WOMEN’S STUDIES ON A GREEK ISLAND

The International Women's Studies Institute is celebrating 25 years of women's learning and community-building in Lesbos, Greece, June 13-24, 2006, with our most creative and exciting program ever. We have invited former faculty, staff and participants and new Institute friends to put on a myriad of workshops in their special fields.

We offer you the freedom to choose what subjects you will explore and how many workshops you will attend (there is a minimum of 3). You will be choosing from contemporary women's issues, women's literature and ancient traditions, international concerns, and women's spirituality. The cost of workshops is $75 each before January 1, 2006, and $100 each after January 1, 2006.

In addition to the workshops, the Institute will offer sessions on Women in Community (free, open to all, and optional), attendance at our group dinners (optional), and two free gala evenings to celebrate our anniversary and a big birthday that you will never forget. This Institute will bring together long-time alumnae of IWSI with new women participants and workshop leaders. We will blend the old and new, and will envision ways to make the next 25 years of Institutes as rewarding and life-changing as the last 25 years.

This is an institute enriched by choices and continuous celebration. There are a few rules, however. If you wish to stay at the hotels we have selected and benefit from our group rates, you must book through us. More information will be available soon, but the cost of rooms with breakfast will range from approximately 25 - 40 dollars (each) per night for a double, more for a single. You are responsible for making all your own travel arrangements, although we will provide you with information on getting to and around Lesbos.

The exciting workshop program follows. You can register for the Institute and your workshops at www.iwsi.org. Remember that if you register before January 1, 2006, you save 25 percent on the workshop fees.

Please send questions to iwsi@aol.com.

Workshop Descriptions/Bios of Presenters

DAPHNA AMIT
Women and Activism
A general discussion, following an opening talk, on what causes women to become active in women's groups: political, NGO's, or other social action groups. Are they satisfied with the way their groups function? Do these groups function on the basis of feminist guidelines? My opening talk will be based on presenting my experiences and feelings of reward and frustration as an activist in women’s peace groups, dealing mostly with the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. We will share in small groups our personal experiences, and try to reach conclusions to explore with the whole group.

Daphna Amit was born in Israel 1947 to parents who came from Austria and lost family members in the Holocuast. She has been active in the Feminist Movement since 1972, and in various leftist peace groups such as The New Israeli Left, Peace Now; Member of the control committee of Bat Shalom and of the Board of The Committee Against the Demolition of Houses. She is retired from her job supervising subtitle translation in the Israeli Public Broadcasting Authority and is now translating books and articles from German and English into Hebrew.

JUDY BECK
Will the REAL Mary Magdalene Please Step Forward
Mary Magdalene’s name has become a household word thanks to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Mary Magdalene: saint, whore, lover, wife, royal queen, apostle, church leader, goddess ­ who is she really, and what meaning, if any, does she have for us in the 21st century? By means of art, film, story, legend, poetry, gospel, the latest scholarly (and not so scholarly) research, interaction and discussion, let us search together for the real and relevant Mary Magdalene.

Judith Anne Beck, MA (Religious Studies) is retired Asst. Professor of Religious Studies, Georgian Court University. In addition to having done extensive research on Mary Magdalene, Judith has recently traveled to several of the relevant sites, including Rosslyn Chapel, Scotland, and the Templar Church in London.

DIANE BELL
Indigenous Women and Caring for Country
Learning from the original guardians of the land: Indigenous women, spirituality and respect. "Growing up the land" is a responsibility that Indigenous Australian women take seriously. Their respect for country, the stories of the land and their old people has sustained their society for tens of thousands of years. In this workshop we will explore aspects of this sustaining knowledge and ask: How might we become partners is caring for country?

Diane Bell is Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies at the George Washington University and by June 2006 will be officially "retired". She has returned to Australia where she is writing and working her land. She is the author of eight books, including Daughters of the Dreaming, Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin, and Evil: A novel.

CAROL CHRIST
How Molivos Changed Our Lives
Teaching in the International Women's Studies Institute in Molivos changed my life. In Greece I found beauty, peace, energy, friendships, the Goddess, the sea, and a new sense of my self. In 1987, I quit my academic job and moved to Molivos. I now see the world through the eyes of a woman living as a Greek citizen, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, with all the trials and tribulations that come with living in a small community. In the workshop I will share how Molivos changed me, my writing, and my understanding of the Goddess. Participants will have an opportunity to write about how their experiences in Molivos changed their lives.

Carol P. Christ (Ph.D., Yale) is a pioneer in the study of women and religion and in the Goddess movement. She is author or editor of seven books, including She Who Changes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) and Rebirth of the Goddess (Routledge, 1998).

ELENI FOURTOUNI
The Return: A Writing Workshop
The theme of the workshop is "The Return" to a place, relationship, book, to Molivos and the women we were 25 years ago. Beginning with a reading from my new book of poetry, The Return, I will approach writing poetry and prose in two ways: learning how to discard the superfluous and putting our writing through "The Madman's Test." We will write poetry and prose and share our work in an informal, wide-ranging discussion.

Eleni Fourtouni is Greek and lives half the year on the island of Aegina. The author of Greek Women Poets, Greek Women in Resistance, 4 Greek Women: Love Poems and Monemvassia, she has given workshops at several IWSI institutes.

MARA KELLER
“To the Sea, Initiates!”
The Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone in ancient Greece included a day at the sea for washing away the cares of the past, becoming freed to welcome a new life. After a brief introduction to these Mother-Daughter Mysteries, we will co-create a ritual for immersion in the womb-waters of Mother Earth -- a ritual of life, death, and rebirth. "We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return, like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean." (traditional song).

Mara Lynn Keller is a professor of Philosophy and Religion and Director of the Women's Spirituality Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco (www.ciis.edu). In addition to her research and writing on Goddess myths and rituals around the world, especially in ancient Crete and Greece, she is a Rosen Method Bodywork practitioner and Movement teacher, and an activist for peace and justice.

MARTA SOFIA LOPEZ
Sapphic Gynealogies
Sappho’s memory has been kept alive throughout the centuries by hundreds of women writers whose names you might have never heard of. This workshop follows the Sapphic Gynealogies from the Renaissance until today, analyzing a wide variety of women's texts for the uses made of Sappho and her recurring imagery and themes..

Marta Sofia Lopez is a professor at the Universidad de Leon, Spain. She has devoted more than ten years to rediscover and recreate a female literary legacy that goes back to the time of Sappho in the seventh century B.C.

DIANE MARTIN
Mandala of Women's Wisdom
Come join a women's circle of wisdom through a colorful and multi-dimensional exploration of the Mandala as an ancient symbol of transformation and wholeness. In gathering together we will move through the symbols and mythology of the Goddess to experience a 'turning of the wheel' through ritual, story, and listening to discover and share each other’s gifts of healing, vision and power through reflection and joy coming to the center of our deep and embodied wisdom ­revealed through many colors, dimensions, layers and laughter!

Diane Martin is a writer, photographer and musician who lives in San Francisco and loves to travel; alumnus of IWSI, Greece, 1999 and Turkey 2001; Ph.D. student CIIS; M.A., CIIS; Women’s Spirituality, Jungian Psychology, Eastern Wisdom; Special interest in the Mandala as a symbol of transformation for healing, growth and empowerment in women’s lives.

GENA McCARTHY
Connecting with our Eggs, Enhancing our Creative Expression
Our beliefs about our Female anatomy and physiology hold clues and metaphors to our patterns with our creative feminine power and its expression. This workshop gently and nourishingly explores some of those patterns and their roots through: guided imagery, collage making, and research information on belief formation and prenatal memory to increase the spaciousness of possibilities opened to us in our creative expression.

Gena McCarthy is a happily married mother of an 18 year old son and daughter of a 92 year old woman. A nurse and marriage and family therapist, she has specialized in studying, teaching, healing and developing Integrative Health programs in Women’s emotional and spiritual health from a foundation of cross cultural ways of Shamanism and Buddhism theory and practice for the last 25 years.

SARAH PEARLMAN
Eros and Age
This workshop will focus on sexuality and the changes in desire and response that occur as one grows older. Emphasis will be on sexuality both before and after menopause and will include such topics as sexual relationships, health issues, physical changes and body image as well as the confidence and sexual assertiveness that can accompany women as they age. Included will be experiential exercises on the sexual ages of women and erotic poetry writing inspired by Sappho and the magnificent island of Lesbos.

Sarah Pearlman is an associate professor in the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hartford and has taught numerous courses and workshops on female sexuality and lesbian sexuality as well as on women and aging. She occasionally composes erotic poetry, mostly when traveling with IWSI.

SARA SPAULDING PHILLIPS
Walking The Path of the Urban Shaman
The first step on a journey with soul or a spiritual adventure is to apply for a passport. In this workshop we will create a small, personal passport “ journal” (just like your official one, but magical) to use on your trip to determine what and who really matters in your life and figure out the destinations and tasks you want to encounter on your way. Sara will supply the passport form, tons of small images and all the art materials and inspiration that anyone, even someone who feels she has no artistic ability, needs to create a pleasing passport to hold all your memories of your journey in Greece!

Sara Spaulding Phillips is from a long line of English and Welsh healers, wise women and witches. She is a born-again pagan, initiated by her grandmother (a Grand Matron of the Eastern Star) into the mysteries and called for 35 years to study, write and teach women’s mysteries while concurrently practicing as a Jungian psychotherapist. She is founder of the School of Magical Arts in Sonoma County, CA, which includes year-long courses of Women’s Mysteries, The Urban Shaman, spiritual adventures abroad, and seasonal public rituals.

MARIANNE RAYNAUD
"Women Leaders in Europe"
I will report on the situation of women in leadership positions in Europe today especially Sweden, Norway and France. The workshop will alternate between information, pairwork on women’s issues, and a general discussion on the inclusi on and empowerment of women today and in the future.

Marianne Raynaud is Swedish and has lived her adult life in France. A former university professor at Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France, she is currently developing a high tech product, a "digital" resource book for ESL ( www.QualityTime-ESL.com) to market this product and mentor to younger teachers worldwide.

EMILY STOPER
Women, Family and the State
Using background information and a framework that I'll provide, participants will share their experiences of how government policies have affected their experiences as daughters, wives, mothers, lesbian partners, and cohabitants. Out of this may come ideas and energy for organizing to change policy. Topics may include divorce and custody, reproductive rights, domestic violence, gay marriage and parental rights, child care, etc.

Emily Stoper is a teacher, researcher and women's movement activist who has been working on family policy issues for decades. Her interest was sparked by her own life experiences as a married mother raising two kids while pursuing a career as a political science professor.

KAY TRIMBERGER
Friendship Networks Versus the Soul Mate
We will look at how networks of friends and extended family can provide intimacy, support and care, at the skills needed to create and sustain such networks, and how they differ from those necessary for a good coupled life. While especially important to single women, coupled women too benefit from such support. Discussion of suggested readings, small group discussion of personal experience, and a few writing exercises will be part of the workshop.

Kay Trimberger is a sociologist and the author of The New Single Woman (Beacon, 2005). She is professor emerita of Women's and Gender Studies at Sonoma State University and a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for the Study of Social Change at UC, Berkeley.

PAULA XANTHOPOULOS
Equal Representation: Common Denominator/Common Cause
How did the U.S.A. -- with only 15.2% of Congressional seats held by women -- get to be 67th in the world for electing women (http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm)? What can we learn from methodologies/strategies used by "honor roll" countries to achieve the 30% benchmark for critical mass? Take part in an international town hall meeting to discuss findings, critical issues, commonalities, and how to move the agenda of equal representation for women forward!

Paula Xanthopoulou is the publisher of "without boundaries.com" -- home of the "Every OPEN SEAT A Woman's Seat" campaign -- and a veteran of many women's campaigns/related efforts. From the trenches, she brings us the truth about the political status of U.S. women and the data/stories to back that up.

Workshop Registration

Choose at least three (no maximum) $75 each if registered by 12/31/05 /$100 each from 1/1/06

Session (1): 10 AM ­ 1 PM
Session (2): 5:30 ­ 8:30 PM

June 14
(1) Women and Community -- the IWSI Experience (Ellen Boneparth) No Charge
(2) Walking the Path of the Urban Shaman (Sara Spaulding Phillips)

June 15
(1) Women & Activism (Daphna Amit)
(2) The Return: A Writing Workshop (Eleni Fourtouni)

June 16
(1) Sapphic Gynealogies (Marta Sofia Lopez)
(2) Women Leaders in Europe (Marianne Raynaud)

June 17
(1) How Molivos Changed Our Lives (Carol Christ)
(2) Women, Family and the State (Emily Stoper)

June 18
(1)Indigenous Women & Caring for Country (Diane Bell)
(2) Eros and Age (Sarah Pearlman)

June 19
(1(Equal Representation: Common Denominator/Common Cause (Paula Xanthopoulos)
(2) Connecting with our Eggs, Enhancing our Creative Expression (Gena McCarthy)

June 20
(1) Mandala of Women’s Wisdom (Diane Martin)
(2) Friendship Networks vs the Soul Mate (Kay Trimberger )

June 21
(1) “To the Sea, Initiates” (Mara Keller)
(2) Will the REAL Mary Magdalene Please Step Forward (Judy Beck)