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Women and Spirituality Conference in Minnesota

38th Annual Women and Spirituality Conference

September 20-22, 2019

Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN

The classic women’s spirituality conference.

Keynote: Inanna’s Journey: Letting Ourselves Off the Hook

Presented by Rev. Judith Laxer

Rev. Laxer is the founder of Gaia’s Temple in Seattle, WA, and author of Along the Wheel of Time: Sacred Stories for Nature Lovers [Ravenswood Publishing]

Conference organizers say: “Our purpose is to provide a supportive and nurturing setting for a dialogue of caring and mutual respect between and among people from many spiritual and religious traditions. The conference does not advocate or exclude any view and continues to foster an understanding and celebration of similarities and differences. May we continue to aid one another on our individual and communal spiritual journeys.” Learn more about the conference and register at https://womenandspirituality.org/

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Save the date for the 2020 ASWM Conference

Rivers of Change, Prophecy, Possibilities

Friday March 13 and Saturday March 14, 2020 will be the sixth biennial ASWM conference. There will be two days of keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops and roundtables. It will be a great time to share our passions for women and mythology, as expressed in our scholarship in research and the arts.

In 2020, we will meet at the beautiful Temaya Hyatt Regency, Santa Ana Pueblo,  near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Visit the link to explore this gorgeous location.

For those of you who are interested in our friends in the Matriarchal Studies group, they plan to meet in the same location on Sunday, March 15, 2020.

Watch our website and news blog for updates coming soon.

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Dr. Savithri Shanker De Tourreil


Dr. Savithri Shanker De Tourreil

Sadly, we report that Dr. Savithri Shanker De Tourreil (1935-2019) passed away from complications related to illness, in Montreal, Quebec, on 18 June 2019. She was 84. She was a beloved member of our ASWM community of scholars.

Dr. De Tourreil who held degrees in English literature and religious studies was an active member of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) where she presented foundational and engaging studies on the matrilineal cultures and customs of Kerala. Her groundbreaking ethnographic doctoral research on women-centered social customs among the Nayar community, *Nayars in a South Indian Matrix: A Study Based on Female Centered Rituals* (Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, 1995) continues to serve as an inspiring model of feminist ethnography, feminist religious studies, matrilineal kinship, goddess scholarship, Hindu women, social change and social customs. Savithri cherished her colleagues and friends in the ASWM circle, and until failing health prevented her from traveling, actively participated in ASWM conferences. Savithri’s clear, original and engaging discussions on the ethnographic, sociological, and anthropological dimensions of women-centered religious practices, gift-economies, matrilineal studies, and goddess mythology have enlivened many ASWM conferences. Savithri’s research has been widely published in feminist religious studies and matrilineal studies.

Full of laughter and wisdom, Savithri was an inspiration to scholars everywhere.  Her niece, Gayatri Devi, who co-presented with her, is a member of our ASWM Board. It was Savithri and Gayatri who taught us the wonderful Hand Blessing of the women of Kerala. To paraphrase the famous Jewish prayer, her memory is a blessing to us all.

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Scholar Salon 1

"Feminism on the Borderlands" with Dr. Monica Mody April 16, 2019 moderated by Gayatri Devi PhD How do we move into the borderlands to reclaim our full relationship with modernity, secularization, and the shadow spaces in our own psyches? How do we relate to the shadow produced by European and western modes of being, thinking …

Continue reading "Scholar Salon 1"

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Announcing Scholar Salon 1 with Monica Mody

ASWM Online Scholar Salon

Feminism on the Borderlands with Dr Monica Mody

Tuesday, April 16, 2019,  3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time

Neolithic Women’s Figures

ASWM is hosting conversations with scholars about issues relating to women and mythology.  In order to be eligible to participate, renew your membership before April 13, 2019. We will send the  Zoom call in information to all current members on April 14.

How do we move into the borderlands and reclaim our full relationship with modernity, secularization, and the shadow spaces in our own psyches? How do we relate to the shadow produced by European and western modes of being, thinking and relating to the world, to each other and to ourselves? What do we need to give up? What do we reclaim and bring to the surface?

Let’s have a lively discussion on these questions that transcend disciplines and affect our daily and creative lives as women.  Join Dr. Monica Mody for an inspiring discussion on discovering the shadow projects of modernity and secularization from the perspective of feminist and borderlands spirituality and scholarship.

Monica Mody
Monica Mody

Monica Mody holds a PhD in East West Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies, where she worked on a cross-genre dissertation on the decolonized feminist consciousness in an Anzalduan framework of the borderlands. Monica is a trained dancer and an internationally published poet.

Our salon is moderated by Dr. Gayatri Devi, Associate Professor of English at Lock Haven University, and longtime member of the ASWM Board.