Research Articles - VTechWorks - Virginia Tech

Featured Articles
Cooperstein
the Appalachian and European subcultures
intersect.
Women were often believed to have a spiritual
connection with the divine. This is
seen in the longstanding tradition of midwifery.
Midwives were a necessity, even
as cultures gradually became more modernized.
Consequently, they were able to
maintain an “old world” perspective. The
importance of their vocation empowered
them to carry on the positive aspects of the
old cultures. This perception of midwifery
changed over time, and is evidenced by the
stories and superstitions that still reside in
those areas.
Cooperstein’s interest in the Divine Feminine
began in a class on Arthurian legend
taught by philosophy professor, Dr. Joseph
Pitt. She studied women in literature and
found facts about real women that related
to her research. She also found several
parallels to her Appalachian Literature
class, taught by English professor, Dr. Jen
Mooney. In the fall of 2007 she decided to
make further explore the Divine Feminine
and its roots in Appalachia for her honors
thesis. She did independent research with
Dr. Mooney and decided the best place to
begin her research was in Scotland, Ireland,
and England where its Celtic roots began.
In collaboration with Dr. Mooney, she
developed a research plan and proposed a
framework for what she would do while in
Europe. She received funding through the
Honors Department, CAEE, and the Undergraduate
Research Institute and embarked
on her trip in summer 2008.
Cooperstein traveled through Northeastern
Europe for 15 days, visiting museums,
libraries, and archaeological digs relevant
to the Diving Feminine and the portrayal of
women in Celtic tribes. She looked for imagery
of women, analyzing the things they
16
The barefoot pagan maiden bearing a laurel
of flowers persists as an important symbol in
Christian iconography (a grave marking in
Glasgow, Scotland shown)
were doing and how they were represented.
She visited the Museum of History in Dublin
that held designs of prehistoric Madonna
imagery, portraying women as motherly
and demure. Cooperstein attended an archaeological
dig at the Hill of Tara in northern
Dublin, a sacred ritual site where bones
can be found dating back over 5,000 years.
She went on another archaeological dig at
the Hill of Igrainne, named after the mother
of King Arthur, and visited the Cathedral
of St. Patrick in Dublin, which is visited by
both Christians and Pagans alike. Cooperstein
visited the Hill of Kings in Perth and