"The Sacred Sites of Cornwall" with Cheryl Straffon Thursday, October 7, 2021 Moderated by Sarah Chandler Cornwall lies in the far south-west of Britain, originally a Celtic country (like Wales, Ireland and Brittany) with its own history, traditions and language. It still has probably the largest concentration of prehistoric sites in western Europe, and unlocking …
Environmental Hero Dr. Vandana Shiva to address international symposium
Dr. Vandana Shiva has written and spoken extensively about advances in the fields of food production, the roles of women in agriculture, and climate justice. Her work to promote biodiversity in agriculture to increase productivity, nutrition, farmer’s incomes and it is for this work she was recognized as an ‘environmental hero’ by Time magazine in 2003.
Dr. Shiva will give the keynote presentation for the 2022 Symposium of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology:
“HEARING THE INVISIBLE: Lessons from Sentient Beings and Inter-relational Ecosystems”
Sunday, April 10, 2022
“The Caretaker of the Precious” by Denise Kester
Jane Goodall has pointed out our own contemporary lesson that human global disregard for nature brought on the current pandemic, documenting that mistreatment/exploitation of sentient beings can result in an exponential crisis for the whole planet.
Our 2022 biennial Symposium focuses on meanings found in the relational reality among science, culture, and mythology in regards to animals, the green world, and ecosystems.
This year’s symposium will take place entirely online, Sunday, April 10, 2022. The theme brings together scholars, artists, educators, and individuals of a variety of backgrounds for discussion and inquiry.
With our primary focus on interconnectedness, the symposium will feature academic and artistic presentations concerning ecological and scientific scholarship. Panels will address collaborations between humans and other sentient beings, foundational myths about earth’s response to misuse, and scientific solutions to transgressions against the balance of nature.
ASWM is the only nonprofit dedicated specifically to fostering the growth of scholarship and resources related to women and mythology, the divine feminine, and ecofeminism. Founded in 2008, ASWM is an international membership organization that produces academic conferences and symposia, online scholarly salons, and volumes of proceedings. We offer a unique perspective in generating dialogues among academic scholars, artists, and teachers from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.
The theme of this symposium, as with all of our past events, arises from our ongoing commitment to making scholarship relevant and available to all, for its power to inform and transform.
Ecologist Cristina Eisenberg, author of The Carnivore Way: Coexisting with and Conserving North America’s Predators, says of her work, “Mother Earth holds powerful lessons about healing. As a Native American ecologist of mixed heritage, for me these lessons have to do with braiding together Western Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to find solutions to our most pressing conservation and social justice problems. TEK is based on ancient Indigenous wisdom, which is matriarchal. Today the Western scientific world is learning that this ancient wisdom is the best way to heal the damage we’ve done to the natural world. In this presentation I will share insights from my 25-year journey as an ecologist who has directed a citizen-science global research program. I will share stories about my teachers, the plants, animals, and forces of nature I study as an ecologist, and the lessons they’ve taught me, to illustrate the progress made and the work that remains as we work together to heal the Earth and ourselves.”
Cristina Eisenberg
Dr. Cristina Eisenberg is graduate faculty at Oregon State University in the College of Forestry. An Indigenous woman scientist, she is the principal investigator on two major on-the-ground projects with First Nations (Alberta, Canada) and Native American (Montana, USA) communities to integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into plant and wildlife conservation in Western North America. The former Chief Scientist at Earthwatch Institute, she oversaw a global research program focusing on ecological restoration, social justice for Indigenous peoples, and sustainable production of natural resources. Cristina serves on the board of Society for Ecological Restoration, where she chairs the TEK Working Group. She has written two books,The Carnivore Way and The Wolf’s Tooth: Keystone Predators, Trophic Cascades and Biodiversity, and is at work on two more under contract, one about climate change and wildlife and another about bison conservation.
Save the dates for upcoming ASWM Salons this summer:
June 17 2022 3PM Eastern Standard Time Title TBA Lisa Levart and Vicki Noble
July 15 2022 12 NOON Eastern Standard Time “Sacred Midwifery: Woman as the First Home” Katsi Cook
The Salon recording will also be available to members after the event.
“In my research of the figure of Brigit, saint or goddess, I have found it remarkable that scholars refer to her traditions as those of the lower orders or the common people. In contrast, the word religion often refers to those worldviews promoting and sustaining the sacrificial social contract, and strategies of colonization. With a view to challenging the violent and radical splitting that pervades Western cultures, this presentation outlines some distinctions between Religions of the Hearth and Religions of Empire. The aim is to reflect on and elaborate the pre-conditions for responding to the call of the prophets of the major religions who cried out, in no uncertain terms: I desire mercy not sacrifice.”
Dr. Mary Condren
Dr. Mary Condren was born and currently lives in Ireland. With initial degrees in theology, sociology, social anthropology and religion and society, she was the first graduate of the doctoral program at Harvard University, Religion Gender and Culture. Her thesis was on The Role of Sacrifice in the Construction of the Gendered Social Order and Gendered System of Legitimation. She has taught at Harvard University, University College Dublin, and by invitation, at several other international universities. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, where she teaches on the topic: Gender and the Culture of Violence. She is co-founder and director of Woman Spirit Ireland, (1994 –) .
The author of The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion and Power in Celtic Ireland (Harper Collins, 1989), Mary Condren’s current research is on the figure of Brigit in the Living Traditions, Lives of the Saints and in saga literature. See more about her teaching and publications here.
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Save the dates for upcoming spring and summer ASWM Salons:
March 24 2022 3 PM Eastern Daylight Time “Healing the Earth with Traditional Ecological Knowledge” Cristina Eisenberg
June 17 2022 3 PM Eastern Daylight Time Title TBA: Art, Archetypes and the Tarot Lisa Levart and Vicki Noble
July 15 2022 3 PM Eastern Daylight Time Sacred Midwifery: Woman as the First Home“ Katsi Cook
The Salon recording will also be available to members after the event.
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