Category: Blog

Are you daunted by the idea of writing a proposal for that fascinating conference you’ve been eyeing for months? We hear you. We’ve been there. And we want to share what we learned.

The proposal.

A proposal is a succinct pitch for a broader body of work. It is a window into the material you will be presenting, like reading the commentary on the back of a novel or watching the trailer for a film. 

Most proposals have these basic components:

• A word limit is part of the beauty of a proposal. Abiding by the word limit shows that you are familiar enough with your topic to provide a concise and clear focus for your presentation. After all, brevity is intriguing.
• Context. Orient your readers to your topic. Identify what you are researching, your source material. Pull readers in with a vivid image, capture their attention with reference to a story, or place them within a certain historical time period. Contextualizing your topic allows readers to follow along with your thought process.
• A thesis, argument, problem, or question. The proposal should present a clear statement or theory that is to be analyzed, amplified, or argued.
• A methodology or an approach. How are you approaching your topic? Are you looking for mythological themes? Are you using a feminist lens to analyze a movie? Perhaps you are using a poststructural methodology. Bring the reader along on this journey.
• So what? How does your presentation contribute to the ongoing conversation? What makes your work different? How have you synthesized various findings to create something unique? This is the heartbeat of your work and it is what you want attendees to take away from your presentation. 

Edit twice, submit once.

Already read through your presentation multiple times? Read it again. 

Look for repetition. Track your thread of logic. Do you hold the reader’s hand through your thought process? This is a wonderful time to cut unnecessary words to align with the word count and to create a succinct clarity. Read it aloud. Do you get caught on certain phrases as you read? Others will as well. Reword or cut out those phrases. Editing is like polishing a precious piece of jewelry; it allows your work to shine.

Click Send, and celebrate!

Great job! Every submission is an accomplishment in and of itself.

The credo of the Mythologium is simple: we believe in our tribe. We believe that when mythologists gather, magic happens. We believe that everyone can help that magic along.

The Mythologium is a conference and retreat for mind and soul. Scholars present their latest research, and we read poetry and do group writing meditations. Time away from the normal routine in a beautiful place helps incubate ideas. 

Here are four guiding principles of the credo of the Mythologium and how we put them into practice.

We share ideas. We inspire each other. We amplify each other’s work.

At the Mythologium, everyone has something to teach everyone else, and that everyone has something to learn from everyone else. That exchange happens as each of us opens up to giving and receiving. When an entire room full of mythologists opens up to giving and receiving, the flow of ideas is electric.

🌀

We entertain ideas and possibilities the way Hestia entertains her guests, with grace and hospitality.

Like at most conferences, panel sessions at the Mythologium close with a discussion period, but we don’t call these discussions Q&A sessions. Our goal is not to test the rightness or wrongness of ideas; our goal is to bring many ideas forward to play. In this, we take a page from the playbook of improv theater.

Improv actors never say, “No, but–” to what comes before their lines, because that stops the action. They always say, “Yes, and” to what comes before, and then they add their own ideas to carry the action forward. We do the same with ideas about mythology. We say, “Yes, that idea exists, and so does this other thing that just occurred to me.” We say, “Yes, that idea exists and it seems to imply this other one.” We say, “Yes, that idea exists and look, so does its opposite, both at the same time.” 

So, in the tradition of improv theater, we call our discussions Yes-And sessions. 

🌀

We celebrate the community of mythologists–our own mythocosmos.

One way we celebrate our community is by hosting meals to feed body and soul. The Mythologium runs all day on Friday, all day on Saturday, and half the day on Sunday. So Friday and Saturday we host lunch for the whole group. Saturday night we host happy hour, with beer, wine, soft drinks, and appetizers. And Sunday morning we host breakfast together. Some of the most interesting conversations and connections happen during these convivial gatherings over food and drink.

🌀

We cherish the alchemy of being together.

Like the transformation that happens in the alchemical alembic, new ideas arise when mythologists bask in the simple pleasures of each other’s company and conversation. When we gather, we become more than the sum of our parts. The soul of the community quickens, and in so doing it quickens the souls of all our tribe members.

🌀

In the beginning

Once upon a time, a few years ago, three mythology graduate school classmates walked together on the pier in Santa Barbara.

“I was thinking,” Rachel said, as the sun set over the water. “We should run a workshop together.”

“Yes!” Stephanie said.

“Yes!” Joanna said.

“What will we call ourselves?” Rachel said.

“Well, there are three of us,” Stephanie said. “Like the Graces. Like the Fates.”

“We’ll be the Fates and Graces,” Rachel said.

“But later, right?” Joanna said. “After we finish?”

“Oh yes,” Rachel said. “Later. After we finish.”

🌀 🌀 🌀

Their coursework ended and they started writing dissertations. Stephanie set out in search of the Whore of Babylon. Rachel traced the threads that connect textile work and fairy tales. Joanna read creation myths for imagery about creativity. One day she attached a new whiteboard to the wall in her office, and on a whim, she wrote in magic marker ~~ “Welcome to the Mythologium” ~~ to put herself in a mythic mood. And the three friends video-conferenced every few weeks.

But they were lonely, too. They missed their cohort gatherings. They tried attending conferences, but at those other gatherings, myth often felt tangential. A little out of place. There wasn’t a conference that focused on mythology. There wasn’t a place just for mythologists.

Let there be a conference

And then, during the winter solstice of 2018, an impulse seized Joanna.

“We should start a conference,” she said on their New Year’s Day video call. “For mythologists. For our tribe.”

“Yes!” Stephanie said.

“Yes!” Rachel said.

“But later,” Stephanie said. 

“Yes, later,” Rachel said. “Definitely after we finish our dissertations.”

Joanna said, “We should do it now.”

“But we have jobs,” Rachel said.

“And families,” Stephanie said.

“And dissertations!” Rachel said.

“That’s ok,” Joanna said. “We can do it. Now is the time. I can feel it. This year.”

They all stared at each other on their computer screens.

“But what will we call it?” Rachel said.

Joanna remembered her whiteboard. “We’ll call it the Mythologium. The Fates and Graces Mythologium.”

🌀 🌀 🌀

So the three of them found a nice hotel with a conference room, and they worked through a thousand and thirteen to-do lists. They reached out to all the mythologists they could.

And then it happened. The tribe gathered. Twenty mythologists presented their research. They all read poetry and did writing exercises, and they shared food and wine. Everyone reconnected with their own work and with their tribe.

Epilogue

The Fates and Graces Mythologium is a conference by, for, and about mythologists. The Mythologium is all about our tribe. 

We don’t necessarily recommend starting a conference while finishing dissertations, working full time, and managing households, but we’re glad we did. The Mythologium reminds us that sometimes crazy ideas are the right ideas. Sometimes “later” actually means “now.” And sometimes the name of an idea gives you the energy to make it real.

We knew that if we could get everyone into a room, the magic would happen, but the reality of it blew us away. Our tribe is full of incredibly smart, soulful, open-hearted people. We adore them all. And we’re so excited to hear everyone’s presentations at next year’s conference! 

🌀 🌀 🌀

🌀 🌀 🌀