Mystics marvel new chancellor

Are female mystics in touch with God or touched by neurological disorders? Have they transcended sex or found other ways to experience it? Are they obedient daughters of the church or subversives? These questions are just a sampling of what will be address at a symposium on female spirituality and mysticism as part of Chancellor Sharon Brehm's installation ceremony.\nThe special event to celebrate the installation of Brehm will take place at 4 p.m. today in Ballantine Hall 013. The symposium, "The Chancellor and the Mystics," will feature members of the College of Arts and Sciences faculty and the Early Music Institute. Discussion will be centered around female spirituality and questions that persist about female mysticism. All are invited to attend.\nSparked through her own amateur interest in the topic, which began when Brehm was a professor at the University of Kansas, she received an inter-university fellowship to take courses in the Religious Studies department. Though her interest in the area of female spirituality has spanned two decades, her planning for this symposium began when she was still provost at Ohio University.\n"When I was still at Ohio (University), I kept in touch with Dyan Elliot and others working to organize the event," Brehm said. "I'm a psychologist by training, so my interest in the area involves gender-related issues like how women mystics challenged the authorities of their day. Though my interest in the area has lasted nearly two decades -- I'm no expert.\n"I decided to pick a topic that would be a treat -- for me and the campus," Brehm added in a statement. "My favorite piece that I have written is 'Passionate Love,' an article that combines psychology and religious studies to view love as a search for perfection."\nBrehm's other publications also include "Intimate Relationships" and "Seeing Female: Social Roles and Personal Lives."\nModerated by David Brakke of the Religious Studies Department the panel will consist of members of both the History and Religious Studies Department. Two medievalists -- Dyan Elliott from the Department of Religious Studies and Karma Lochrie from Department of English and two early modern historians -- Jonathan L. Sheehan from the Department of History and Mary Jo Weaver of the Department of Religious Studies will examine the histories of women who claimed a special access to divine favor.\nAccording to Lochrie, mystics have a relationship with God that goes beyond the metaphysical.\n"Female mystics share a personal and intimate relationship with God -- God speaks to them directly. Most claim to have an unusual or supernatural relationship with God. Mystics claim to see visions of God," she said.\nLochrie also said the Chancellor's goal for the symposium to address it to a general audience, while at the same time incorporating the knowledge of the panelists in a free discussion. \n"Chancellor Brehm is hoping that the entire Bloomington community attends," Lochrie said.\n"The topics we're going to talking female mystics in the middle ages and up to the 17th century; did these people have religious experiences or erotic experiences, can they be explained through psychological -- mystics and the sexual language they use. These are some of the things we are going to address." \nMusic for the event will be performed by members of the Early Music Institute under the direction of Wendy Gillespie and Paul Elliot-music in honor of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179). \nManuscripts and books related to female spirituality are currently on display at the Lilly Library to serve as background to the symposium. The display will run through October 13. Brehm encourages those interested to visit the display.\n"I've seen the display -- and it's wonderful," Brehm said. "I want to urge people to drop in and take a look at these items"