History of the Goddess Registration

Please use the "tickets" link to pay your registration and/or class fees by April 10.

History of the Goddess taught by Dr. Anu Dudley,

Our very own reverend and Iseum Musicum Coordinator, Dr. Anu Dudley, will be teaching a 13 week course on the History of the Goddess. Classes will be once a week starting on Tuesday, April 16 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Maximum enrollment for this class will be 15 students. A $20 deposit is required to hold your spot, due by April 14. It can be paid for in person at the Temple, by mail, or through our website. Deposit fees count towards the total cost of the entire 13 week series ($130 for members, $195 for nonmembers). Each class is $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Temple of the Feminine Divine, you can find more information on our website in our store under "membership."

Course Description:

There is a large body of mythological, archaeological, and historical evidence suggesting that the Goddess was once the foundation of society. However, her role has changed dramatically since ancient times, and now appears greatly diminished, if not absent altogether. The study of the Goddess’s presence throughout the arc of human existence, while interesting, is also a powerful tool for understanding the nature of history itself, for it challenges us to examine such interpretive factors as point of view, essentialism, presentism, and patriarchy, and to ask important questions like: why are women and goddesses largely absent from history; what can the presence of goddesses tell us about social constructs at any given time or place; and how can a study of the history of the Goddess help us to be better critical thinkers and more perceptive historians?

Focusing primarily on Western Civilization, we will explore the Goddess’s presence in society, beginning with the Aurignacian Period (30,000 BCE) and continuing to the present day. We will examine goddess archetypes and their roles in reflecting such factors as gender stereotypes, socio-political institutions, and changing cultural values. A number of individual goddesses will be studied in depth; and we will analyze the Goddess’s veiled presence in today’s world.

There will be three books used in class. You can purchase them wherever you'd like or borrow them from your local library if they're available. The books we will be using are listed below.

The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler

The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford

O Mother Sun! by Patricia Monaghan