The annual meeting of the Canadian Theological Society took place this summer at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, an annual gathering of over 70 scholarly associations held this year at the University of British Columbia. SJC Professor Doris Kieser gave a talk at the CTS Annual Meeting on June 3: "Speaking of Blood: Purity and Covenant in Jewish and Christian History."
Dr. Kieser examined the role of blood in both Judaism and Christianity, with particular focus on spilled blood in relation to female bodies and purity in Jewish and Christian history. This work is part of a larger research project that considers how female bodies have been perceived in Jewish and Christian faith and culture, and what effect those perceptions have on female bodies today. Menstruation and menstrual blood, although naturally occurring in 50% of humans, continues to be diminished as dirty and unclean, which has an impact on perceptions of female bodies and sexualities generally.