Overview

The Virgin Mary--a Jewish mother--is central to Christianity, a revered woman in Islam, and a person of persistent fascination for centuries. Marian worship and theology has inspired countless appearances in art, as well as religious philosophy and doctrine, while the concept of the Virgin herself has been involved in controversial discussions over the Virginal body, race, anti-Semitism, and globalism. This Very Short Introduction describes the evolution of Marian thought from early Christianity to the present day. Mary Joan Winn Leith focuses on the centuries between the rise of Christianity and the Counter-Reformation, the eras when most of the doctrinal issues, popular traditions, and associated conventions of Marian iconography developed, and covers Catholic, Orthodox, and other Christian denominations, as well as the Islamic Mary. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that includes art history, archaeology, and gender studies as well as doctrinal history, she considers some of the misunderstandings and unquestioned assumptions about the Virgin Mary that pervade past and present Christian consciousness and today's secular world. Leith also discusses apparitions of Mary and representations of Mary in contemporary popular culture.

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Professor Mary Joan Leith works at the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at Stonehill College and has published articles, columns, and blogs on the Virgin Mary. She takes an interdisciplinary approach that includes art history, archaeology, and gender studies as well as doctrinal history. Alison Ewing is an actress based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the past two decades, she has performed on Broadway as Tanya in Mamma Mia! as well as in Sam Mendes's Cabaret at Studio 54. She has starred in six national tours, including Anastasia, An American In Paris, Cabaret, Mamma Mia!, and Flashdance. Regionally, she has been seen in plays and musicals at Theatreworks, San Jose Stage, Center Rep, Walnut Street Theatre, North Carolina Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, 42nd Street Moon, and others. Alison has voiced numerous commercials as well as video game characters, and her audiobooks are available on Audible. Alison's voice has a unique low, grounded, and warm tone. Her theatrical background has also given her an array of amusing, quirky, and rich character voices. Alison has loved both fiction and nonfiction literature her whole life. Bringing the page to life with her voice is her passion!

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