuckey received her B.A. and M.A. from University of Toronto, and, in 1965, her Ph.D. from Yale University. She was an award-winning York University (Canada) professor, known for her numerous accomplishments in teaching, research, and educational philanthropy. Johanna had a reading knowledge of French, German, Italian, Latin, Classical Greek, and Biblical Hebrew. Her research interests included cultural studies, history, feminist theology, women and religion, and especially ancient near eastern goddesses and the relationship between them and the so-called “dying gods.”
Johanna published two books (see below) and was working on a third when she died. She also published widely in numerous book chapters and journals, including 24 articles in MatriFocus from 2003-2009. Until she retired in 2000, she yearly rewrote the chapter on “Women and Religion” in “Feminist Issues” (edited by Nancy Mandell).
Perhaps Dr. Stuckey’s greatest achievement was the lasting impact she had on her students. Former student Andrea O’Reilly, now a professor herself at York in the School of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, wrote of Professor Stuckey: “Her course gave rise to my passion for Goddess Studies that I have researched and taught over the last 30-plus years. I have returned time and time again to Professor Stuckey’s teaching, and her wisdom continues to inform and inspire my Goddess Studies scholarship.” This quote from Dr. O’Reilly beautifully summarizes Johanna Stuckey’s incredible contributions to knowledge and feminist studies at York University, and through her books and other writings to the world at large.
Her courses were popular with students of all ages, and she appeared often on television and radio. The American Academy of Religion, in an effort to connect more broadly with the media, compiled a list for journalists of 5000 religious-studies scholars from all over North America. Johanna Stuckey was one of the first on their list of goddess scholars.
In the early days of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM), Johanna was often an informal advisor to our founders, encouraging our work and offering wise suggestions for our websites and events.
Books
- Women’s Spirituality: Contemporary Feminist Approaches to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Goddess Worship. (Toronto: Inanna Press, 2010).
- A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient New East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Summer, Babylonia, Assyria and Elam (Eisenbrauns Press, 2021), co-written with the late University of Toronto Professor Douglas R. Frayne, earned them the 2022 Prose Award from the Association of American Publishers. The product of 15 years of research, the handbook is more expansive and covers a wider range of sources and civilizations than any previous reference works on the topic.