Due to a last-minute schedule conflict we must cancel Brenda’ Peterson’s Salon “Becoming Birds: Crane Maiden and Conservation on November 3.
Watch our schedules for next year when we hope to be able to reschedule.
Announcing Scholar Salon 48: Register for November 3
“Becoming Birds: Crane Maiden and Conservation”
with Brenda Peterson
Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 3 PM Eastern Time
REGISTER HERE
The beauty, power, and spectacular mating dances of cranes have made them highly symbolic birds in many cultures. With records dating back to ancient times, crane mythology and legends can be found on all continents; they are variously associated with prosperity, protection, longevity and peace.
Crane Maiden, Brenda Peterson’s new book, offers a new myth, Crane Maiden came from a dream: “It is a love story of people and birds; a dance, a transformative call to conserve these ancient and endangered cranes.” This stunning book is illustrated with the hauntingly beautiful shadow play of light and feathers by master Chinese artist, Ed Young.
Brenda says, “Fairy tales, both old and those that we create during this time of climate change and animal extinctions, can weave imagination and art to conserve our natural world. Science is not enough; we need stories, myths, and folklore that connect us with our ancestral gnosis and our future fates. Myth and science can be woven together through storytelling. My work for the oceans over the decades is devoted to fieldwork with marine mammals, as well as stories that call us into a sustainable and more spiritual bond with these sentient beings who share our shores, connecting us through legend, song, story, and science.”
Through her work as a novelist and nature writer, Brenda Peterson’s curiosity about and respect for nature radiates through her 23 books, which range from her first memoir Build Me an Ark: A Life with Animals, chosen as a “Best Spiritual Book of 2001,” to three novels, one of which, Duck and Cover, was chosen by New York Times as Notable Book of the Year. Her new memoir, I Want to be left Behind, was selected by The Christian Science Monitor as among the “Top Ten Best Non-Fiction Books of the Year.” Her children’s book Leopard and Silkie was a winner of the National Science Teachers 2013 Award for “Outstanding Science Books for K-12.” Wolf Nation was chosen by Forbes as a Best Book of he Year and is out in audiobook from Audible.com. Brenda lives in Seattle on the Salish Sea. She is the founder of the Seattle-based grassroots conservation group Seal Sitters, which focuses on safety for seal pups on the beach. Since 1993 she has contributed environmental commentary to NPR and is a frequent commentator to The Huffington Post.
Brenda Peterson is a fellow of Black Earth Institute (BEI). Founded by ASWM co-creator, the late Patricia Monaghan, with Michael McDermott, BEI is a community of artist-fellows and scholar-advisers creating a more ethical world. BEI seeks to help create a more just and deeply interconnected world and promote the health of the planet. To do so, artists are appointed as Fellows for a term and Scholars join as advisors. BEI then encourages and supports its present and past Fellows and Scholars to address social justice, environmental issues and the spiritual dimensions of the human condition in their art and work. Their beautiful About Place Journal has featured the work of hundreds of artists and writers. Michael is a longtime member of ASWM’s Advisory Board, as BEI cooperates with ASWM to expand our reach to scholars and to develop special programs.
Save these dates for the next ASWM Salons:
November 17, 2022, 12 NOON Eastern Standard Time
“Matriarchal Landscape Mythology”
Andrea Fleckinger and Heide Goettner-Abendroth
January 13, 2023, 3 PM Eastern Standard Time
“Eruptions of Inanna: Justice, Gender, and Erotic Power”
Judy Grahn
The Salon recording will also be available to members after the event.
2023 ASWM Conference “The Waters of Life” Call for Proposals
Conference Call for Proposals
The Waters of Life – Exploring Water Mythos, Divinity, Beings & Ecology
May 5th and 6th, 2023
Crowne Plaza, Syracuse New York
This conference will provide the opportunity to explore myths from around the world of water Goddesses, water creatures and water itself in cultural, spiritual, historical, and ecological contexts. Water as one of the Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) is recognized as a building block of everything on earth from the spiritual to the mundane in multiple spiritual traditions and Water as 50%-60% of our bodies is scientifically recognized as an elemental component of life, crucial for survival. Indigenous peoples honor the intertwining of life and water and hold it as sacred in ritual, story and everyday life, while the industrial world has reduced it to a commodity. With the onset of global warming, a consciousness is arising of the need for respect, reverence and protection for our water sources – a time to look back and around to gather the wisdom of Water Keepers, past and present, around the globe. Potential topics include, though are not limited to:
- Water Mythos Grounded in Reality & Science
- Exploring Beings, Myths and Ecology of our Aqueous Worlds
- Oceans Infinite but Endangered- Exploring Water-based Mythology and Ecology
- New views on key species in myth and in the real world such as: cranes/waterbirds, sharks, whales, octopuses
- Indigenous sciences and traditional technologies
- Interrelationships of water, water beings and ecosystems in myth and science
- Ethical perspectives in the use of sacred stories
- Emerging new perspectives in post-humanism that grant agency to non-human beings
- Methodologies for inclusions of mysteries in traditional and academic research
- Place wisdom, environmental resilience, identity and myth
- Examining racial and gender intersectionality in history and myth, nature and society
- Indigenous science and climate change: decolonizing environmental and ecological knowledge, environmental justice
- Violence against women and the planet: commodification/pollution of water, extinction of species
- Transnational perspectives on climate change, indigenous women’s knowledge, and the role of non-human species
- Natural resource management and indigenous methods
Given the location of our conference, these topics are also relevant:
- Narratives of women, social and environmental justice related to Seneca Falls
- Exploring history, myth, inclusions and exclusions of the early Women’s Suffrage movement at Seneca Falls
We especially encourage proposals from First Nations women of the Americas, Indigenous women, internationally, and women of color.
We are accepting proposals for papers, panels, and posters. All proposal abstracts (no longer than 250 words) and a short (70 words or fewer) bio for each Presenter are to be submitted on this form.
Check out our tips on writing proposals.
Deadline for papers, panels and posters is February 1, 2023.
Important Contingency Plan for 2023 Conference
2023 ASWM Conference Contingencies
Thank you to over 100 members and friends who responded to our recent survey. You told us that you prefer an affordable in-person event, and so do we! We are working diligently on plans for our Spring Conference. We will be in beautiful (and very affordable) Central New York on May 5th and 6th with a special optional event planned for the 4th.
However, as you know, ASWM is a small nonprofit organization funded through memberships. As such we have to have a contingency plan, especially in these uncertain times. For 2023, our plan relies on early commitments to attend.
Our plans for an in-person event are based on an adequate number of paid registrations by February 5th 2023. Otherwise, we will have to modify our conference from a live, two-day, face-to-face event, to a one-day, completely virtual format. We will continue to update you through our newsletter and website as time goes on.
All accepted presenters will be notified of acceptance by January 27th and decisions regarding our event format will be announced by February 6th. See below for Call for Proposals and Submission Form.
Please plan to join us by registering for our 2023 ASWM Conference no later than February 5th, 2023. Registration links are forthcoming, with early bird pricing.
We deeply appreciate the flexibility of our members and friends over the years, and the feedback that you give us about our event planning. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
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