Women and Religion

Highlights of the Regional Meeting at Gonzaga, May 13-15, 2011

2011-05-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Our regional meeting is coming very soon! We have interesting sessions and panels this year, more than ever before. Who can resist the papers in these sessions!

Friday afternoon

Women, Water, Purity, and Gender Boundaries

Saturday Morning Session

What You Wear Is Who You Are:
Hindu Brides, Christian Virgins, and Warrior Princesses

Saturday Afternoon Panel #1

Keeping Women in Their Place:
Christian Women in Roman Society

Saturday Afternoon Panel #2

Feminist, Womanist, Mujerista and Queer Theology Goes Confessional:

Transformative Trajectories in the Tradition of Martin Luther

Sunday Morning Session

What Were They Thinking?
Queen Esther, Ruth and Naomi, and the Mother in Me

Other items of interest include the ASOR plenary speaker on Saturday morning, Martha Joukowsky of Brown University, speaking on "Pioneering Women in Archaeology."

The AAR plenary speaker, Wendy Farley of Emory University, will also speak on Saturday morning on "Gathering Those Driven Away: Thoughts from the Margins of Christianity."

Our first poster session is small but notable. Susan G. Carter will present an electronic poster "Spirited Images: Rock Carvings as Spiritual Expression in Ancient Scandinavia." Ardy Bass is presenting a poster "Compositional Strategies in the Coptic Gospel of Mary." Both can be found in the Book Exhibit Room. Be sure to browse through and have a look.

See you all very soon! If you have any questions or need any assistance, please let Ardy know.

Posters are Coming to the Regional Meeting!!

2010-10-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

The Women and Religion Section is pleased to cohost a poster session with the Arts and Religion Section and ASOR. We welcome proposals in any area related to these program units (see separate call for papers for each). Conventional posters as well as short video presentations are acceptable. Students are especially encouraged to submit proposals. Please consider this venue for presenting your research.

The session will be held on Saturday afternoon. Each participant will be given a 4' x 8' space for their presentation. They must be present during the entire session. Depending on the number of proposals, non-monetary awards will be given (details to follow).

If you are interested in learning more about a poster session, please consult Fraser D. Neiman, “A Poster Primer: A Few Tips for Planning Your Poster Session,” SAA Bulletin 12.1:13–4, which is available for download in PDF format.

2011 Special Session with the Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions (SAMR)

2010-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Funerary Relief of Husband and Wife (left) and Priestess of Isis (right) (Palazzo Massimo, Rome) (photo taken by Ardy Bass)

This year, the Women and Religion Section is happy to present a special session hosted by the Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions (SAMR). If you would like more information about SAMR or would like to join, please visit their website.

Recent work on women in ancient Mediterranean religions — such as Joan Connolly’s Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece (Princeton University Press, 2007) and Celia Schultz’s Women's Religious Activity in the Roman Republic (University of North Carolina Press, 2006) — has shown that women had a far greater role in these religions than had previously been assumed. Women of the ancient Mediterranean had not only an important role in private religious rituals, such as rites of passage, but also had a significant part to play in public rituals; serving, for example, in leadership roles as priestesses and prophetesses, as well as participating in a number of important public religious festivals. This session seeks to explore the wide variety of women’s religious roles in ancient Mediterranean religions, including Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and ancient Near Eastern religion, as well as early Judaism and Christianity. Papers that seek to compare women’s religious roles in different cultures are particularly sought for the session.

Call For Papers for May 13-15, 2011 Meeting at Eastern Washington University, Spokane Campus

2010-10-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

The Call for Papers has been published on the AAR website (http://aarweb.org/About_AAR/Regions/Pacific_Northwest/call.asp).
The Women and Religion Section is seeking papers in these general areas:

(AAR) We invite individual papers or panels on any aspect of the study of women and religion. This Section especially welcomes proposals that facilitate cross-disciplinary and/or religious traditions in the study of women. Papers exploring feminist pedagogy are also welcome.

(SBL) We invite proposals on topics that explore the intersections between religious ideas and constructions of gender and/or sexuality. Exegetical studies on the role of women in ancient religion are also welcome.

Proposals should be submitted electronically at the region’s online website. The deadline for submissions is January 24, 2011.

“Dinosaurs of Eden: Who Rules Over Whom in Creation Accounts for Young Readers?”

2010-09-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

Co-chair Val Ziegler gave an enlightening paper on “Dinosaurs of Eden: Who Rules Over Whom in Creation Accounts for Young Readers?”

“Freeing the Oppressed: A Male Response to Confronting Oppression of Women.”

2010-09-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

Ron Clark gave an intriguing presentation on “Freeing the Oppressed: A Male Response to Confronting Oppression of Women.”

Women and Religion 2010

2010-09-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

Our first session on Friday was delayed due to some technical problems, as shown here. Once we connected with the right people, all went according to plan!

Greetings from the University of Victoria

2010-05-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow the Regional meeting begins at the University of Victoria. Our business meeting will take place during the Saturday afternoon session beginning at approximately 2:40 pm. If your schedule permits, please try to attend.

Two proposals for next year's meeting in Spokane will be discussed. First, we would like to schedule a poster session. This will provide a different avenue for presenting research.

Second, we plan to invite SAMR (Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions) to organize one session dedicated to women and religion in the ancient Mediterranean. Ardy will be discussing ideas with SAMR's secretary-treasurer, Eric Orlin. If you are interested in knowing more about this group, please see their website: http://socamr.wikispaces.com/ and consider joining!

If you are unable to attend the meeting this year and you have comments or suggestions about next year, please feel free to email Ardy and Valarie. We welcome your ideas!!

Rabbit Crossing! Welcome to the University of Victoria!

2010-02-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

Please see the information below for our 2010 meeting in Victoria, BC. Registration will be open later in February, so start planning now!

Annual Meeting

May 7-9, 2010

University of Victoria

Victoria, BC

Canada

The University of Victoria, one of Canada's leading universities, is widely recognized for leadership in research, inspired teaching and community engagement. UVic provides innovative programs and real-life learning experiences in a diverse and welcoming West Coast environment and ranks consistently among the top comprehensive universities in Canada. The University of Victoria celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2003, having received degree-granting status in 1963. The origins of UVic, however, can be traced back to 1903 and the establishment of Victoria College, the university's predecessor institution. The University has a student enrollment (2008/09) of 19,432 (including 2,593 graduate students); 70% of undergraduates come from outside Greater Victoria. There are 4,679 employees, including 850 faculty, 716 sessional instructors, 822 specialist/instructional staff, 39 librarians, and 2,252 administrative, professional, research and support staff.

And A Round of Applause to . . .

2010-02-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

The new co-chair of Women and Religion, Valarie Ziegler. Many of you have listened to Val's papers over the years on Genesis and Popular Culture. She has graciously agreed to co-chair the sessions with me beginning in 2010.

A Few of Us Got Together to Say - Good-bye and Thank you, Kendra!!

2009-04-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Best Wishes as you begin a new adventure - you will be missed - Thanks! Ardy (and some of her closest friends)

(that's me on the far right in the front row, in case you didn't recognize me)

Welcome to the 2009 Women and Religion!

2009-04-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to report that that Kendra has reluctantly resigned as co-chair of Women and Religion. She is leaving George Fox (and us) and moving to Texas. Since she is unable to be here with us, I invite you to post a message to Kendra and join me in thanking her for everything she has done in planning and participating in Women and Religion. I will truly miss her insights - and her willingness to go along with any crazy idea I proposed. Thank you Kendra!!

2009-03-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

The World of Women in the Ancient and Classical Near East

Editor: Beth Alpert Nakhai
Date Of Publication: Dec 2008
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-0030-3
Isbn: 1-4438-0030-9

The World of Women in the Ancient and Classical Near East, written by scholars working in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Israel, makes important contributions to our knowledge of the lives of ancient women. Its articles employ archaeology, biblical and other textual studies, ethnographic comparanda and more to investigate women in Egypt and western Asia from the Predynastic to the Byzantine Periods, as well as in England in the Victorian Era. They combat modern scholarship’s marginalization of women in antiquity, proving beyond all doubt that women’s roles in the home, in the workplace and in society at-large were essential for the survival of the family and the community. Locating women within the domestic sphere can no longer be seen to diminish appreciation of their extensive responsibilities and accomplishments. To the contrary, women’s domestic contributions are proven to be essential components of human survival, as are their contributions elsewhere throughout society, in elite royal, religious, and funerary contexts. The nine articles in this book highlight the fact that the traditional scholarly reliance upon dichotomization and compartmentalization must be resisted, and new paradigms developed and adopted. The World of Women in the Ancient and Classical Near East takes important steps in that direction.

Beth Alpert Nakhai is an Associate Professor in the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at The University of Arizona. She received her M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School and her M.A. and Ph.D. from The University of Arizona. Dr. Nakhai is the author of Archaeology and the Religions of Canaan and Israel (ASOR 2001), as well as numerous articles. In addition to editing this volume, she is the editor of Near East in the Southwest: Essays in Honor of William G. Dever (ASOR 2003). She is co-director of the Tell el-Wawiyat (Israel) Excavation, and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

The World of Women in the Ancient and Classical Near East marks a significant step forward in the understanding of the critical importance women played in daily life during antiquity in the eastern Mediterranean. The nine contributions to the volume are offered by established scholars whose expertise informs on the varied roles undertaken by women as they performed activities essential to the survival of the household—certainly the most fundamental and pivotal arena for human interaction during the course of the ancient world. Reflecting diverse methodologies and varied resources, the essays reinforce the primacy of female agency within the home, and the incorporation of archaeology, textual studies, and ethnographic comparanda brings together relevant data that belies long-held traditional beliefs that women’s contributions to social, economic, and political spheres were slight. Masterfully edited by Beth Alpert Nakhai, who has championed the study of gender issues in antiquity, the volume embraces a chronological spread and a geographic diversity that enhances its importance as one that will advance the discourse on the reality of women in the ancient Near East for some time to come.

—Dr. Nancy Serwint, Acting Director and Associate Professor, School of Art, Herberger College of the Arts, Arizona State University

“This collection of essays is a welcome and important publication--a must-read for everyone interested in the archaeology of Syria-Palestine and the history of women in antiquity. Its highly readable studies provide stunning examples of the way archaeological data can produce otherwise unavailable information about women's lives and even challenge traditional notions of gender dynamics in the ancient and classical Near East.”

—Carol Meyers, Mary Grace Wilson Professor, Duke University

ASOR Preliminary Program Announced

2009-02-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

SATURDAY MORNING - ASOR PLENARY SESSION(S)

11:00-12:00 Beth Alpert Nakhai, University of Arizona, (bnakhai@email.arizona.edu),
Ancient Near Eastern Mother-and-Child Figurines: Ceramic figurines, motherhood, and religion in Late Bronze Age Canaan and Iron Age Israel are discussed for the purpose of reconstructing the lives of women in antiquity.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON -ASOR SESSION ON ARCHAEOLOGY

Presider: Gloria London, Tall al-‘Umayri Teachers’ Institute, Seattle, (glondon@earthlink.net)

2:00-2:10 Jack Olive, Seattle University, (olivej@seattleu.edu)
In Tribute to Douglas Edwards
2:10-2:25 Bruce Meyer, (meyerbru@gmail.com), “Did the Philistines Prepare the Way for Israel to Enter the Promised Land?”
2:25-2:30 Questions and Answers
2:30-2:45 Bonny Bazemore, Eastern Washington University,
(gbazemore@mail.ewu.edu), “Keeper of the Keyes: Votive Female Figurines with Keys and Seals”
2:45-2:50 Questions and Answers
2:50-3:10 Panel Discussion: The use of archaeology and models in “Palestine in the Time of Jesus”
K. C. Hanson, Editor in Chief, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR (kchanson@wipfandstock.com)
Douglas E. Oakman, Professor of Religion, Pacific Lutheran University
(oakmande@plu.edu)

Preliminary Program Announced!!

2009-02-20T17:07:00.000-08:00

For the complete Preliminary Program, see http://www.pnw-aarsbl.org/index.htm?title=Info&bar=infobut.htm&main=time.htm

Women and Religion – Friday Afternoon
Presider: Ardy Bass, Gonzaga University, (bassa@gonzaga.edu)
2:00-2:45 Nané Jordan, University of British Columbia, (nanay6of8@hotmail.com), Embodying Scholarly Community: A Tale/Tail of Women’s Spirituality in the Academy (or how I came to the PNW meeting...)
2:45-3:30 Marie Goughnour Wachlin, Concordia University, (nmwachlin@juno.com), Far Above Rubies: Women and Bible Quilts/Bible Women and Quilts
3:30-4:00 BREAK

Women and Religion- Saturday Morning
Presider: Ardy Bass, Gonzaga University, (bassa@gonzaga.edu)
8:30-9:15 Valarie H. Ziegler, DePauw University, (vziegler@depauw.edu), “Christian Domestic Discipline and Genesis 1-3: Spanking Our Way to Salvation”
9:15-10:00 Priscilla Pope-Levison, Seattle Pacific University, (popep@spu.edu), “African American Women Evangelists and Interracial Cooperation in the Progressive Era”
10:30-11:00 BREAK

Women and Religion- Saturday Afternoon
Presider: Kendra Irons, George Fox University, (kirons@georgefox.edu)
2:00-2:40 Elizabeth McCabe, Hebrew Union College, (b_a_mccabe@yahoo.com), “A Reexamination of Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2 as a Diakonos and Prostatis: Exposing the Inaccuracies of English Translations”
2:40-3:20 Kathi Breazeale, Troy Storfjell and Britta Helm, Pacific Lutheran University, (breazeka@plu.edu), “Selling Wind: Sámi as Witches and Witches as Sámi in Northern European Religious Imagination”
3:20-3:50 BREAK
3:50-4:30 Lesley Hazleton, Independent Scholar, (lh@jezebelbook.com), “The Woman at the Heart of the Shia-Sunni Split: The Ever-Controversial Aisha”
4:30-5:10 Business Meeting and Discussion of future directions

Pacific Northwest Region (AAR/SBL/ASOR)

2009-01-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

Pacific Northwest Region(AAR/SBL/ASOR)

April 24–26, 2009

Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA

PROPOSALS DUE: January 16, 2009

SUBMIT PROPOSALS OF 150 WORDS BY EMAIL DIRECTLY TO THE PROGRAM UNIT CHAIR(S)

PLEASE INDICATE YOUR TECHNOLOGY NEEDS WITH YOUR PROPOSAL

http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/Regions/Pacific_Northwest/call.asp

http://www.pnw-aarsbl.org/index.htm?title=Info&bar=infobut.htm&main=time.htm

Announcing Joint Session with ASOR

2009-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

ASOR Joint Session: We are pleased to announce a joint session with ASOR with guest speaker Beth Alpert Nakhai of the University of Arizona (http://fp.arizona.edu/judaic/faculty/beth_nakhai.htm).

We invite submissions of individual papers in response to, or closely related to, her presentation on Ancient Near Eastern mother-and-child figurines.

Papers emphasizing figurines/mother and child depictions are encouraged.

Please contact Gloria London (glondon@earthlink.net) for further information.
(Photos by Ardy Bass)

Call for Papers: Women and Religion

2009-01-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

It's that time again!

AAR: We invite individual papers or panels on any aspect of the study of women and religion. This section especially welcomes proposals that facilitate cross-disciplinary and/or religious traditions in the study of women. Papers exploring feminist pedagogy are also welcome.

SBL: We invite proposals on women in religious literature including, but not limited to, ancient Greek and Roman, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Asian religions. Proposals should be sent electronically to the co-chairs Ardy Bass, Gonzaga University, bassa@gonzaga.edu and Kendra Irons, George Fox University, kirons@georgefox.edu.

Special Topic Session: Arts and Religion

2009-01-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Susan and Louise presented in the Women and Religion Section last year. This year they are offering a special topic session. If you know of someone who may be interested in presenting or attending their session, please offer your encouragement. Here is the info on their session:

The arts have always played a part in world religions and spiritual traditions through the use of image, symbol, ritual, music, percussion, dance, poetry, theatre, story-telling (myth and folklore), architecture, and geomancy. This special topic session welcomes your proposal on any topic, from ancient to contemporary, which explores the arts and religion. Papers exploring traditional institutionalized religions, as well as world spiritual traditions (including indigenous and oral traditions) are welcome.

Proposals should be submitted electronically at the region's on-line website to the
special topic session co-chairs Susan G. Carter, Marylhurst University and The California Institute of Integral Studies, susangailcarter@yahoo.com (or scarter@ciis.edu) and Louise M. Pare, lmpare849@aol.com.

Thank You....

2008-05-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

to everyone who helped make this year's Regional Meeting a huge success!! Please see the abstracts and images below of all the papers presented.

I encourage you to send any news or program highlights to Kendra or Ardy - let us know what is going on at your institution or in your research on women.

Also, please feel free to post comments!!

Congratulations!!

2008-05-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

A big round of applause, please, to Anna-Sophia Zingarelli of Gonzaga University, who won the AAR Undergraduate Student Paper Competition. Anna-Sophia presented her paper Lux vivens: Hildegard of Bingen and the Medieval Imaging of God as Light at the Saturday afternoon session (see abstract and image below).

Women in the World’s Columbian Exposition: Harbingers of “Progress”

2008-05-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

Susanna Morrill presented Women in the World’s Columbian Exposition: Harbingers of “Progress.”

Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 helped to generate an American civil, or, more accurately, cultural religion. The place of women at the fair was central to the creation of this cultural religion. As represented by the elite white women of the fair’s Woman’s Building—and presented in sharp contrast to the Asian and African women of the fair’s Midway—American women were seen to be one of the harbingers of the country’s God-ordained, postmillennial progress. Christianity, particularly Protestantism, was seen to have raised the authority of women within the home, thus, stimulating a general moral and religious elevation of families. Additionally, advancing technology was seen to have freed women from some of their home duties so that they could participate in wider social reform activities. In this cultural religion, the contained authority of middle class white women was seen to be a key element in creating a progressively perfected American society.

There Goes the Bride: Creating and Re-Creating the Ideal Christian Wife in Text, Art and Film

2008-05-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

Kathlyn A. Breazeale presented wonderful images as part of her presentation on There Goes the Bride:Creating and Re-Creating the Ideal Christian Wife in Text, Art and Film:

This paper examines the historical development of the concept of the ideal Christian wife in Western culture by analyzing religious, economic and political factors used to construct this archetype. I demonstrate how the texts for defining "wife" shift from biblical scripture to the miracle and mystery plays of the early medieval church, and then to the street drama and woodcut illustrations of the Renaissance and Reformation period. I examine the dramatic influence of capitalism and the resulting needs of the new middle class on religious beliefs about the role of the Christian wife. Following this historical overview, I discuss how the Christian archetype of two wives - Eve and Mary - continues to influence the portrayal of wives as good or bad in contemporary films in the United States.

Lux vivens: Hildegard of Bingen and the Medieval Imaging of God as Light

2008-05-06T14:19:00.001-07:00

Anna-Sophia Zingarelli presented Lux vivens: Hildegard of Bingen and the Medieval Imaging of God as Light.

In the wake of many excellent but narrowly gender-oriented studies on Hildegard of Bingen, one must be careful to remember that Hildegard's gender did not divorce her from the intellectual currents of her time. This paper examines the importance of light imagery in Hildegard's visionary work Scivias and its place in a medieval discourse on light as a manifestation of the divine. This theme appears, with similar import, in the works of other such diverse thinkers as St. Benedict, Hugh of St. Victor, Robert Grosseteste, and St. Bonaventure. In both the text and images of Scivias, Hildegard relayed the revelations made to her by a God whom she described first and foremost as an extraordinary Light - a characterization unusual in the visual arts of the time, but more apparent in the writings of her peers, even, for St. Bonaventure, emerging as the true imago Dei.

Women and Religion: Women's Participation in the Ritual of Worship in African Traditional Religion

2008-05-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon the session began with Samuel Awuah-Nyamekye paper onWomen and Religion: Women's Participation in the Ritual of Worship in African Traditional Religion.

In traditional African societies, the image of womanhood is nothing good to write home about. She is only fit for the kitchen and other household chores. A woman is never equal to a man and thus must not be heard when men are around. She is seen as a sort of sex machine to satisfy the sexual desire of men. This unfortunate traditional image of womanhood has been carried to the field of religion and thus suppressing or denying women their divine-given talent to participate in the ritual of worship. In this paper, an attempt will be made to examine women participation in the ritual of worship in African Traditional Religion. Three major questions will guide the discussion. They are: Why have women in Africa been imaged in the way described above? Are there areas in African Traditional Religion where women are permitted to express their religiosity? If there are, which are they? Have women any role at all to play in African Traditional Religion? If there are, which are they? The paper will, however, argue that the women participation in African Traditional Religion can better be described as ambivalent. For, in one breath, women seem to be restricted in the extent to which they can participate in religious activities but in another breath, restrictions are removed. This seeming contradiction stems from the fact that in the African religious thought, there are both male and female gods and even the Supreme Being is neither exclusively male nor female.

Gen 1-3, Relationships and Popular Culture

2008-05-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Val, Linda and Amy entertained us with a session on Gen 1-3, Relationships and Popular Culture.

Val Ziegler began with That’s SO Romantic! Adam, Eve, and the Perfect Date:

Although Genesis 2-3 never mentions romance, a long line of Christian writers since Milton have found the Adam and Eve story redolent with exciting and intense sexual love. Contemporary Evangelical writers such as Josh Harris, Tim and Beverly LeHaye, and Eric and Leslie Ludie have appealed to Genesis 1-3 as the foundation of a sexual theology that promises to provide “worship in bed,” to transform married couples into Prince and Princess Charmings, and to deliver the most satisfying (and frequent) sex on the planet. What happens when secular dating services invoke Adam and Eve as their model and offer customers romance from paradise? What kind of love can Eve and Adam provide those looking for fulfilling partners? How do cultural myths of Adam, Eve, and romantic love differ from Christian readings of Genesis 2-3? Or do they? The results may surprise you

Linda Schearing continued with Marketing Sex: Adam, Eve, and Sexploitation:

Commentators since ancient times have reflected on Adam and Eve’s nakedness (Gen 2) and the interpretive nuances of the tree of “knowledge” (Gen 3). Whereas some contemporary writers see in these elements the foundation of a romance between Adam and Eve (see Ziegler’s abstract) other popular culture voices stripped the romance from Adam and Eve in favor of a more blatant sexual interpretation. While the genres of humor and advertising, in general, have capitalized on Gen 2-3 sexual inferences, no contemporary business sector of society has exploited Gen 2-3 quite like that of the sex industry. This presentation examines what happens to Gen 2-3 when the story’s characters and their relationship become the icon for the largest and most successful adult products company in the United States—“Adam and Eve.”

Amy Merrill Willis wrapped it up with her analysis of Desperate Housewives, Desire, Desperation, and Empowerment: The Eves of Desperate Housewives:

This paper will be an exploration of one particular intersection between Genesis 2-3 and popular culture, the one offered in the popular primetime soap opera, Desperate Housewives (DH). One conventional interpretation of Eve- as the original femme fatale who tempts primal man to his downfall with her sexual wiles- sometimes appears to guide the depiction of the central female characters in DH, especially in the advertisements for commodities connected to the show. This paper will argue that the temptress is actually one of several models of female empowerment at work in the show’s ongoing narrative of four suburban housewives and their acquaintances on Wisteria Lane. This paper will explore the use of Gen 2-3 to frame the depiction of female desire and power in the show. It will argue that, rather than exhibiting a conventional reading of Eve that threatens to undermine the full humanity of all women, the program renders women as fully human as it unfolds the profound contradictions of life in an ironic Eden and various female responses to that life.

Like a Serpent in a Rope: Re-imaging Woman’s Moving Body as Site of the Sacred Feminine

2008-05-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Louise Pare presented Like a Serpent in a Rope: Re-imaging Woman’s Moving Body as Site of the Sacred Feminine:

Western patriarchal religions erased female images of deity and in so doing inhibited women’s process of becoming divine women. Iconographical analysis of images and artifacts of prehistoric goddess cultures documented that woman’s moving body was the embodiment of the sacred. Using a multi-disciplinary approach which includes scholarship in women’s spirituality, somatics, and yogic studies as well as the writing of key French feminist philosophers, I argue that woman’s moving body is a site of the Sacred Feminine. I will present research on Sacred Transformational Movement as a new embodied spiritual practice which enables a woman practitioner to bring forth new images of herself as the embodiment of the Sacred Feminine. The stories of seasoned women practitioners will demonstrate how this work enables women to image themselves as the embodiment of the divine in order to correct and complete the central project of Christianity which is “embodied knowledge.”

The Tantric Kali

2008-05-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Chandra Alexandre presented on the Hindu Goddess Kali:
In

India

, Goddess Kali is both feared and revered by Hindus. For Shakta Tantricks, believers in the primacy of the female force, She is the Ultimate, an expression of the Divine that is both formless and at the same time a part of every component of Creation. She is at once the terrifying power of nature unbounded, a force with which to be reckoned, and our merciful, ever-compassionate mother. In the developed nations of the global north, Kali has taken a place at the crossroads between Paganism and Hinduism, between Wicca and the Tantrick practices of South Asia —all of which have been steadily gaining momentum in an increasingly goddess- and Gaia-conscious world. In this presentation, I argue that new forms of Devi (Goddess) worship focused in particular on Kali are arising in the developed west that honor rather than appropriate Hindu deities, rituals, and spiritual practices. What these new traditions are, how they are carried out (and by whom), how they differ and are similar to the Hindu orthodoxy and heterodoxy, will be discussed.

Amaterasu-o-mi-kami: The Japanese Sun Goddess

2008-05-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

Susan Carter presented Amaterasu-o-mi-kami: The Japanese Sun Goddess:

Of all the world’s main religions, only in Shinto is a goddess, Amaterasu-o-mi-kami, preeminent without a male consort. Today Japan’s Emperor and average Japanese citizens alike worship this Sun Goddess. From a western feminist perspective, this is remarkable. How might Amaterasu-o-mi-kami have emerged, and why has she survived in Japan’s patriarchal society? Is she relevant to women’s lives today? Drawing on interdisciplinary research I argue how early religious and political development in Japan provided fertile ground for the myth of Amaterasu-o-mi-kami and her emergence in female form. Her continuing spiritual reign and survival today, in part, can be attributed to the remaining characteristics of an earlier more woman-centered culture and to the political success of the Yamato clan, who claimed her as their tutelary deity, and came to be Japan’s ruling imperial family. Amaterasu-o-mi-kami’s reign continues to shape the social, political, and spiritual lives of the Japanese in surprising ways.

Anne Key and the Cihuateteo

2008-05-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

Friday Afternoon's Session began with Anne Key's paper: From Beloved Sisters to Vampires: Myths and Misinterpretations of the Cihuateteo.

The Cihuateteo (literally “women goddesses”) appear in the Mesoamerican cosmology as women that died in childbirth and were deified. They are mentioned in the writings by the Spanish clerics and appear in the Mesoamerican 260 day ritual calendar. Through the study of the different sources of information on the Cihuateteo, two starkly contrasting images appear. In the prayers recited by the midwife at the woman’s death, she is referred to as a “beloved sister”, and the midwife begs her not to forget her family and to petition the deities for those left on earth. In other descriptions by the early clerics, these immortal women are considered malevolent demons that cause paralysis. In modern writings, the Cihuateteo are considered the “Aztec Vampires”. The demonization of these powerful Goddesses can be attributed to the inability of the Spanish clerics to accept female divinity as well as misinterpretation of ritual and devotional practices.

Regional Meeting Housing Reminder

2008-04-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

If you are staying on campus at George Fox, please remember to bring linens, if you did not request them, as per the website: http://www.georgefox.edu/academics/undergrad/departments/religion/registration.html

Sunday Morning Bonus at the Regional Meeting!

2008-04-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

We would like to call attention to a special film presentation on Sunday morning at 8:30: "Standard Bearers of Hussein: Women Commemorating Karbala" by Ingvild Flaskerud, Centre for Peace Studies at the University of Tromso, 2003.

We encourage you to attend this special event! If you would like more information about the film, please contact Lesley Hazleton at lh@marylife.org.

Santo Cielo!

2008-04-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

Ardy Bass will participate in a five-week Summer Seminar at the American Academy in Rome thanks to a NEH grant. The topic of the Seminar is "Identity and Self-Representation in the Subcultures of Ancient Rome." According to the Directors, Eleanor Winsor Leach, Indiana University and Eve D'Ambra, Vassar College, "The seminar will focus on the ever-controversial matter of personal identity by considering ways in which Roman citizens throughout the Mediterranean world used word and image to represent themselves both as individuals and as members of communities." Ardy's research topic is the cult of Isis.

Roman Art at the Seattle Art Museum

2008-02-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

Roman Art from the Louvre at the Seattle Art Museum
February 21–May 11, 2008
SAM Simonyi Special Exhibition Galleries

"This extraordinary selection of ancient art from Paris’s famed Musée du Louvre portrays nearly 300 years of imperial Roman life and history. The exhibition includes approximately 180 pieces—many that have never before traveled to the United States—from one of the richest collections of ancient Roman art in the world.

Visitors will meet emperors and members of the imperial court, elite and ordinary citizens, women and children, soldiers, gladiators, foreigners and slaves. Their lives and experiences are richly conveyed through a wide variety of media including monumental marble sculptures and reliefs, paintings and mosaics, bronze statuettes, jewelry, glass and silver implements. These objects demonstrate how the art of Rome shaped ancient life by representing its leaders and deities, defining public and private spaces, acculturating the conquered, and celebrating the dead. The exhibition also illustrates the varied roles that Roman art has played in the post-Classical period, and that it continues to play today."

For more information, see http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/interactives/rome/rome.asp

Tentative Schedule for Regional Meeting (subject to change without notice)

2008-02-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

First Session (2:00-5:30 p.m.)

Women and Religion: Female Divinity in World Spiritual Traditions: Contemporary Relevance for Women

Presider: Susan G. Carter, Marylhurst University, Portland, OR and California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA

2:00-2:45 Anne Key, Independent Scholar, Hood River, OR (anne@rabbitmurmurs.org)

From Beloved Sisters to Vampires: Myths and Misinterpretations of the Cihuateteo

2:45-3:30 Susan G. Carter, Marylhurst University, Portland, OR and California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA

susangailcarter@yahoo.com or scarter@ciis.edu

Amaterasu-o-mi-kami: The Japanese Sun Goddess and Her Continuing Reign

3:30-4:00 BREAK

4:00-4:45 Chandra Alexandre, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, CA cmalexandre@earthlink.net

The Tantric Kali: Eastern and Western Approaches to the Divine Mother

4:45-5:30 Louise M. Pare, New College of California, San Francisco, CA lmpare849@aol.com

Like a Serpent in a Rope: Re-imaging Woman’s Moving Body as Site of the Sacred Feminine

FRIDAY EVENING

5:30-7:30 Dinner at area restaurants of your choice!

8:00-9:00 Presidential Address

9:00-10:00 Reception

SATURDAY MORNING

7:00-8:00 Program Unit Chairs and Region Executive Committee Breakfast Meeting

Second Session (8:30-10:30 am)

Women and Religion: Genesis 1-3, Relationships, and Popular Culture

Presider: Amy C. Merrill Willis, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA (willis@gonzaga.edu)

8:30-9:10 Valarie H. Ziegler, DePauw University, Greencastle IN

(vziegler@depauw.edu)

That’s SO Romantic! Adam, Eve, and the Perfect Date

9:10-9:50 Linda S. Schearing, Gonzaga University, Spokane WA

(schearing@gonzaga.edu)
Marketing Sex: Adam, Eve, and Sexploitation

9:50-10:30 Amy C. Merrill Willis, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA

(willis@gonzaga.edu)

Desire, Desperation, and Empowerment: The Eves of Desperate Housewives

10:30-11:00 BREAK

PLENARY SESSION(S)

(AAR, SBL, ASOR)

11:00-12:00 p.m. (No title) Name, Affiliation, Email Address, Paper Title

SATURDAY NOON

(Lunch and Region Business Meeting)

12:00 Boxed Lunch

12:30-1:45 Pacific Northwest AAR, SBL and ASOR Business Meeting

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

Third Session (2:00-5:30 pm)

Women and Religion

Presider: Ardy Bass, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA (bassa@gonzaga.edu)

2:00-2:30 Samuel Awuah-Nyamekye, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, West Africaawuahnyamekye@yahoo.com) (

Women's Participation in the Ritual of Worship in African Traditional Religion

2:30-3:00 Wynter Miller, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO (wamcq6@mizzou.edu)

An Investigation of the Elite Status of Women in Thai Buddhism

3:00-3:30 Anna-Sophia Zingarelli, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WAazingarelli@gonzaga.edu) (

Lux vivens: Hildegard of Bingen and the Medieval Imaging of God as Light

3:20-3:50 BREAK

3:50-4:30 Kathlyn A. Breazeale, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA (breazeka@plu.edu)

There Goes the Bride: Creating and Re-Creating the Ideal Christian Wife in Text, Art and Film

4:30-5:10 Susanna Morrill, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR

smorrill@lclark.edu

Women in the World’s Columbian Exposition: Harbingers of “Progress”

5:10-5:30 Business Meeting and/or Discussion of future directions

SATURDAY EVENING,

6:30-8:00 Banquet

8:00-9:00 Banquet Address

9:00-10:00 Reception

SUNDAY MORNING

Fourth Session (8:30-12:00 pm)

Women and Religion: "Standard Bearers of Hussein: Women Commemorating Karbala"

Presider: Lesley Hazelton, Independent Scholar, Seattle, WA, lh@marylife.org

8:30-9:15 Film Presentation: "Standard Bearers of Hussein: Women Commemorating Karbala" by Ingvild Flaskerud, Centre for Peace Studies at the University of Tromso, 2003

9:15-10:00 Discussion

10:00-10:30 BREAK

Electronic Submission of Papers

2008-01-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

As per the Regional Newsletter, please follow these guidelines:

As was the case last year, we are accepting electronic paper submissions for paper presentations. We request that you use the electronic format in order to make the work of the Program Unit Chairs and the generation of the meeting program pamphlet. Please, remember to indicate your technology needs! Thanks, again, in advance!

Remember the deadline is January 19, 2008.

http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/Regions/Pacific_Northwest/Call/

Newsletter Update

2007-12-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

Instead of an email newsletter, Kendra and Ardy have decided to try a blog as a means of communication for those interested in the Women and Religion Section. Please feel free to post comments and suggestions. We will send out an email when the most recent newsletter has been submitted to the blog, but check back periodically for postings.

December 2007 Newsletter

2007-12-04T16:50:00.000-08:00

The 2008 Regional Meeting will be held at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon (See Call for Papers below). Here are a few of the papers tentatively scheduled for 2008:

Bonnie Bazemore (Eastern Washington University) has agreed to share her expertise in archaeology. She will present on women and religion in the ancient world.

Eric Cunningham (Gonzaga University) will present on gender issues in Buddhism.

Ardy Bass (Gonzaga University) is researching Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement.

The star attraction, offered by Lesley Hazelton, is a "dynamite film." In Lesley's own words, "It's called 'Standard Bearers of Hussein: women commemorating Karbala' and is an inside look at women's ceremonies and rituals during Ashura, the huge Shia festival commemorating the death of Muhammad's grandson Hussein -- the founding event of the Shia-Sunni split. It has extraordinary footage of Iranian women not only leading and participating in their own rituals, but also explaining them. Narration is in English, with subtitles for the Iranian women when they sing, chant, and speak. It's 35 minutes long and excellent technical and artistic as well as documentary quality. It was made 'in the field' in 2003 by a Norwegian academic called Ingvild Flaskerud, of the Centre for Peace Studies at the University of Tromso, but is clearly important as an anthropological and women's-studies document as well as a religious-studies one."

2008 Call for Papers

Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting
(AAR/SBL/ASOR)
May 2–4, 2008
George Fox University
Newberg, OR

http://www.aarweb.org/About_AAR/Regions/Pacific_Northwest/call.asp

Submit a 150-word abstract for each proposed paper as well as any equipment requirements for your presentation by January 19, 2008, to the electronic paper submission website for the PNW Region. Participants in the Pacific Northwest AAR/SBL and ASOR Regional Meeting must have the appropriate academic credentials and must be registered for the meeting to participate. Paper proposals (panels and special topics session suggestions are welcome!) not fitting into any of the categories below should be submitted to the electronic paper submission website under “Special Topics.”

SBL: We invite proposals on women in religious literature including, but not limited to, ancient Greek and Roman, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Asian religions. Papers exploring the connection between sacred texts and violence are especially welcome.

Proposals should be submitted electronically at the region’s website to the co-chairs, Ardy Bass, Gonzaga University, bassa@gonzaga.edu; and Kendra Irons, George Fox University, kirons@georgefox.edu.

If you would like to receive our e-mail newsletter, please contact us at the e-mail addresses given above.

For one joint session with the Theology and Philosophy of Religion Program Unit, we would like to invite submissions of individual papers and/or panels reflecting on the contributions of North American Feminist, Letty Russell. We welcome proposals that facilitate the engagement of how the pioneering voice of Letty Russell facilitated and transformed the contributions of women in the theological/philosophical disciplines in the study of women and religion. Papers exploring perspectives from, and relationships between, various theologies of women are also welcome.

Congratulations Lesley!!

2007-12-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen by Lesley Hazleton is officially published from Doubleday (publicist is Rachel Lapal, rlapal@randomhouse.com, if you would like a copy).

More details on the book and early reviews are at www.jezebelbook.com