Lycoming College News

Archaeology program graduate featured in latest Lycoming Magazine

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Visiting scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies to speak Jan. 27

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Lycoming College will host Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a visiting scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, for two public lectures on Thursday, Jan. 27. His visit is sponsored by the College, Ohev Sholom Synagogue and the Williamsport Federation of Jewish Charities.

Kedar’s first lecture, “Clash of Values: Gender and Family Issues - Sources of tension between Islam and the West,” will be held from 4-5:15 p.m. in the Academic Center, room C303. From 7:30-8:45 p.m., he’ll present “What is the struggle over Jerusalem all about?” in Heim Building, G-11.

Kedar is an assistant professor and lecturer on Arabic and Islamic studies at Bar-Ilan, where he earned a bachelor’s and doctorate in Arabic and political science. He has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces - Military Intelligence. Kedar has published and lectured widely on Islam, Islamic movements, Arabic mass media and popular culture and gender issues in Islam. He has appeared on many TV news programs, including the Arabic station Al-Jazeera.

Kedar is also scheduled to speak at the Ohev Sholom Synagogue and the Door Fellowship in Williamsport.

View his full schedule of class visits and public lectures.

Students organize “Everyone Deserves a Coat” project

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Lycoming College students recently organized “Everyone Deserves a Coat,” a class project aimed at providing winter clothing to those in need in the Williamsport area. The students were members of a Judaic studies course taught by Dr. Pamela Gaber, professor of archaeology and religion.

Thanks to the support of the campus community, the Temple Beth Ha-Sholom of Williamsport and the United Church of Christ in Stroudsburg, the students were able to donate more than 200 coats, in addition to hats, gloves and scarves, to the local Salvation Army.

Cori Mancuso, a student in the course who organized the drive, says the class envisioned the project after study the phrase “Tikkun Olam,” which literally means “world repair.”

“Judaism uses this phrase to signify the act of social justice and personal responsibility in repairing the world we live in,” says Mancuso. “As a class project, we wanted to make ‘Tikkun Olam’ into a reality.”

Pictured, left to right: Danielle Coady, Linda Fogg, Cori Mancuso, Kayla Strouse, Corinne Bruster and Matiana Gallegos

College to host an interfaith discussion on religion and water

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Lycoming College will host an interfaith panel discussion titled, “The Spiritual Dimension of Water,” on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. in the College’s Mary L. Welch Honors Hall. Lycoming faculty and spiritual leaders in the community will examine the vital issue of water shortage from many different perspectives.

Panelists include Dr. Richard Hughes, professor of religion at Lycoming; Dr. Mel Zimmerman, professor of biology and director of the College’s Clean Water institute; Sr. Catherine Ann Gilvary, Lycoming campus minister; Rev. Gwen Bernstine, Rabbi Shaul A. Rappeport, Rev. Dai-En Bennage and Rev. Daishin McCabe. Dr. Steven Johnson, professor and chair of Lycoming’s religion department, will serve as moderator.

The United Nations predicts that by 2025, roughly 15 years from now, approximately one-third of the human species will be living under absolute water scarcity conditions, and that two-thirds will be living under extreme water stress. The panel will explore how religious traditions can help in responding to this claim.

Archaeology Program completes expedition in Cyprus

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - The Lycoming College Archaeology Program announced the completion of its 2010 expedition to Idalion, Cyprus, under the direction of Dr. Pamela Gaber, professor of archaeology and Judaic studies and director of Lycoming's field school.

Students participating in this year's dig include Bill Blatchly, Danielle Coady, Sara Fajardo, Monica Martinez, Samantha Silverberg, Rebecca Taggert and Elizabeth Treptow. Recent Lycoming graduates, who comprised a large portion of the expedition's staff, were Michelle Burpoe '09, Bryant Miles '10, Lena Nieves '09, Brooke Pollio '07 (registrar), Elizabeth Sevastana '09 and Stephanie Wanek '06 (field supervisor).

During the seven-week season, the College's expedition returned to the terrace of the East Acropolis, Mouti tou Arvili, to re-open excavations in the Adonis Temenos, or sacred grove.

According to Gaber, the removal of several years of accumulated rain wash revealed extraordinary vessels sitting on what appeared to be the last used floor of the sanctuary. The findings indicate that the sanctuary was used until the first century B.C.E., and the groupings of whole vessels on the floor covered with mud-brick debris may show that it was abandoned in somewhat of a rush.

"It's hard to imagine celebrants of a ritual leaving precious objects – or even utilitarian pieces of some value – without making a push to recover them unless they had to leave in a hurry," says Gaber.

Of great interest to the expedition was the discovery of the limits of the Hellenistic altar in the Adonis Temenos. Its huge size demonstrates the importance of the cult of the consort of the Great Mother at Idalion in the Hellenistic period.

In the area known as the "Sanctuary of the Paired Dieties," the group discovered that, in addition to worshipping a pair of faceless male and female deities, ancient worshippers donated numerous limestone votive figures.

This season's work revealed more Roman installations in the eastern portion of the sanctuary. "There is little doubt this extremely ancient Temple, going back to the Cypro-Geometric period, was dedicated to the Great Goddess of Cyprus, the Wanassa, or 'Mistress of Animals,' sometimes represented as Artemis, and her consort who came to be called Adonis in later centuries," indicates Gaber.

New this year, the expedition also explored the industrial area to the east of the Lymbia Road. Findings included sculpture fragments and statuettes washed down from Adonis Temenos, which lies directly uphill.

Next year, the expedition hopes to continue to pursue this year's leads.

"We plan to investigate the limits of the 'Sanctuary of the Paired Deities,' to explore the Hellenistic industrial complex and to find the earlier levels of the Adonis Temenos," says Gaber. "All of our work is undertaken with the deep gratitude to the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, and with the support of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute."