Goddess statue at Ggantija, Malta |
Religion 349: Women and Religion
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Religion 349: Women and Religion - Fall
2006:
is an advanced seminar investigating:
- women’s
religious experiences;
- writings
related to women, attitudes toward women, and definitions of women’s roles
in the history of the Jewish and Christian traditions;
- contemporary
feminist theologies;
- and
women in world religions.
The course will use the tools of
historical investigation, literary analysis, and sociology in its exploration of
the role of women in religious traditions and communities.
Goa
ls
Goals
of the course are to enable students to
- recognize
issues involved in the academic study of women and religion and the use of
the term "feminist"
- develop
an understanding of the methods and tools used to study the place of women
in various traditions
- become
acquainted with ancient goddess traditions
- explore
biblical traditions regarding women
- understand
the history of ideas about women in Christianity
- become
acquainted with some contemporary feminist theologies
- begin
to recognize issues related to women and major world religions such as
Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
Description
The
course will begin with discussion of the nature of feminism, women's studies,
and the academic study of religion. From there we will examine the
evidence for ancient goddess worship, which suggests that patriarchal religion
has not always been the dominant form of human religious expression. Then
we will discuss the role of women as defined by a variety of creation myths.
A
significant portion of the course will deal with the biblical tradition
regarding women and the history of ideas about women in Judaism and
Christianity. That history will reveal both positive and negative
resources for understanding women's roles in the religious community.
During
the later part of the course we will look at some contemporary feminist writers
and briefly touch on the roles of women in a few of the world's major religious
traditions.
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