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2018 Sarasvati Award Goes to “Sheela na Gig”

Sheela na gig
: The Dark Goddess of Sacred Power 

by Starr Goode

Published by Inner Traditions

 

The ASWM Board of Directors is pleased to present the 2018 Sarasvati Award for nonfiction to Inner Traditions for this provocative and beautiful book. With over 150 illustrations, this book explores the archetype of the Dark Goddess in the form of female display figures. It examines a range of images of supernatural females like Sheela na gigs adorning medieval architecture.

The award letter reads in part:

This book advances the field of feminist mythological/Goddess studies, presenting both scholarly information and wonderful images to the reader.  The inclusion of this large number of illustrations is essential in a work of this type, in order to convey the rich and diverse imagery of Sheela na gigs and displaying figures.

This book is very well-balanced in offering descriptions and lists of Sheelas along with scholarly explorations and an understanding of issues regarding their their deep meanings and mystery. Additionally, this book gives evidence of similar sacred display figures throughout the world: in Polynesia, in Africa, in India, in Europe, and in the Far East.  It takes the reader from sacred display figures dating to the Upper Palaeolithic, to those from the Neolithic, to those from the Classical era, and finally those dating to the medieval era in Europe.

 In short, we believe this book has great value in to interdisciplinary studies of myth and folklore.  We would strongly recommend it as a resource to faculty, researchers, travelers, and general readers.  

The author will be on hand to accept this award at our 2018 Conference in March.

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Modern Matriarchal Studies Day: March 18, 2018

Sunday, March 18, 2018 9AM – 5PM (Registration opens 8AM)

Early Registration $60 until Feb 2, 2018

Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV

Priestesses of Pele, by Lydia Ruyle

ASWM is pleased to again work with the US Modern Matriarchal Studies group, who will offer a day of presentations following our conference in Las Vegas.  Stay for this exciting program!

We at Modern Matriarchal Studies Day are excited to offer a full day of Modern Matriarchal Studies following the 2018 biennial Association of the Study of Women in Mythology Conference (March 16-17, 2018).  We had a wonderful program taking shape with Vicki Noble https://www.vickinoble.com as Mistress of Ceremonies and leading our opening and closing rituals.  We will have a tribute to Lydia Ruyle, the Founding Mother of Modern Matriarchal studies day with Katie M Hoffner, Lydia’s niece, and Isadora Gabrielle Leidenfrost http://www.isadoraleidenfrost.com/, who is currently working on a film, The Lydia Ruyle Movie.  This year we are pleased to have Heide Göttner-Abendroth http://www.hagia.de skyping in from Germany.  Joining us in person are Genevieve Vaughan http://gift-economy.com/, Kathy Jones http://www.kathyjones.co.uk/, Mariam Irene Tazi-Preve  https://www.mariamtazi-preve.com/, Julie Felix http://www.juliefelix.co.uk/, Michelle Manu http://www.michellemanu.com/ and more.  While our official program ends at 5PM, we hope you will plan to stay and join us for a no-host dinner where we can carry on our conversation from the day.  We hope you will join us!
–Co organizers Letecia Layson, Vicki Noble, Joan Cichon and Lin Daniels
For more information contact Joan Cichon at cichon@oakton.edu and follow us on Face Book https://www.facebook.com/ModernMatriarchalStudiesDay/

Modern Matriarchal Studies is the “investigation and presentation of non-patriarchal societies”, and matriarchies as “non-hierarchical, horizontal societies of matrilineal kinship”, effectively defining matriarchy as “non-patriarchic matrilineal societies”. Matriarchy is characterized by the sharing of power equally between the two genders, an egalirarian model.  Heide Göttner-Abendroth

Please note:  Matriarchal Studies Day is presented in conjunction with ASWM’s conference, to the benefit of both groups, but registration for this event is not covered by registering for the ASWM Conference.  Register here for Matriarchal Studies Day:

Early bird registration–on or before Feb. 2 2018     $60

Slightly later birds–Feb. 3 to March 9, 2018            $75

Late birds and walk-ins–March 10-18, 2018           $90

For more information contact Joan Cichon 

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2018 Conference Hotel Room Reservation Information

GOLD COAST HOTEL, LAS VEGAS NV

ESTIMATED ROOM RATE PLUS TAXES AND MANDATORY RESORT FEE

 

Thursday 3/15/18 Friday

3-16-18

 Saturday

3-17-18

 Sunday

3-18-19
Deluxe Room Rates     40.00     89.00    89.00    40.00
Tax 13.35% 5.35 11.88 11.88 5.35
Resort fee (17.99) inclusive of taxes 20.40

$65.75

 20.40
$121.28		 20.40
$121.28
 20.40
$65.75
 =$374.06 for a four night stay.

 

Please be advised that there is also a mandatory refundable security/damage deposit of $100 required at  check-in.

On line reservations can be made via our group link: ASWM Gold Coast Group Link This page will ask for the Group Reservation ID or Group Code:   A8WMC03.

You may also book by phone by calling central reservations toll free at 888-402-6278. They will need to reference this same ID: A8WMC03, to receive your special, discounted room rates.

Our special rates will be available from Wednesday 3/14 through Monday 3/19, 2018.

Hotel reservation cut off is February 13, 2018.

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Dr. Gala Argent to Discuss Horses and Shamanism at 2018 Conference

“Porous Boundaries: Women and Horses in Eurasian Epic Poetry, Shamanism,  Archaeology and Myth”

Keynote presentation by Dr. Gala Argent
Dr. Gala Argent and friends

“The roles of the horse within human cultures are complex and context driven. Horses may be domesticates whose bodies are eaten or used as products. They may be workers, drafted and indoctrinated into human endeavors and utilized for their strength, speed and power to human advantage. They may serve as metaphors and symbolic proxies for human or cosmic properties. Present-day Euro-American scholarly agendas primarily focus upon these human-generated concepts and in doing so view horses merely as objects or sets that are used by humans.

 This misses the point that horses are large and potentially dangerous creatures to whom riders entrust their lives. The relationship between horse and rider is necessarily based upon the subjective experience of two social beings sharing space, time and experiences.

 In this presentation I detail how horses are conveyed as companions and allies across Eurasia through historical narratives, oral traditions and archaeology. I cover the mutual devotion of Alexander the Great and Cyrus to their warhorses, Persian and Kyrgyz epic poetry detailing the exploits of heroes and their named hero-horses, and archaeological evidence of care in human-horse co-burials. I argue that these individuals and communities saw horses as partners, and recognized their agency by attributing intentionality and significance to their actions.” 

Gala Argent is an interdisciplinary scholar and lifelong equestrienne whose work concerns the relational ways humans and other animals come together. She holds a Ph.D. in archaeology, MA and BA degrees in (human) communication studies, and teaches or has taught in higher education departments of art, communication studies, anthropology and animal studies. Her current interests focus on theorizing human-horse interactions and relationships using models of nonverbal and interpersonal communication, and on the ways in which humans and other animals come together in relational, corporeal, temporal and spatial ways to co-create mutually interdependent selves and societies.