English professor receives accolades for book on goddess mythology in literature

Dr. Mary Magoulick, an English professor at Georgia College & State University, has received honorable mention for the Elli Köngäs-Maranda Prize from the American Folklore Society for her book, “The Goddess Myth in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture: A Feminist Critique.”

Assistant Professor of English Dr. Julian Knox said Magoulick’s book is one most English professors dream of writing.

“‘The Goddess Myth in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture’ is not just a culmination of decades of research, but it is also a testament to the ways in which innovative, interdisciplinary scholarship enriches our interactions with the cultural products we encounter and share in our daily lives,” Knox said.

“Its magisterial bridging of diverse fields of expertise, forms of representation and modes of discourse is a timely reminder of what the liberal arts is all about,” he added, “as is the fact that the book’s subjects are ones Dr. Magoulick has taught across multiple programs—ranging from English to Women’s & Gender Studies to Global Perspectives—during her tenure here at Georgia College.”

In addition to the American Folklore Society honor, Magoulick is the also recent winner of the College of Arts & Sciences (COAS) award for Excellence in Scholarship & Creative Endeavors at Georgia College.

Magoulick said she feels honored, grateful and proud to be recognized by her peers for both honors.

“So much work and time went into this project, including teaching numerous courses related to topics covered in the book, carving out time to write the manuscript, then rethinking it, reading more, revising more and repeating those steps,” she said. “This book is the culmination of over 15 years’ worth of work. But mostly it was a labor of love, and it is extremely rewarding to find it attended to and appreciated.”

In an abstract on her book, Magoulick describes goddess characters as being revered feminist heroes in popular media. Their portrayal in film, television and fiction, however, often reflects patriarchal culture rather than the empowering feminist. This “remythologizing of the ancient past reflects a contemporary worldview and rhetoric,” which she says precludes women from their fuller natures.

“Within apparent good-over-evil, pop-culture narrative frames,” Magoulick wrote, “these goddesses all suffer significantly. Some recent intersectional writers, like N. K. Jemisin, break through these typically dark reflections of contemporary power dynamics to offer complex characters who resist typical simplified, reductionist absolutes to offer messages that resonate with potential for today’s world.”

Magoulick is author of a dozen publications that include articles, book reviews, poetry and creative non-fiction. She’s been at Georgia College for 23 years, teaching classes like Myth, Magic & the Modern World; some world literature;  Women and Popular Culture; Women and Sci Fi; Women and Myth; Native American Literature; and Folklore and Literature, among others.

While traveling in Southwestern France, Magoulick was immersed in prehistory from the Upper-Paleolithic era and noted many inaccurately-named art works. She noticed a prevalence of goddess characters in contemporary entertainment that followed certain patterns. Her book explores what those patterns mean.

It’s a relevant topic in today’s world, she said, as most of our goddess myths reflect society, including its problems.

“But the book also honors and explores how art can inspire and suggest reasons to continue making art, continue celebrating and explaining texts, and to carry on in the important work of inspiring others to appreciate the power of art in contemplating and celebrating the human condition,” Magoulick said. “This is what I believe one can see at work in my book – the way scholarship of artistic expression and consumption of art—whether as student, teacher, writer or reader—can challenge and inspire on many levels. My book embodies the best of the liberal arts.”

Praises for Magoulick’s book include:

• “Magoulick considers works of art and literature with insight and clarity...This is exemplary scholarship!” by L. J. Alderink in CHOICE.
• “Thorough exploration of the origins, importance, meaning, and contemporary interest in myths, the goddess myth, and a reflective discussion about the (non)feminist implications of this contemporary fascination with the goddess myths in literature, film, and tv. The book tells you almost all a new reader of goddess myths needs/wants to know about it,” by Iqra Shagufta of New Books Network. A podcast on the book by Shagufta is available online.

Honorable mention for the Elli Köngäs-Maranda Professional Prize from the Women’s Section of the American Folklore Society is a peer-juried award. Every year, the American Folklore Society awards two prizes in honor of Elli Köngäs-Maranda—a pioneering scholar, anthropologist and feminist folklorist. The prizes recognize superior work on women’s traditional, vernacular or local culture or feminist theory and folklore.

The awarding committee wrote: “The literary works that Magoulick discusses are diverse in terms both of author ethnicity and of literary genre and style…Firmly grounded in feminist theory, the book effectively demonstrates how goddess figures have been used to create both positive and negative images of women and present different understandings of gender roles.”

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“The Goddess Myth in Contemporary Literature and Popular Culture: A Feminist Critique” came out in February 2022 from the University Press of Mississippi, a premiere academic press for titles in the fields of folklore, popular culture and women’s and gender studies, all of which the book tackles. It is the result of 15 years of hard work supported by a number of grants from Georgia College including a semester of professional leave in 2018, a residency at the Hambidge Creative Arts Center in North Georgia and a summer research fellowship from the Provost’s Office.

In Juli Gittinger’s nomination letter  for the COAS Excellence in Scholarship & Creative Endeavors Award, which Magoulick won in part because of this book: “Magoulick’s book investigates folklore and mythology in the contemporary world. . . Finding relevancy in a large variety of creative narratives, Magoulick offers lively and readable insights into cultural consciousness and global movements that have resonated (and continue to do so) in our culture for well over fifty years. . . . Magoulick reaches fresh and astute insights into how mythologies and archetypes work in today’s world, reflecting our world while also influencing our perceptions, practices and art. Looking through lenses of past and present, Magoulick points to power structures and patriarchal patterns of goddess-type imagery in our stories—be it traditional folklore, fantasy fiction or blockbuster film. She shows that most goddesses we create are more relevant to, reflective of and created by our still very patriarchal culture and our times than any imagined or real past.”

“Magoulick’s prose is readable and engaging; her arguments are clear and logical; and her scholarship is solid throughout the book.”