Religion scholar to lecture on Hindu mythology and Indian music at Vassar College, October 31

Jennifer Rycenga will examine the way South Indian music evokes the presence of Sarasvati, the Hindu deity of music and learning. Rycenga will speak at 5 p.m. Tuesday, October 31, in Sanders Auditorium at Vassar College.

"The Mythology of Music, Knowledge, and Sexuality: The Hidden Image of Sarasvati in Two Karnatic Kritis," is sponsored by the Department of Religion at Vassar College, and will be free of charge and open to the public.

The lecture will examine Sarasvati's presence in music from a feminist perspective, given that she is the Hindu symbol of female wisdom. The goddess represents abstraction and intellect in the surprisingly physical mediums of water, sound, and writing.

Rycenga, a professor currently in residence at the Five College Women's Studies Research Center at Mount Holyoke College, investigates how religion helps mold other human activities, such as music, economics, and gender. She has studied the way musicians consider sound itself as sacred, especially those of the Karnatic tradition, a classical South Indian type of music.

She is the co-editor of "Frontline Feminism: Women, War, and Resistance," which looks at the way feminism grows out of situations of war and conflict.

For additional information, contact the Department of Religion at (845) 437-5520. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations may contact Cathy Jennings, Office of Campus Activities, (845) 437-5370, as far in advance as possible to request appropriate and reasonable accommodations.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2000.