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Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary (PEMM) project

Teaching with PEMM

PEMM is a terrific resource for teaching middle school, high school, and college students about African literature, art, history, and religion. We provide teachers with many lesson plans and explanatory research posts so that they can expand their students' understanding of Africa's place in global history, as well as how different people in different places and times have thought about the human and the divine and what we owe the other.

Syllabus

To receive a full course syllabus, please email PEMM@princeton.edu. 

Lectures

For lecture content, see

The African Library of Stories about the Virgin Mary

The African Library of Paintings of the Virgin Mary

Understanding Miracles of Mary Paintings

Ethiopian Orthodox Church Educational System

Readings 

For readings and assignments on a particular theme, see:

Miracles of Mary Stories about Disability & Healing

Miracles of Mary Stories about Animals, Plants, and Nature

Miracles of Mary Stories on Wealth & Privilege

Miracles of Mary Stories about Gender & Power

Miracles of Mary Stories about Art

College

For college students interested in focusing on one of the most famous Marian miracle stories, see

Focus on a Miracle of Mary Story: Part 1: The Cannibal of Qemer

Consultants

Two terrific instructors have experience with teaching with PEMM, and make great additions to K-12 student classrooms. They taught in the Howard University Center for African Studies Summer Institute in July 2024, which used the PEMM site as its foundation.

Karen O. Brown, Visual Artist & Arts Educator


Located in Washington, DC, contact at karenobrownarts@gmail.com

Karen Brown teaches students how to make Ethiopian manuscripts, using book binding tools, wool, and parchment.
 

She is an arts educator and visual artist who draws students into learning through the joys of artistic expression. She teaches workshops and professional development with a concentration on arts integration, cultural studies, social justice and ecology. She has done so for Howard University’s African Studies Department, Princeton University, Africa Access, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and Teaching for Change and numerous public libraries. She conducts workshops for the District of Columbia Public Schools to train early childhood educators. Karen has permanent art installations at the DC Arts Commission, Children's National Medical Center and the DC Convention Center, as well as a mural based on the art of the Ndebele people of South Africa. Her education includes graduate studies in textiles, ceramics, sculpture, 3-D and surface design, bookmaking, and photography. Karen's teaching methods reach all types of students and their individual learning modalities. Content is deepened as art is infused into every aspect of classroom curriculum. She is passionate about her work with students and teachers and loves bringing creative and thoughtful learning to all. 

Aleme Tadesse, Traditional Ethiopian Painter & Arts Educator


Located in Washington, DC, contact at catchaleme@gmail.com

He teaches students how to paint in the Ethiopian style. 

Aleme Tadesse With the Manuscript He MadePainting Paintings

pricenton ethiopian eritrean & egyptian miracles of marry project

The Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary (PEMM) project is a comprehensive resource for the 1,000+ miracle stories written about and the 2,500+ images painted of the Virgin Mary in these African countries, and preserved in Geʿez between 1300 and the present.

Princeton Department of Comparative Literature 133 East Pyne, Princeton, NJ 08540

Princeton Department of African American Studies Morrison Hall, Princeton, NJ 08540

pemm@princeton.edu

© 2024 The Trustees of Princeton University