PCA/ACA Conference 2007

The Mythology and Technology panel presented during the second day of the PCA/ACA Conference at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. Anais N. Spitzer from Pacifica Graduate Institute was the chair.

The first presenter was Katharyn M. Privett from Auburn University who presented on Sacred Cyborgs and 21st Century Goddesses. Ms. Privett discussed the cyborg as a contemporary model for femininity in a technological society. She also gave examples of contemporary role models who have developed fuller potentials than this limited robotic image.

I was the second presenter and spoke about Myth and the Machine, giving a presentation on the technological fantasies of global civilization and contrasted them with the sustaining values of living mythological communities.

The third presenter was Garrison LeMasters from Catholic University who spoke on Trickster Makes this (Virtual) World: Ludic Myth in Liminal Space. Mr. Lemaster’s presentation explored the ontological freedom expressed in trickster online gamers.

The final presenter was Colette Kavanagh from Pacifica Graduate Institute who presented on The Webcam as the “Evil Eye” in Modern Culture. Ms. Kavanagh discussed the cultural significance of the “evil eye” in European and Middle Eastern culture and demonstrated how the webcams of sexual predators reify in a destructive way this cross-cultural mytheme.

There was a good turn out for the panel and afterwards a lively discussion started by the chair, Ms. Spitzer.

Mythology in Contemporary Culture

On Easter weekend next year I will be speaking at the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association's conference on Mythology in Contemporary Culture. The conference will be at Boston Marriott Copley Place, Boston, Massachusetts, April 4 - 7, 2007. There will be a four person panel on Mythology and Technology. The panel and lectures are as follows:

Name: Mythology and Technology
Chair: Anais N. Spitzer, Pacifica Graduate Institute

Sacred Cyborgs and 21st Century Goddesses
Katharyn M. Privett, Auburn University

Myth vs. The Machine
Dave Alber, Independent Scholar

Trickster Makes this (Virtual) World: Ludic Myth in Liminal Space
Garrison LeMasters, Catholic University

The Webcam as the “Evil Eye” in Modern Culture
Colette Kavanagh, Pacifica Graduate Institute

I am looking forward to the lecture. Especially, since the material for the lecture will also be a book that will be released in 2008. More on this in future posts.

PCA/ACA: Mythology in Contemporary Culture

I was recently invited to speak on The Mythology in Contemporary Culture panel at the PCA/ACA conference. (Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association.) The conference will be April 4-7, 2007 in Boston Massachusetts. The organizer of the mythology panel is Anais Spitzer, a fellow graduate of Pacific Graduate Institute. My talk is entitled ‘Myth vs. the Machine’ and is about technology as a force affecting both the Western mythological traditions and indigenous traditions. CDs of the material will be on sale at the time, a portion of the proceeds will go to help endangered cultures.

Some future art will be related to this project. I will keep you informed.