The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology
The ASWM 2021 Symposium held virtually on symposium website.
Great news! There is now an opportunity to register to see all the recordings of our 2021 symposium in celebration of Marija Gimbutas’ centennial. The entire program of scholarly panels, arts and culture are ready for new registrations.
To give you plenty of time to view the program at leisure, all sessions will remain available for a year from the date of purchase.
A virtual event
Marija Gimbutas’ pioneering scholarship on the earliest horticultural societies focuses on Old European cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean (6500-3500 BCE). She founded a new interdisciplinary field, archaeomythology, which investigates beliefs, rituals, symbols, and social structures of these early societies. The imagery she explored resonates with mysteries of the living world that are described in other indigenous cultures. Archaeomythology is inspiring a new generation of scholars to develop a deeper understanding of past and present earth-based societies. 
Our ASWM online symposium seeks to expand this understanding by highlighting the voices of First Nations and Indigenous scholars to discuss indigenous, Old European, and other Nature-based cultures. Our program includes: “Celebrating a Great Woman of Science: The Life and Legacy of Archaeomythologist Marija Gimbutas” “Women at the Center: Historic and Contemporary Resonances with Marija Gimbutas’ Work” “Marija Gimbutas’ ‘Collision of Cultures’: the Kurgan Invasions and the End of Old Europe” “Voices from/for the Land: Wisdom of Place and Tradition” “The Human/Animal Connection and Sacred Stories” “The Voice of the Goddess” (film) “Inspired by Marija: Artists, Writers, and Performers Roundtable” “Remembering Marija: Roundtable” “An Exaltation of Goddesses: A Poetry Performance”
Our 2021 Symposium is presented in cooperation with the Institute of Archaeomythology (IAM). Inspired by the scholarship of Lithuanian-American archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, IAM is an international organization of scholars dedicated to fostering an interdisciplinary approach to cultural research with particular emphasis on the beliefs, rituals, social structure, and symbolism of past and present societies. The Institute encourages dialogue among specialists from diverse fields by sponsoring international symposia, by publishing collected papers and monographs, and by promoting creative collaboration within an atmosphere of mutual support. 
Our thanks to the Lithuanian Foundation for their grant support of our our 2021 Symposium. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization providing support for initiatives that preserve and foster Lithuanian culture and traditions in the United States, Lithuania, and Lithuanian communities worldwide. 
Special thanks to Annie Finch and the talented women of the Poetry Witch Community for the performance “An Exaltation of Goddesses.” Annie says the Community “brings together women poets and poetry lovers, feminists, and women-centered spiritual seekers and practitioners from around the world. We practice poetry, scansion, and magic, weave webs of connection and empowerment–and explore the rhythmic languages of poetry and life–so we can learn to craft our lives and words in more joyfully powerful ways.”
In this session, Dr. Harald Haarmann and Joan Marler discuss the
significance of the civilization of Old Europe that sustained
peaceful, egalitarian, matristic societies throughout southeastern
and central Europe for three millennia (c. 6500-3500 BCE). The
arrival of nomadic herders from the Pontic-Caspian steppes created a
“collision of cultures” that caused the destruction of Old Europe,
the spread of patriarchal systems, male dominance, and warfare that
have continued to the present day. The subsequent development of
European societies cannot be fully understood without recognizing the impact of this collision in which certain Old European patterns have remarkably endured.
Dr. Harald Haarmann is a German linguist and cultural scientist who taught and conducted research at a number of German and Japanese universities, and is a member of the Research Centre on Multilingualism in Brussels. He is also Vice-President of the Institute of Archaeomythology, and director of its European branch. Haarmann is the author of more than 40 books in eight languages. His studies on the influence of Old Europen cultures include Myth as source of knowledge in early western thought (2015); Roots of ancient Greek civilization: The influence of Old Europe (2014); Interacting with figurines: Seven dimensions in the study of imagery (2009); and (with Joan Marler) Introducing the Mythological Crescent. Ancient beliefs and imagery connecting Eurasia with Anatolia (2008).
To give you plenty of time to view the program at leisure, all sessions will remain available, to those who register, until the end of July 2022.
Performances of Dance, Opera, and Contemporary Song
Our 2021 program is enhanced by the inclusion of performances by accomplished musicians and composers. We especially want to highlight samples of Lithuanian traditional culture and contemporary performance, of which Marija Gimbutas was justifiably proud. These performances are included during interludes between sessions, and are also available to view at any time in our “On Demand” page which is open to the public.
Our dancers are from the renowned Lithuanian Folk Dance group “Suktinis.” The director of the group is Giedrė Knieža. The group is the most popular Lithuanian folk dance group in United States, having participated in Chicago’s Thanksgiving Day parade live stage performance twice. Suktinis dancers have been representing Lithuanian culture at Science and Industry Museum events (Chicago, IL) for the last 15 years, among many other performances. We offer you their performance of “Malūnas” (windmill). It was performed at Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival XV in Baltimore.
Giedrė says of this dance, “It is amazing how all the folk dance groups come to the festival and make such a beautiful event in only two days of practice. This time there were around eight hundred dancers performing this dance. “Malūnas” symbolizes change of seasons and never-ending work in the fields in order to get bread on your family’s table. Times were hard for Lithuanians, but they found ways to enjoy and celebrate life with the help of songs and dances.”
We are pleased to include songs from internationally known Lithuanian soloist Nida Grigalaviciute, who currently resides in Chicago. Nida has performed in opera houses across Europe, Israel, and the United States. The songs are from the musical “Šnekučiai.” The first song “Tūkstančiai darbelių” tells how women have lots of jobs around the house since early morning. Women in Lithuania have been singing while working in fields, cooking, working around the house, singing with kids and for kids, as well as wedding celebrations, and so forth. The second song is called “Jau seniai šviesele” – a mother wakes up her kids since the sun has been up for quite some while. Women in Lithuania used to get up with the sun, with the songs of the birds. And again, they would wake up really early since there was always lots of work around the house and in the fields.
Agne G is a nineteen-year-old award-winning classical artist who has won multiple international performance awards, performed across the United States and Europe, appeared on television, and graced the stage of Carnegie Hall. Agne has won multiple performance awards including “The Baltic Voice” – Lithuania, “Music for Kids” – Romania, as well as “American Protégé” international competition. She has recorded 3 albums to date. Her 2018 release of “A Merry Christmas from the Heart,” produced and arranged by Kc Daugirdas, earned her the Indie Music Channel’s Awards for “Best Teen Artist” and the “Best New Teen Artist of the Year.”
Our thanks to the Lithuanian Foundation for support and to their Director of Cultural Affairs, Giedrė Knieža, for sharing these performances with us for our Symposium.
Registration for this event is now closed.
Our 2021 program is enhanced by the inclusion of performances by accomplished musicians and composers. These performances are included during interludes between sessions, and are also available to view at any time in our “On Demand” page.
Simona Smirnova is a Lithuanian born jazz vocalist, composer and kanklės player based in New York City. She’s a fixture in the New York live scene with her quartet when she’s not touring the world, including Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Simona’s genre-bending style has a unique theatrical flavor and uncanny vocal improvisation techniques. She deftly implements chamber music, Lithuanian zither – kanklės – and folkloric chants into foundations of jazz and rock.
Simona’s latest album, Joan of Arc, for String Quartet, is an original composition written as a soundtrack for the classic Carl Dreyer silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). The album is a cinematic landscape of chamber pop, jazz and folklore.
Classically trained on the kanklės, Simona earned her BA in jazz vocals at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater. Shortly after receiving the European Touring Scholarship, she moved to the United States to study at Berklee College of Music where she earned a degree in Contemporary Composition and Production.
Our thanks to Giedrė Elekšytė-Knieža, Chair of Lithuanian American Community Cultural Affairs, for her help in connecting us with Simona’s work.
To give you plenty of time to view the program at leisure, all sessions will remain available, to those who register, until the end of July 2022.
You must be logged in to post a comment.