Colloquium Series

Drinking Beer in Ninkasi’s Tavern: The Social Roles of Babylonian Taverns and the Women Who Ran Them

Dr. Marie Hopwood

Thursday, September 24, 2:30 to 4 pm
Malaspina Theatre

Beer is often described as a communal beverage, a drink that inspires sociability. But what if this social power lies less in the beverage as active agent and more in the combination of beer, food and friends in a communal space? Today we might call these spaces “pubs” or “brew pubs.” There is a similar heritage that reaches back thousands of years to Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq, Syria and Turkey). From second-millennium BCE Mesopotamia, archaeologists refer to such spaces as “taverns.” These institutions are well-attested in the written record and at archaeological sites including Babylon, Tell Bazi, and Lágash. Taverns were communal spaces run by a “tapster” who brewed and served their own beer along with “guest taps.” They created and maintained their social space through the serving of beer and food to patrons. 

From an era where women are often assumed to have been socially invisible, in Mesopotamia, women were actually the primary tavern owners and tapsters. Taverns were built upon a long prehistory of women brewing beer for their households. As the importance of beer grew, those women especially skilled at brewing could sell their surplus and the first taverns began. Ninkasi is the goddess of brewing and fermentation, and her hymn gives us clues to the ancient brewing of beer. Taverns became places where locals could come to buy beer and food to enjoy with friends or family, to listen to good music and to celebrate life events. These spaces were not only open and available to women, but were run by them. This valuable revision of women’s roles in the history of brewing and beer culture, stretches from thousands of years past and thousands of miles away to today, in Vancouver Island’s vibrant “tavern” culture. 

WitchTalk: Voicing Power and Magic in Circe

Dr. Janet Grafton 

Thursday, October 22, 11:30 am to 1 pm 
Malaspina Theatre

Homer’s Circe is a Greek goddess with the voice of a human. She’s also a witch – the first witch in Western literature. Homer created her as a foil and helpmate for Odysseus on his epic journey, but her voice and her perspective are absent in his story cycle. She is mysterious, powerful and feared for her ability to transform men into swine with her witchcraft. But that is nearly all that she is known for. 

Madeline Miller, in her 2019 reimagining of Homer’s eighth-century epic, titled Circe, casts the witch as the central character. The witch tells her story from the first-person perspective, demystifying Circe’s actions and motivations. Granting the witch a voice takes on a literal meaning in this retelling. Circe’s journey centres on what it means for a goddess to have the voice of a human and how the development of this voice is integral to the progression of her personal and her supernatural power.

Throughout history, women have fought to have a voice within most spheres, particularly in public, political and religious domains. Under patriarchy, the relationship between religion, magic and the spoken word often falls under the purview of men. Men have control as the creators and leaders of spiritual movements; their voices dominate. In her manifesto, Women and Power, Mary Beard calls out this long history of domination. She tracks the roots of misogyny that continue to plague public discourse and policymaking. This talk will explore the significance of the spoken word in magical and political contexts. And it will attempt to trace a through-line from spells and incantations to other forms of voiced expression, such as songs, prayers and political protest. The reclamation of “witch” as a gendered slur and the development of feminist voices within political contexts are tangential. This talk will use literature that focuses on spells and enchantments to explore the evolution of these projects.

In Their Words Remembrance, Correspondence and the Canadian Soldier in the First World War 

Dr. Stephan Davies 

Thursday, November 19, 11:30 am to 1 pm 
Malaspina Theatre

As we stand in the shadow of Remembrance Day, it is important to consider the basis of remembrance. For many, the focal point of Remembrance Day in Canada is a ceremony at a Cenotaph. This is repeated across the nation in communities large and small. And yet, as we stand in front of a cenotaph, the question is not merely what we are remembering, but who we are remembering. Cenotaphs are carved with the names of men from the community who gave their lives in war. We gather there year after year,. But how many of us actually look at the names? If we do look, do the names hold any meaning beyond an abstract collection of men long dead? Names carved in stone, but nothing more, largely unknown by a community who each year mourns their passing. Remembrance is about making the invisible visible. Soldier correspondence is the best means to achieve that transformation. Letters put a human face to war and remind us what Remembrance is about. Using the First World War collections of The Canadian Letters and Images Project, this talk will share insights into who and what we remember each November.