What: An Evening With . . .
Who: Beverly Fourier & Kris O'Shee
When: Friday
Fees: $15.00, members; $20.00, nonmembers;
$10.00, full-time students and seniors over 65
It has been over twenty years since the groundbreaking publication of Marija Gimbutas' controversial book The Language of the Goddess. As an archaeologist with a meticulous methodology, Gimbutas studied feminine figurines and imagery unearthed in Old Europe. She considered prehistoric Europe to be a peaceful "matristic" culture, compared to a later warlike patriarchal culture. Her interpretation of early artifacts was radical and feminist, never attempted before, and based on a wide knowledge of Eastern European linguistics, folklore, and mythology.
The papers and books of Marija Gimbutas are housed at the Pacifica Graduate Institute, across from those of Joseph Campbell, who praised her work as revolutionary, whereas orthodox academicians dismissed her conclusions as far fetched. We will present the material in Gimbutas' book within the context of this controversy. Did the female figurines and symbols represent numinous and magical goddesses, or just something mundane? What evidence is there for a peaceful world where the feminine image predominated? We will discuss the 2010 exhibit "The Lost World of Old Europe" and other recent scholarship on this topic.
Kris O'Shee, a lifelong dancer and choreographer, integrates depth psychology and mind-body skills in her private practice in Washington, DC. Beverly Fourier is an independent scholar/researcher on feminine images and symbols and a frequent contributor to Wisewomen talks at the Jung Society.
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