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

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!

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!!

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

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!!

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)

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

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

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

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.