Two Additional ASWM Opportunities

In addition to the Kore Award mentioned in our August Buzz Coil (see post below), the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology has announced two additional opportunities (ASWM material that follows is marked "please distribute widely"):

2016 Biennial Conference

Association for the Study of Women and Mythology

April 1­2, 2016, Boston, Massachusetts

 

Call for Proposals

“Seeking Harbor in Our Histories: Lights in the Darkness”

Goddess Scholarship draws on historical, ethnographic and folk sources, among others, to document and honor the sacred and mundane stories which animate the traditions and spiritual lives of our global sisters and our foremothers. In past conferences, the innovative methodologies and scholarship of ASWM participants have served to problematize contemporary perceptions of civilization, “modernization” and “progress.” Multi­discipline research methodologies have focused on representing historical, thealogical, philosophical, mythological, symbolic, cultural, linguistic and aesthetic lineages.

 

This year’s conference theme embraces the heritage of location in the historical City of Boston, a harbor city rich in stories and symbols of First Nations of the Atlantic Northeast and the formation of the United States.

 

We invite papers and panels including,​but not limited to​the following topics:

●Harbor and hearth as women­centered metaphors

●Myth and lineage of the spirit of place, especially focus on the larger Boston area

●Indigenous stories, histories, and women’s communities of the Atlantic North East

●Paradigms of rebellion, freedom and independence

●Water, ritual and civilization, stories of aquatic goddesses

●Perspectives on First Nations/First Worlds

●Women’s sense of self, social agency, and their roles as citizens

●The female principle in ethics and ancient wisdom for modern times

●Cultural ecofeminism

●Animal mysteries and myth

●Ancestry, foremothers and methodology

●Changing experiences and definitions of the sacred and the profane

 

Papers should be 20 minutes; panels with up to four papers on a related topic may be proposed together. Workshop proposals should be organized to provide audience interaction and must clearly address the theme. All sessions and workshops are limited to 90 minutes.

Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, as well as creative artists and practitioners who engage mythic themes in a scholarly manner in their work. Presenters must become members of ASWM.

Send 250 ­word abstract (for panels, 200 word abstract plus up to 150 words per paper) in PDF or MSWord to aswmsubmissions@gmail.com by November 15, 2015. ​Use “2016 proposal” and last name in subject header.  ​Include bio of up to 70 words for each presenter, as well as contact information including surface address and email. See ​www.womenandmyth.org​ for program updates and registration.

 

Association for the Study of Women and Mythology

Sarasvati Nonfiction Book Award Notification

 

The Sarasvati Book Award solicits nonfiction books published during 2013-2015 in the field of goddess studies.  Named for the Hindu goddess of learning and the creative arts, the Sarasvati award from the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) honors creative work in the field of goddess and mythology studies. The award will be presented during ASWM’s biennial conference, Boston, April 1-2, 2016.

 

Past winners include Sacred Display: Divine and Magical Female Figures of Eurasia by Miriam Robbins Dexter and Voctor H. Mair (Cambria, 2010). and The Dancing Goddesses:  Folklore, Archaeology and the Origins of European Dance, by Elizabeth Wayland Barber (Norton, 2013).

 

Note to Publishers

 

Please submit books for consideration and guidelines queries at this email address: aswmsubmissions@gmail.com  Deadline for submissions is December 1, 2015; the winner will be notified by February 25 2016.

 

The award covers books published during the past two calendar years. Nominations must come from the publisher. Self-published books and anthologies are not eligible for the award.

 

Criteria for Submission

 

·        --Must be published in the last two calendar years 

·      --Must belong to the field of goddess studies and mythology  

·      --Must add to and enhance the field of goddess and mythology studies with distinction 

·      --Must demonstrate an original approach to goddess and mythology studies in all its diversity