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Heide Göttner-Abendroth (born February 8, 1941, in Langewiesen,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
) is a German feminist advocating ''matriarchy studies'' (also ''modern matriarchal studies''), focusing on the study of
matriarchal Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...
or
matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...
societies.


Life

Göttner-Abendroth was born during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and at the age of 12 moved with her parents from
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
to
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. She has a PhD in philosophy from the
University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
(1973) and worked as a teacher in
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
at Munich University from 1973 to 1983. She became active in
second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...
from 1976 and came to be considered one of the pioneers of
women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...
in West Germany at the time. Göttner-Abendroth describes increased conflict with other academics over her theories. This struggle for mainstream academic acceptance of matriarchal studies is the subject of Edition Amalia's ''Die Diskriminierung der Matriarchatsforschung: Eine moderne Hexenjagd'' (2003), a collection of essays from various scholars within the emerging field. The chapter by Göttner-Abendroth is titled Prevent them by all means!' The discrimination against modern matriarchy research and its practical consequences'' (translated from the German). In her extended online biography, Göttner-Abendroth describes separation from the University of Munich as less than agreeable: "Given that she was prevented from continuing to lecture at the University, she works as an independent scholar in a precarious and difficult financial situation." Nonetheless, she persisted in her research and writing. In 1986 she founded the International Academy for Modern Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal
Spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
(HAGIA) in 1986. In 1992 she served as a visiting professor at the
University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...
Austria and received funding from the
University of Bremen The University of Bremen () is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 18,400 students from 117 countries. Its 12 faculties offer more than 100 degree programs. The University of Bremen has been among the top 50 European rese ...
. In the years since 1998 she has been active in the "Institute of Archaeomythology", based in California (US), and began to publish books on mythology and matriarchy through HAGIA or through independent publishers. Between 2003 and 2011, Göttner-Abendroth's research into matriarchal society had an increasingly international focus, as her conception of matriarchal studies began to focus on its relationship to indigenous studies and the direct input and involvement of indigenous peoples. This global outlook led to a series of international conferences on the nature and purpose of matriarchal studies, each year including progressively more participants from existing non-Western matriarchal cultures. The 2012 publication of ''Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Across the Globe'', marked a degree of change in Göttner-Abendroth relationship to mainstream academia: it was the first time one of her books had been accepted through
scholarly peer review Scholarly peer review or academic peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of having a draft version of a researcher's methods and findings reviewed (usually anonymously) by experts (or "peers") in the same field. Peer review i ...
with an international academic publisher, Peter Lang. In 2014 Göttner-Abendroth was tagged by Oxford University Press as the co-editor-in-chief for the "matriarchal studies" section of Oxford Bibliographies., along with Senacan scholar Barbara Alice Mann. The two continue in this role as of 2020.


Relationship to matriarchal studies and Academy Hagia

Modern matriarchal studies stands in the tradition of 1970s
second wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred t ...
, pioneered by Merlin Stone's '' When God Was a Woman''. Göttner-Abendroth founded the "International Academy for Modern Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal Spirituality" (HAGIA) in 1986. It aims to combine the "intellectual, political, artistic, and spiritual" in its events, which range from "matriarchal mystery festivals" to international academic conferences. In her role as HAGIA director, Göttner-Abendroth organized three World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies, in 2003, 2005, and 2011. Since 2014 Göttner-Abendroth has served as one of two editors in charge of Oxford University Press's "Oxford Bibliographies" project listing for matriarchal studies (along with Mann). This publication aims to provide an authoritative listing of historical and contemporary sources related to matriarchal studies, and includes annotations and commentary.


Bibliography

* * ''The Goddess and Her Heros. Matriarchal Religion in Mythology, Fairy-Tales and Poetry''. Anthony Publishing Company, Stow USA 1995. (Die Göttin und ihr Heros – a study in matriarchal religion, Verlag Frauenoffensive, Munich 1980–1997.) *''Matriarchal Societies: Studies on Indigenous Cultures Across the Globe''. Peter Lang Inc, 2013, ISBN 9781433125126 * ''The Dancing Goddess. Principles of a Matriarchal Aesthetic''. Beacon Press, Boston USA 1991. (Die tanzende Göttin Verlag Frauenoffensive, Munich 1982–2001.) * ''Für die Musen'', Verlag Zweitausendeins, Frankfurt 1988–1999. * ''Für Brigida'', Verlag Zweitausendeins, Frankfurt 1998 and 2000. * * ''Das Matriarchat'', vol I, history of research on matriarchy,
Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-la ...
, Stuttgart 1988–1995; * ''Das Matriarchat'', vol II 1, contemporary matriarchal societies in East Asia, Indonesia, Oceania, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 1991 und 1999; * ''Das Matriarchat'', vol II 2, contemporary matriarchal societies in America, India, Africa Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2000. * ''Inanna. Gilgamesch. Isis. Rhea'', Verlag Ulrike Helmer, Königstein 2004. * ''Fee Morgane. Der Heilige Gral'', Verlag Ulrike Helmer, Königstein 2005. * ''Frau Holle. Das Feenvolk der Dolomiten'', Verlag Ulrike Helmer, Königstein 2005. * ''Matriarchat in Südchina'' – matriarchy in South China, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 1998; film documentary: ''Im Matriarchat der Mosuo'' – matriarchy of the Mosuo, Academy Hagia, 1993. * with Kurt Derungs, ''Matriarchate als herrschaftsfreie Gesellschaften'' (1997)


See also

*
Patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
* Matriarchal religion


References


External links

* * http://www.hagia.de/ * http://www.second-congress-matriarchal-studies.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottner-Abendroth, Heide 1941 births Living people Matriarchy German feminists German women's rights activists German modern pagans