Interdisciplinary Study of Religions Program Presents
Colloquium in the Interdisciplinary Study of Religions: A Presentation of Student Works in Progress
Monday, April 10, 2023
Hegeman 201
4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Naomi Miller and Josh Desetta
Naomi Miller: Looking at mysticism written by women in the central medieval period, my project examines how these women constructed language and retained the agency to write about God. Closely examining the works of four Christian and Hindu mystics (Hildegard of Bingen, Mechthild of Magdeberg, Akka Mahadevi, and Lal Ded), I attempt to pinpoint the styles and strategies which these women adopted in order to make a place for themselves within their religion. Using the philosophy of Julia Kristeva, I suggest that it was these women's use of the semiotic which allowed them to claim an authority on God which men could not claim as easily. Exemplified by their correlation between the body and nature, their internalization of physical rituals, and their conception of unlearnedness as bringing one closer to God, these women had a radically different approach to mysticism and language which granted them an authority to speak on God not typically afforded to women at this time.Josh Desetta: “The belly is the reason why man does not mistake himself for a god,” wrote Nietzsche. Though it wouldn’t sound as witty, I would have to add that the necessities of sleeping and reproduction are equally important in reminding us of our mortality. In my Senior Project, I am exploring the web of symbolism connecting eating, sleeping, reproduction, and mortality which runs through Near Eastern, Ancient Greek, and Biblical texts. What separates man from the gods? What does it mean to mortal? And can this mortality be overcome?
For more information, call 845-758-7662, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 4:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Hegeman 201