CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITY

PARW 6500, FALL 2011

INSTRUCTORS Arisika Razak, CNM, MPH [email protected] 415-575-6198 (office) 510-379-8722 (cell) Office hours: Wednesday 3-5 pm and by appointment

Alka Arora, Ph.D. [email protected] 415-575-6139 (office) Office hours: Tuesday 10:30–1, Thursday 3:30-6:30 and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION This course provides an introduction to some of the leading multi-cultural and multi-denominational voices of the contemporary Women’s Spirituality movement in the USA and throughout the world. It explores the spiritual practices, ethical beliefs, cultural experiences and libratory efforts of diversely gendered multi-cultural populations through an interdisciplinary lens incorporating religious studies, women’s studies, ethnic studies, queer studies, and philosophy. It reviews the foundational worldviews and gender ideologies of those in mainstream, marginalized, and alternative religious traditions. This course values both scholarly and experiential forms of knowing, and builds a community of learning that safely explores our differences, our commonalties, and our varied cultural and spiritual lineages. Course themes include:

Z Reclaiming our heritage: multicultural, trans-historic explorations of women’s contributions to myth, ritual, spirituality and religion Z Language, metaphor, and storytelling in patriarchal, matristic, and libratory traditions Z Earth-based spiritualities, indigenous wisdom, ecofeminism, and liberation Z Women’s sensualities, sexualities, and identities Z Embodied and transpersonal ways of knowing: subjectivity, interiority, spiritual experience, and connection Z Spirituality in action: womanist/feminist/mujerista ethics, culture, activism and politics Z Alliance building, multicultural awareness, resistance to cultural hegemony and appropriation, unlearning oppression

COURSE GOALS • To provide an introduction to some of the leading multi-cultural and multi-denominational voices of the women’s spirituality movement in the USA and the world. • To prepare the student for more responsible, knowledgeable and empowered participation in the global culture of the 21st Century through exposure to diverse traditions of spirituality and . • To ground the study of Contemporary Women’s Spirituality in creative, experiential and visionary ways of knowing, as well as in academic study and scholarship. • To provide an environment that supports and teaches tolerance for diversity, un-learning racism and tools for building multi-cultural alliances.

DIVERSITY: This course addresses sexual, ethnic, spiritual and religious diversity in the global north and south.

Fall 2011 1 LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION: B.A., M.A., Ph.D. (Course requirements will vary depending on the level of the student)

GRADING OPTIONS: WS Students – Letter Grade Recommended Non-WS Students – Student Option

REQUIRED TEXTS: Plaskow, Judith and Carol P. Christ, eds. Weaving the Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1989.

**STUDENT OPTION –CHOOSE ONE OF THREE • Teish, Luisah. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. • Novick, Rabbi Leah. On the Wings of Shekhinah: Rediscovering Judaism’s Divine Feminism. Wheaten, IL: Quest Books, 2008. • Beck, Martha. Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found my Faith. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2005.

**STUDENT OPTION –CHOOSE ONE OF THREE • Adisa, Opal Palmer. It Begins With Tears. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann, 1977. • Mariechild, Diane and Marcelina Martin. Lesbian Sacred Sexuality. Oakland CA: Wingbow Press, 1995. • Andrew, Elizabeth. Swinging on the Garden Gate: A Spiritual Memoir. Boston: Skinner House Books, 2000.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS: WRITING SUPPORT • Paul, Richard and Linda Elder. “The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concept and Tools.” Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2008. • Strunk, William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style: Fourth Edition. New York: Longman Publishers, 2000. • Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual. Boston: Bedford, 2004.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. READING ASSIGNMENTS/PRESENTATIONS ONGOING Class discussions are based, in part, on student presentations of the assigned readings. Readings will be divided up, and each student will select readings that will be presented in class on the days listed for discussion. Students presenting the readings are asked to prepare an “altar” or central focus point for the class that supports their presentation. Student facilitators may choose an embodied or experiential format, a more focused didactic lecture/discussion, or a mixture of these two styles. On designated dates, the class will discuss one or more of the “student option” books listed above.

Please note: Not all readings will be presented. Students are expected to participate in class discussions on an ongoing basis; missing more than two classes may adversely affect one’s grade.

Fall 2011 2 2. GIFTS AND CHALLENGES OF MY MOTHERLINE DUE: SATURDAY, OCT 23 The Motherline Presentation is a creative, embodied presentation of research into your own maternal lineage. These presentations will be made on Saturday, October 23; students unable to attend this class must schedule a make-up date with the instructor. After discussion with, and approval by the instructor, students may substitute an alternative lineage, if their maternal lineage is inaccessible (i.e. adoption) or inappropriate.

3. MOTHERLINE PAPER (Pages: 5-7 BA; 8-12 MA, 12-15 PhD) DUE: FRIDAY, OCT 29 The Motherline Paper is a research paper utilizing informants in the student’s own family as sources of primary research. Please incorporate perspectives from the assigned texts, recommended readings, and research texts to situate the events discussed within their appropriate historic, socio-cultural and spiritual frameworks. For examples, students are encouraged to review course texts that integrate personal voice and experience with research and scholarship, e.g. Jambalaya and On the Wings of Shekhinah.

4. FINAL PAPER OUTLINE – 1 page DUE: WEDNESDAY, NOV 9 Research paper outlines should indicate the paper topic, thesis statement, and main sub- arguments.Students should also identify at least half of the sources that will be used in final paper (see below for final research paper guidelines).

5. FINAL PRESENTATION DUE: WEDNESDAY, DEC 1 Using themes drawn from the readings, class discussions and personal interests in Women’s Spirituality, students will present a series of original, creative, embodied presentations representing their personal interests in Women’s Spirituality. These presentations may focus on topics arising from the final research paper.

6. FINAL RESEARCH PAPER (Pages: 5-7 BA; 10-15 MA, 15-20 PhD) DUE: WEDNESDAY, DEC 8

FINAL PAPER OVERVIEW (BA, MA AND PHD): This paper weaves together the student’s own personal reflections with critical analysis of course material. It has two parts: reflective and research-based. The paper should identify the student’s socio- cultural, spiritual, and philosophical lineage, along with some of the themes that emerge from significant or transformative life experiences, and/or their search for spiritual or existential meaning, healing, or transformation. If the student identifies with a particular spiritual lineage, this lineage should be situated within a socio-cultural and historic framework.

In the research portion of their paper, students should compare and contrast their own socio-cultural/ ethnic/spiritual and/or philosophical lineage to the socio-cultural/spiritual/ethical/philosophical lineage of a group that was discussed in the readings. Themes of healing, transformation and change along with themes of restriction and limitation should be explored in both lineages. While readings drawn from outside the class in the areas of women’s spirituality, women’s studies, queer studies, ethnic studies or philosophy and religion may be included, the paper requires that students demonstrate familiarity with the themes, populations, and spiritualities discussed in the required texts.

For example, students might indicate how the fundamental assumptions found in earth-based feminist spiritual traditions support or critique foundational assumptions found in their own spiritual/religious traditions or lineages. They might discuss the use of embodied knowledge and inquiry in their own or others’ religious traditions. They might compare the assumptions about gender, sexuality, or gender identity in two or more traditions. These topics are provided only as examples; students are encouraged to develop their own, original ideas for their final papers.

One possible model for weaving together the personal and the scholarly is to begin the paper with personal reflection (about 1/3 of the paper) and then segue into a critical analysis/exploration of the course readings and themes. As a Women’s Spirituality program, we challenge the traditional academic ethos of scholarly detachment and value integrated, embodied knowledge. However, there is an art to effectively incorporating personal and scholarly writing, one that takes time and practice to develop.

Fall 2011 3 Therefore, we encourage students to carefully read examples of well-integrated texts (e.g. Jambalaya or On the Wings of Shekhinah) and to seek additional feedback and guidance from the course instructors as needed.

FINAL PAPER GUIDELINES Writing assignments for a semester’s three units of work comprise a minimum of 10 pages for BA students, 20 pages for MA students, and 30 pages for PhD students, exclusive of bibliography and endnotes. The WSE Program uses Chicago formatting and footnotes; students in other programs may use the citation styles required by their programs. This page length may be divided between several assignments for the semester. Graduate level research papers should include at least 13 sources (MA students), and 25 sources (PhD students). A well written research paper:

• demonstrates excellent comprehension of the selected texts • integrates understanding of the readings with personal experience and perspective • combines strong creative and rational skills • demonstrates strong critical thinking, offers original insights, and integrates the perspectives of a variety of sources • meets academic standards for English writing and composition (i.e. grammar, punctuation, etc.) • demonstrates understanding of academic principles of research, analysis, thesis development, organization, evaluation and conclusion

Students are required to demonstrate mastery of grammar, content development, and organization in their papers. In addition, students should demonstrate appropriate levels of scholarship and research skills. Students are encouraged to make individual appointments with the reference librarian to gain greater familiarity with CIIS library resources and methods of scholarly research. Papers that do not meet the standard rules of English grammar and composition will not be accepted. Students may be able to rewrite unsatisfactory papers and resubmit them if they are submitted in a timely fashion. Late papers are discouraged except in case of unexpected or unavoidable personal or familial illness, death, or similar life crisis.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

1. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS/ CLASS PARTICIPATION P/F 20% OF GRADE 2. MOTHERLINE PRESENTATION P/F 15% OF GRADE 3. MOTHERLINE PAPER P/F - LG 25% OF GRADE 4. FINAL PAPER OUTLINE P/F 5% OF GRADE 5. FINAL PRESENTATION P/F 15% OF GRADE 6. FINAL PAPER P/F - LG 20% OF GRADE

COURSE SCHEDULE:

CLASS 1, AUG 31: OVERVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITY

Welcome, Introductions, and Classroom Guidelines History: Earth Based Spiritualities; Naming the Sacred; Reclaiming our Heritage; Honoring Diversity Foundations: Honoring the Body; Women’s Ways of Knowing; Deconstructing Patriarchy; Standpoint Contemporary Issues: Spirituality in Action: Feminist Ethics, Politics, and Culture; Ethnicity, Spirituality and Liberation; Earth based Spiritualities, Appropriation, and Ecofeminism; Women’s Sexuality and Reproductive Freedom Class Overview: Structure: Assignments, Dates, Presentations; Readings; Retreats; Boundaries/Limitations: Late Papers, Commitment to Diversity

Fall 2011 4 Handouts/E-RES: Walker, Alice. “Womanist” Definition Harjo, Joy. “Remember” Morrison, Toni. Selection from Beloved Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. “Inanna and the God of Wisdom” hooks: “Introduction: Come Closer to Feminism”

Video: Remembered

CLASS 2 , SEPT 7: A DIVERSITY OF TRADITIONS, ANCIENT AND MODERN (PART 1 OF 2)

Discussion: Situating contemporary women’s spirituality in historical context; women’s spirituality in matristic and patriarchal societies; modern efforts to reclaim and document the past; honoring difference and affirming similarities.

Numbered items refer to texts in the required course reader. Most other readings are from Weaving the Visions by Judith Plaskow and Carol Christ.

Student Presentations of the Readings: Plaskow and Christ: “Our Heritage is Our Power,” “Women and Culture in Goddess-Oriented Old Europe,” “The Myth of Demeter and Persephone”

1) Abiodun, Rowland: “Hidden Power: Osun the Seventeenth Odu” 2) Torjesen, Karen Jo: “Preachers, Pastors, Prophets and Patrons” 3) Schmidt, Amy: “Fearless Daughter of the Buddha” and “Awakening” 4) Willis, Janice D.: “Nuns and Benefactresses: The Role of Women in the Development of Buddhism.” 5) Boswell, Holly: “The Spirit of Transgender.” http://www.trans- spirits.org/spirit_of_transgender.html. Video: Luisah Teish in New Orleans

CLASS 3, SEPT 14: A DIVERSITY OF TRADITIONS, ANCIENT AND MODERN (PART 2 OF 2)

Discussion: Reclaiming our heritages; reviewing sacred texts; women’s resistance to patriarchy; tracing the paths of women’s empowerment; multicultural identities

Student Presentations of the Readings: Plaskow and Christ: “Jewish Memory From a Feminist Perspective,” “Ancestor Reverence,” “My Sister My Spouse,” “Entering into the Serprent”

5) El Saadawi, Nawal: “The Role of Women in Arab History” 6) Novick, Rabbi Leah: “Genesis: The Hebrew Matriarchs” 7) Erndl, Kathleen M.: "The Goddess and Women's Power: A Hindu Case Study" 8) (Handout/E-RES) Christ, Carol: “Why Women Need the Goddess”

CLASS 4, SEPT 21: NAMING THE SACRED; LANGUAGE AND STORYTELLING

Discussion: The power of language; the importance of stories; hegemonic narratives and libratory counternarratives

Student Presentations of the Readings:

Plaskow and Christ: “Naming the Sacred,” “Sexism and God Language”

Fall 2011 5 9) Silko, Leslie Marmon: “Interior and Exterior Landscapes: The Pueblo Migration Stories” and “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective” 10) Pui-lan, Kwok: “Speaking About God” 11) McCarthy, Kate: “Not Pretty Girls? Sexuality, Spirituality, and Gender Construction in Women’s Rock Music” 12) Starhawk: “Thought Forms: Magic as Language”

CLASS 5, SEPT 28: IMMANENCE AND TRANSCENDENCE; SPIRITUALITY AND ACTIVISM

Discussion: Immanence and transcendence; embodiment; this-worldy and other-worldly traditions; spiritual practice as retreat from, or engagement with, the world

Student Presentations of the Readings:

13) Walker: “The Only Reason You Want to Go to Heaven Is That You Have Been Driven out of Your Mind (Off Your Land, and Out of Your Lover’s Arms)” 14) hooks: “A Life in the Spirit: Reflections on Faith and Politics” 15) Park, Hi-Ah: “Sickness and Health: Becoming a Korean Buddhist Shaman.” 16) Tan, Cheng Imm: “The Spiritual Journey of an Asian American Feminist Activist” 17) (Handout/E-RES) Razak: “’Her Blue Body’: A Pagan Reading of Alice Walker Womanism”

Guest speaker: Rev. Stacy Boorn from herchurch

CLASS 6, OCT 5: ECOFEMINISM, EARTH-BASED SPIRITUALITIES, INDIGENOUS WISDOM AND RESISTANCE (PART 1 OF 2)

Discussion: Nature and spirituality in ancient, indigenous, and modern societies; women and nature; eco-feminism; the “essentialist” debate

Student Presentations of the Readings: Plaskow and Christ: “Rethinking Theology and Nature,” “Ritual As Bonding,” “Grandmother of the Sun,” “Womanist Theology”

18) Mann, Barbara Alice: “Good Rule: They Assist One Another – Women’s Control of Economics” 19) Merchant, Carolyn: “Introduction: Women and Ecology”; “Nature as Female” 20) (Handout/E-RES) Hill, Julia Butterfly: “Committed Love in Action”

CLASS 7, OCT 12: ECOFEMINISM, EARTH-BASED SPIRITUALITIES, INDIGENOUS WISDOM AND RESISTANCE (PART 2 OF 2) Discussion: Indigenous patterns of land use; spirituality and agriculture; material cultures and spiritual cultures; colonization, racism and cultural resistance

Student Presentations of the Readings: Plaskow and Christ: “New World Tribal Communities,” “This Earth is My Sister,” “Artemis, the Goddess Who Comes from Afar”

21) Sjoo, Monica and Barbara Mor: “The Original Black Mother” and “Women As Culture Creators” 22) Gross, Rita: “The Prepatriarchal Hypothesis: An Assessment" 23) Shiva, Vandana: “Homeless in the Global Village” 24) Lester, Rita: “The Nature of Nature: Ecofeminism and Environmental Racism in America” 25) Awiakta, Marilou: “Amazons in Appalachia”

Fall 2011 6 OCTOBER 19: NO CLASS; WORK ON MOTHERLINE RESEARCH – DUE OCTOBER 28

REVIEW READINGS FOR UTILIZATION IN MOTHERLINE PAPER Teish, Luisah Jambalaya Beck, Martha Leaving the Saints Novick, Rabbi Leah. On the Wings of Shekhinah: Rediscovering Judaism’s Divine Feminism

CLASSES 8 & 9 – SATURDAY, OCT 23, 10:00 AM TO 5:00 PM, ROOM 212

Motherline Presentations

CLASS 10, OCT 26: EMBODIED SPIRITUALITIES: EARTH, BODY, PASSION (PART 1 OF 2)

Discussion: Female embodiment: integrating body, mind, passion and vitality; material culture, female solidarity and cultural connection

Student Presentations of the Readings: Plaskow and Christ: “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power”, “Sexuality, Love and Justice”

Adisa, It Begins with Tears AND/OR Mariechild and Martin, Lesbian Sacred Sexuality AND/OR Andrew, Elizabeth, Swinging on the Garden Gate

26) Silko, Leslie M.:“Yellow Woman and the Beauty of Spirit” 27) Williamson, Marianne: “Glorious Queens and Slavegirls” 28) Rushing, Andrea B.: “On Becoming a Feminist: Learning from Africa”

CLASS 11, NOV 2: EMBODIED SPIRITUALITIES: EARTH, BODY, PASSION (PART 2 OF 2)

Discussion: Women’s spirituality and sexuality; gender fluidity; sexual agency, orientation and choice; women’s freedom and sexual response

Student Presentations of the Readings: Adisa, It Begins with Tears AND/OR Mariechild and Martin, Lesbian Sacred Sexuality AND/OR Andrew, Elizabeth, Swinging on the Garden Gate

29) Noble, Vicki: “Female Centered Sexuality: Return to the Garden” 30) Allison, Dorothy: Selections from Two or Three Things I Know For Sure 31) Cisneros, Sandra: “Never Marry A Mexican” 32) Bailey, Cathryn: “Embracing the Icon: The Feminist Potential of the Trans Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin” 33) Bonheim, Jalaja: “Initiations of the Female Body”

CLASS 12, NOV 9: RESISTING OPPRESSION, TRANSFORMING THE WORLD (PART 1 OF 3);

FINAL PAPER OUTLINES DUE

Discussion: A multiplicity of feminisms; women’s spirituality and liberation struggles; cultural appropriation, exploitation and exploration

Fall 2011 7 Student Presentations of the Readings: Plaskow and Christ: ”Creating a Jewish : Possibilities and Problems,” “Be- Friending: Weaving Contexts, Creating Atmospheres,” “Womanist Theology: Black Women’s Voices,” “Ideology and Social Change”

34) Hoodfar, Homa: “The Veil in Their Minds and on Our Heads: Veiling Practices and Muslim Women” 35) Donaldson, Laura: “On Medicine Women and White Shame-ans: New Age Native Americanism and Commodity Fetishism as Pop Culture Feminism” 36) Plaskow, Judith: “Appropriation, Reciprocity, and Issues of Power.”

CLASS 13, NOV 16: RESISTING OPPRESSION, TRANSFORMING THE WORLD (PART 2 OF 3)

Discussion: “The personal is political”; divination and the oracular path; ethical use of ritual; medical sexual abuse of women

Student Presentations of the Readings: Plaskow and Christ: “On Mirrors, Mists, and Murmurs: Toward in Asian American ,” “Feminism and the Ethic of Inseparability,” “Renewing the Sacred Hoop,” “Moral Wisdom in the Black Women’s Literary Tradition”

37) Reilly, Patricia Lynn: “The Wounded Healers” 38) Williamson, Marianne: “National Atonement” 39) Anzaldua, Gloria: “Now Let Us Shift… The Path of Conocimiento… Inner Work, Public Acts” 40) Bolen, Jean: “Crones Speak the Truth with Compassion” and “Crones Don’t Grovel”

Nov 23: No Class (Day Before Thanksgiving Holiday)

CLASS 14, NOV 30: RESISTING OPPRESSION, TRANSFORMING THE WORLD (PART 3 OF 3) Discussion: Global feminisms: moving into the future; a multiplicity of feminist efforts

Student Presentations of the Readings:

Teish, Luisah Jambalaya OR Beck, Martha Leaving the Saints OR Novick, Rabbi Leah. On the Wings of Shekhinah: Rediscovering Judaism’s Divine Feminism.

Plaskow and Christ, Weaving the Visions: “The Power of Anger in the Work of Love: Christian Ethics for Women and Other Strangers,” “Every Two Minutes: Battered Women and Feminist Interpretation”

41) Allison, Dorothy: “A Question of Class” 42)Usog, Carmelita: “Women’s Spirituality for Justice” 43) Horwitz, Claudia: “Looking for God and Justice” 44) Wadud, Amina: “Conclusion: Why Fight the Gender Jihad?”

CLASS 15, DEC 7 SPIRITUAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY CLASS PRESENTATIONS

FINAL PAPERS DUE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9

Fall 2011 8 REQUIRED TEXTS

CLASS 1

HANDOUTS: Walker, Alice. “Womanist” Definition. In In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, xi-xii. San Diego: A Harvest / HBJ Book, 1983. Harjo, Joy. “Remember.” In Cries of the Spirit, edited by Marilyn Sewell, 234-235. Boston: Beacon Press, 1991. Morrison, Toni. “From Beloved.” In My Soul Is a Witness, edited by Gloria Wade-Gayles, 102- 104. Boston: Beacon Press, 1995. Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. “Inanna and the God of Wisdom.” In Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth, 12-29. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1983. hooks, bell. “Introduction: Come Closer to Feminism.” In Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics, vii-ix. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000.

VIDEO: Read, Donna, and Margaret Pettigrew. Goddess Remembered. Los Angeles, CA: Direct Cinema Ltd, 1990.

CLASS 2

REQUIRED READER: Abiodun, Rowland. “Hidden Power: Osun the Seventeenth Odu.” In Osun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas, edited by Joseph M. Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford, 10-33. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. Torjesen, Karen Jo. “Preachers, Pastors, Prophets and Patrons.” In When Women Were Priests, 9-50. San Francisco: HarperOne, 1993. Schmidt, Amy. “Fearless Daughter of the Buddha.”; “Awakening.” In Knee Deep in Grace: The Extraordinary Life and Teaching of Dipa Ma, 115-23, 29-39. Lake Junaluska, NC: Present Perfect Books, 2003. Willis, Janice D. “Nuns and Benefactresses: The Role of Women in the Development of Buddhism.” In Women, Religion, and Social Change, ed. Yvonne Yazbeck and Ellison Banks Findly, 59-85. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1985. Boswell, Holly. “The Spirit of Transgender.” Kindred Spirits, 1997. http://www.trans- spirits.org/spirit_of_transgender.html.

CLASS 3

HANDOUT: Christ, Carol. “Why Women Need The Goddess.” In Womanspirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion, edited by Carol Christ and Judith Plaskow, 273-288. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1979.

REQUIRED READER: El Saadawi, Nawal. “The Role of Women in Arab History.” In The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World, translated by Dr. Sherif Hetata, 125-132. Boston: Beacon Press, 1981. Novick, Rabbi Leah. “Genesis: The Hebrew Matriarchs.” In On the Wings of Shekhinah: Rediscovering Judaism’s Divine Feminism, 15-24. Wheaten, IL: Quest Books, 2008. Erndl, Kathleen M. "The Goddess and Women's Power: A Hindu Case Study." In Women and Goddess Traditions: In Antiquity and Today, edited by Karen King, 17-38. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1997.

Fall 2011 9 CLASS 4

Silko, Leslie M. “Interior and Exterior Landscapes: The Pueblo Migration Stories.”; “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective.” In Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today, 25-47, 48-59. New York: Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster, 1996. Pui-lan, Kwok. “Speaking About God.” In Introducing Asian Feminist Theology, 65-78. Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2000. McCarthy, Kate. “Not Pretty Girls? Sexuality, Spirituality, and Gender Construction in Women’s Rock Music.” In Feminist Spirituality: The Next Generation, edited by Chris Klassen, 97- 118. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009. Starhawk. “Thought Forms: Magic as Language.” In Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics, 15-32. Boston: Beacon Press, 1987.

CLASS 5

HANDOUT: Razak, Arisika. "Her Blue Body*: A Pagan Reading of Alice Walker Womanism." Feminist Theology. 18, no. 1 (2009): 92-116.

REQUIRED READER: Walker, Alice. “The Only Reason To Want to Go to Heaven Is That You Have Been Driven out of Your Mind (Off Your Land, and Out of Your Lover’s Arms).” In Anything We Love Can Be Saved: A Writer’s Activism, 1-27. New York: Random House, 1997. hooks, bell. “A Life in the Spirit: Reflections on Faith and Politics.” Re-vision. 15, no. 3 (1993): 99- 104. Park, Hi-Ah. “Sickness and Health: Becoming a Korean Buddhist Shaman.” In Women’s Buddhism, Buddhism’s Women: Tradition, Revision, Renewal, edited by Ellison Banks Findly, 393-402. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000. Tan, Cheng Imm. “Searching for the Ox: The Spiritual Journey of an Asian American Feminist Activist.” In Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire, edited by Sonia Shah, 200-215. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1997.

CLASS 6

REQUIRED READER: Mann, Barbara Alice. “Good Rule: They Assist One Another: Women’s Control of Economics.” In Iroquoian Women: The Gantowisas , 185-237. New York: Peter Lang, 2000. Merchant, Carolyn. “Introduction: Women and Ecology.”; “Nature as Female.” In The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution, xix-xxiii. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980.

HANDOUT: Hill, Julia Butterfly. “Committed Love in Action.” In Radical Spirit: Spiritual Writings from the Voices of Tomorrow, edited by Stephan Dinan, 245-254. Novato, CA: New World Library, 2002.

CLASS 7 Sjoo, Monica and Barbara Mor. “The Original Black Mother.”; “Women As Culture Creators.” In The Great Cosmic Mother Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth, 21-32, 33-38. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991. Gross, Rita M. “The Prepatriarchal Hypothesis: An Assessment.” In A Garland of Feminist Reflections: Forty Years of Religious Exploration, 156-170. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009.

Fall 2011 10 Shiva, Vandana. “Homeless in the Global Village.” In Ecofeminism, edited by Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva, 98-107. New Jersey: Zed Books, 1993. Lester, Rita. “The Nature of Nature: Ecofeminism and Environmental Racism in America.” In Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion, edited by Rosemary Radford Ruether, 230-246. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. Awiakta, Marilou. “Amazons in Appalachia.” In A Gathering of Spirit: A Collection by North American Indian Women, edited by Beth Brant, 125-130. Ithaca, NY: Firebrand Books, 1988.

CLASS 10

Silko, Leslie M. “Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit.” In Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today, 60-72. New York: Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster, 1996. Williamson, Marianne. “Glorious Queens and Slavegirls.” In A Woman’s Worth, 3-21. New York: Ballantine Books, 1993. Rushing, Andrea B. “On Becoming A Feminist: Learning from Africa.” In Women in Africa and African Diaspora, edited by Rosalyn Terborg-Penn and Andrea Benton Rushing, 121- 134. Washington DC: Howard University Press, 1996.

CLASS 11

Noble, Vicki. “Female Centered Sexuality: Return to the Garden.” In Shakti Woman: Feeling Our Fire, Healing Our World – The New Female Shamanism, 179-202. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991. Allison, Dorothy. Selections from Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, 33-48. New York: Plume, 1995. Cisneros, Sandra. “Never Marry A Mexican.” In The Woman That I Am: The Literature and Culture of Contemporary Women of Color, edited by Madison D. Soyini, 177-187. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1994. Bailey, Cathryn. “Embracing the Icon: The Feminist Potential of the Trans Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin.” Hypatia, 24, no. 3 (2009):178–196. Bonheim, Jalaja. “Initiations of the Female Body.” In Aphrodite’s Daughters: Women’s Sexual Stories and the Journey of the Soul, 349-365. New York: Fireside Books, 1997.

CLASS 12

Hoodfar, Homa. “The Veil in Their Minds and on Our Heads: Veiling Practices and Muslim Women.” In Woman, Gender, Religion: A Reader, edited by Elizabeth Castelli with Rosamond C. Rodman, 420-446. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Donaldson, Laura. “On Medicine Women and White Shame-ans: New Age Native Americanism and Commodity Fetishism as Pop Culture Feminism.” In Woman, Gender, Religion: A Reader, ed. Elizabeth Castelli with Rosamond C. Rodman, 237-253. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Plaskow, Judith. “Appropriation, Reciprocity, and Issues of Power.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 8, no. 2 (Fall 1992): 105-110.

CLASS 13

Reilly, Patricia Lynn. ”The Wounded Healers.” In A God Who Looks Like Me: Discovering a Woman-Affirming Spirituality, 237-265. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. Williamson, Marianne. “National Atonement.” In Healing the Soul of America: Reclaiming Our Voices as Spiritual Citizens, 85-117. New York: Touchstone Books, Simon & Schuster, 2000.

Fall 2011 11 Bolen, Jean Shinoda. “Crones Speak the Truth with Compassion.” ; “Crones Don’t Grovel.” In Crones Don’t Whine: Concentrated Wisdom for Juicy Women, 53-61, 75-79. Boston: Conari Press, 2003. Anzaldua, Gloria. “Now Let us Shift… The Path of Conocimiento… Inner Work, Public Acts.” In This Bridge We Call Home: Radical Visions for Transformation, 540-578. New York: Routledge, 2002.

CLASS 14

Allison, Dorothy. “A Question of Class.” In Skin: Talking About Sex, Class & Literature, 13-36. Ithaca: Firebrand Books, 1994. Usog, Carmelita. “Women’s Spirituality for Justice.” In Hope Abundant: Third World and Indigenous Women’s Theology, 255-266. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2010. Horwitz, Claudia. “Looking for God and Justice.” In Radical Spirit: Spiritual Writings from the Voices of Tomorrow, edited by Stephan Dinan, 209-217. Novato, CA: New World Library, 2002. Wadud, Amina. “Conclusion: Why Fight the Gender Jihad?” In Inside the Gender Jihad: Women's Reform in Islam, 254-262. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2006.

Fall 2011 12