Category: The Archive

 

ASWM Symposium Portland, OR

April 11th 2015 

 Call for Proposals

“Tales and Totems: Lineage and Myth in Goddess Scholarship”

 

The work of Goddess Scholarship is intrinsically bound within a framework where we actively seek out, document, and honor the stories and concerns that animated the lives of our foremothers. We do this so that these stories will contribute meaningfully in the context of modern life.  The research methodologies have focused on representing our historical, thealogical, philosophical, mythological, symbolic, cultural, linguistic and aesthetic lineages.

In keeping with this emphasis of our methodology and our discipline, and embracing the sacred Nature of this year’s conference location in the Pacific Northwest rich with the tales and totems of the First Nations, we invite papers and panels including, but not limited to the following topics:

·       Tales and totems of the Pacific Northwest

·       Ancestry, foremothers and methodology

·       Prehistory, history and changing experiences of the sacred and the profane

·       Shakti, prakriti, and purusha from east to west

·       Goddess myths, clans, and communities

·       Cultural ecofeminism

·       Myth and lineage of sacred places

·       Animals as totems and symbols

·       Creation stories of the First Nations, particularly the Pacific North West

·       Indigenous myths, aboriginal histories, and women’s communities

·       First Nations, First Worlds, Third Worlds and the global environmental crises

·       Totems and symbolic language

·       Goddess lineage, rituals and community

·       Mother earth, motherhood and matriarchy

·      Altars in the home, nature and at work

Papers should be 20 minutes; panels with up to four papers on a related topic may be proposed together. Workshop proposals should be organized to provide audience interaction and must clearly address the theme. All sessions and workshops are limited to 90 minutes.

Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, as well as creative artists and practitioners who engage mythic themes in a scholarly manner in their work. Presenters must become members of ASWM.

Send 250-word abstract (for panels, 200 word abstract plus up to 150 words per paper) in PDF or MSWord to aswmsubmissions@gmail.com by November 15,2014. Use “2015 proposal” in subject header.  Include bio of up to 70 words for each presenter, as well as contact information including surface address and email.   See www.womenandmyth.org for program updates and registration.

“Tales and Totems:  Lineage and Myth in Goddess Scholarship”

Following this theme that reflects the rich traditions of the Pacific Northwest, we will hold our 2015 Regional Symposium in Portland, OR on April 11, 2015.   Please save the date to join us in Portland, and check this site for updated information about program and registration.

Here’s the Call for Proposals.  We welcome papers and workshops from academic presenters, practitioners, and graduate students.

The 2014 National ASWM Conference in San Antonio (March 28-30, 2014) will feature a Film Series on scholarly subjects related to women and mythology.   Documentary, narrative, and creative films will be considered for inclusion.  The following guidelines are in place for selection of films.

ASWM Film Guidelines

1.      The film should be a scholarly work from a feminist/womanist perspective.

2.      The focus of the film should include some form of women’s experience. (This may also include addressing the exclusion of women.)

3.      The film topic should include a component of myth, sacredness and/or practice inspired by earth spirituality.

4.      The film may address  historical, contemporary or future-oriented topics anywhere on the globe, in cyberspace, and beyond.

5.      The film may be artistic or realistic in approach.

6.      ASWM wishes to encourage respectful study and representation of diverse cultures and experience.  To that end, films should include the perspective of those being filmed to every extent possible.  Collaborative projects are welcomed.

Films may be submitted for consideration by contacting aswmsubmissions@gmail.com for the submission form.  Deadline is November 22, 2013.  Please put “Film Proposal” in the subject line followed by the film title.

We have updated our CFP to reflect developments in program planning!  Please share widely.

Call for Papers

Borderlands: Scholarship as Pilgrimage and Mystery

The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM)

2014 National Conference San Antonio, TX March 28-30

 

We invite you to submit proposals to the ASWM Third Biennial National Conference. ASWM is a professional organization supporting scholarly and creative endeavors that explore or elucidate aspects of the sacred feminine.

• As this conference takes place in the modern borderland between Mexico and the US and in the stronghold of Native American and Latina traditions of the Southwest, we invite you to consider these topics:

  • Mesoamerican/American Indigenous cultures in relation to women and myth

  • Weaving as spiritual practice

  • Indigenous foods as connected to place and self

  • Native language retention as connected to cultural preservation

  • Spiritual, cultural and mythic traditions (such as Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos and La Llorona, La Virgen de Guadalupe, Corn Mother, Spider Woman)

  • Borderland myths and reality of women’s lives

  • Curanderas and healing practices

  • Myth and folklore associated with water

  • Women’s roles in spiritual practices at home and in community

  • The language of  petroglyphs as markers of female diety

• How does mythology about women interact with the sense and reality of place? How does our scholarship change when place becomes an element or partner in our research? What does it mean to find wisdom in places?

• What are new paths for the field of Women’s Spirituality and Goddess Studies, including archeomythology?  What are new models and methods for our scholarly inquiry?

• What are the complexities around issues of Cultural Appropriation?  How do we understand and address the tensions around rootedness and local culture and issues of lineage and history?  Are there new ways to honor history and culture while enriching our scholarship?

• One of the groundbreaking books from Patricia Monaghan was Oh Mother Sun: A New Vision of the Cosmic Feminine. We invite you to submit proposal ideas that are in dialogue with this work about solar goddesses.

• Animal mysteries, including myth and folklore especially related to horses or to predators.

• Liminal deity, spanning borders of species, sex, and gender

Proposals for papers, panels, and workshops addressing these topics will be given preference, but other subjects will be considered.  Papers should be 20 minutes; up to four papers on a related topic may be proposed together.  Workshops (limited to 90 minutes) should be organized to provide audience interaction and must clearly address theme.

 

Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, as well as creative artists, filmmakers and practitioners who engage mythic themes in a scholarly manner in their work.  Presenters must become members of ASWM prior to conference.

To submit your proposal, complete this online form by November 1, 2013 .

Borderlands: Scholarship as Pilgrimage and Mystery

The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM)

2014 National Conference San Antonio, TX March 28-30

 We invite you to submit proposals to the ASWM Third Biennial National Conference. ASWM is a professional organization supporting scholarly and creative endeavors that explore or elucidate aspects of the sacred feminine.

Suggested topics for this conference include, but are not limited to, the following:

• As this conference takes place in the modern borderland between Mexico and the US and in the stronghold of Native American and Latina traditions of the Southwest, we invite you to consider these topics:

  • Mesoamerican culture in relation to women and myth

  • La Virgen de Guadalupe and other Dark Goddesses

  • Cultural and mythic traditions (such as Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos and La Llorona)

  • Borderland myths and reality of women’s lives

  • Curanderas and healing practices

  • Myth and folklore associated with water

• How does mythology about women interact with the sense and reality of place? How does our scholarship change when place becomes an element or partner in our research? What does it mean to find wisdom in places?

• What are new paths for the field of Women’s Spirituality and Goddess Studies, including archeomythology?  What are new models and methods for our scholarly inquiry?

• What are the complexities around issues of Cultural Appropriation?  How do we understand and address the tensions around rootedness and local culture and issues of lineage and history?  Are there new ways to honor history and culture while enriching our scholarship?

• One of the groundbreaking books from Patricia Monaghan was Oh Mother Sun: A New Vision of the Cosmic Feminine. We invite you to submit proposal ideas that are in dialogue with this work about solar goddesses.

• Animal mysteries, including myth and folklore especially related to horses and predators.

• Liminal deity, spanning borders of species, sex, and gender

Proposals for papers, panels, and workshops addressing these topics will be given preference, but other subjects will be considered.  Papers should be 20 minutes; up to four papers on a related topic may be proposed together.  Workshops (limited to 90 minutes) should be organized to provide audience interaction and must clearly address theme.

Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, as well as creative artists, filmmakers and practitioners who engage mythic themes in a scholarly manner in their work.  Presenters must become members of ASWM prior to conference.

Send 250-word abstract (for panels, 200 word abstract plus up to 150 words per paper) to aswmsubmissions@gmail.com by October 15, 2013.  Include bio of up to 70 words for each presenter, as well as contact information including surface address and email.  See www.womenandmyth.org.