Rs 261, Women in the Great Religions

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Rs 261, Women in the Great Religions SYLLABUS - RS 284, WS 261: WOMEN IN THE GREAT RELIGIONS, FALL 2009: Instructor: Dr. Doris Jakobsh, (Dr. J) Room: PAS 1229 Time: T, Th. 11:00 – 12:20 Office: HH 323 Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1:00-2:00 by appointment only – please e-mail or phone in advance IF YOU DO NOT MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, I CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT I WILL BE IN MY OFFICE Contact Instructor: [email protected] , or, 888-4567 X 33565; if e-mailing, please identify the class number in the subject line There will be a heavy emphasis on weekly films, on-line Course Description: discussions as well as lectures that will shed a more This course will be looking at various religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, encompassing light on women’s roles within the various Sikhism, Christianity, Judaism, Chinese religious traditions, Islam and New Age religious traditions covered. traditions, including Goddess spirituality from the perspective of women. While the development of each tradition will be briefly discussed, the course is not an introduction to each religious tradition; instead, the focus will be on women’s realities, roles and contributions to the various traditions. There will be a heavy emphasis on weekly films that will shed a more encompassing light on women’s roles within the various religious traditions covered. Power Point Presentations utilized for each lecture will be posted at least one hour before class. This course is highly interactive; the instructor will be giving lectures, but there will be weekly in-built time for class discussions. Further, much of students’ work will take place on-line. Students MUST have read the course materials before class; only then will students be able to understand the lectures and contribute to the course discussions. If you are not able to do so, perhaps this is not the course for you. Pedagogical Aims: improve reading comprehension, written and oral expression gain a basic understanding of the nature, role and meaning of women in religious traditions from ancient times to the present evaluate the influence of the shift from a key role of the feminine in religions to very male dominated religions that are the major religions today and what it means for human self-understanding today 1 engage in active, collaborative, computer enhanced learning gain a deeper insight into one's own worldview and perspectives become a more imaginative, contemplative and critical thinker learn that genuine learning is enjoyable as a lifelong process become acquainted with the Chicago Citation Style, to be used for all written class requirements, see end of Syllabus These are some of the questions that will be explored in the course: How do women experience their relationship with the sacred, give voice to it, and describe it? What rituals and roles do women participate in? Are they excluded from any in their religion? What religious rituals, lives, and communities have women created for themselves? What authority and power have women held in religion and how have they expressed that authority and transmitted it to others? What is religion for women? Course texts: 1) RS 284 readings, on course website 2) Leona M. Anderson and Pamela Dickey Young, Women and Religious Traditions, in Bookstore 3) Elena Dykewomon, Beyond the Pale, in Bookstore Important Dates: Week 1 – presentation groups chosen, online discussion groups chosen o Read through ‘Understanding Plagiarism’ on our course website, under ‘Lessons’. o Do the ‘Plagiarism Quiz’ on our course website (you may be surprised at what you DON’T know about plagiarism) September 22, in class – 1 page, double-spaced – what is your impression of ‘women in religion’ based on your own experiences Week 2 – 11 - on-line component; reflection paragraphs due on Friday, 12:00 noon AFTER the previous week’s readings and film (in other words, you have 1 week to write your reflection, providing you have watched the film and done the readings. You are being given a choice on which weeks to reflect on, given that it is inevitable that you will miss an occasional film – films will NOT be available outside of class time September 23 - presentations start immediately following lecture, thereafter weekly November 11 - in class, novel commentary due 2 November 26, in class – 1 page, double-spaced – what is your impression of ‘women in religion’ after you have taken this course December 1 – Final review questions handed out December 4, in class - Final review returned to Maureen Fraser, RS Department Administrator, HH 323A, 2:00 pm COURSE REQUIREMENTS - Overview: Group: in-class discussions (participation mark) – (10%) class presentations (12%) Individual: 6 two page, double-spaced on-line reflections (30%, 5 marks each) 1 page, double-spaced initial thoughts on ‘women in religion’ (2%). 1 page, double-spaced final thoughts on ‘women in religion’. How has your thinking changed since you started this course? (2%) Beyond the Pale novel commentary (20%) Final Review Questions (24%) DETAILED COURSE REQUIREMENTS: IMPORTANT NOTE: Always use Chicago Citation Style, see last page of this syllabus. 1) In-class discussions (participation mark) It is important that you come to class prepared for discussion. This means having done the reading for the week. These discussions may take place on either the Tuesday or Thursday of the week. A ‘participation mark’ means that you contribute. Simply being in class isn’t enough. Come to class prepared to discuss 3 points from each of the readings on the weekly reading list. If you miss more than 2 classes in the semester, you will automatically lose the entire mark - (0/10). 2) 1 page, double-spaced – initial thoughts on women in religion 3 - this is not a formal essay – it is simply an opportunity for you to share your own thoughts on women in religion based on your own experiences and observations - no additional research is necessary - due September 22, in class 3) Group presentations, size of group dependent on class size Commencing week 3, 3-4 students per group (depending on class size) will make a presentation based on an essay chosen by the professor. These are available in e- format on our class website. Each presentation should be 25 minutes in length; you will be docked if your presentation is longer than 25 minutes. Each presentation MUST be accompanied by a power point presentation. If you wish to use hand-outs or any other means of communicating with the class you are welcome to do so. There are four aspects to this presentation: 1) A concise overview of the article – 5 main points made by the author 2) An evaluation of the article itself 3) Engage with your other course content, particularly the readings, through this presentation – good tie-in with other course content will be rewarded 4) Do additional research into the major ‘issue’ presented by your article – do NOT rely exclusively on one article to give an adequate overview of the main issue 5) Good engagement with your class peers as part of the presentation – be creative! Use the ‘Evaluating Journal Articles’ outline below as a guideline for the questions to ask yourself (you do need to adhere to the 4 points covered above though). The topics you will be asked to cover will generally NOT be addressed in specific detail in the course lectures, so this will give an added dimension to in-class learning. The topics and papers for each presentation can be found in the weekly course schedule below. Each presentation should include a typed outline of your presentation, and, any additional resources you may have utilized in your presentation which must be handed in to your professor on the day of your presentation. Your outline and any presentation materials, i.e., power point, will also be posted on the course website, and must be sent in to the professor (via e-mail) no later than the day after your presentation. Each presenter will receive the same mark unless there are obvious discrepancies in the presentation or preparation thereof, in which case the professor will need to be informed and discussions will follow. 4 4) 5 on-line reflections – to start week two and ending week eleven, 2 page each double-spaced, 12 point font In the online course, through UWAce, go to the ‘Lessons’ tab where the majority of the course content is located. These reflections are a way for students to engage meaningfully in both the readings and the films viewed in class You will be expected to post 6 reflections in total, between weeks 2 and 11, inclusive. While it is each students’ choice with regard to the particular week being reflected on, your posting MUST be on the preceding week’s reading and film You do NOT need to do additional research for these assignments. This is your opportunity to engage more fully with the information you are delving into in this class. Most of these reflections will focus primarily on an additional reading that is required for the week. You will also be expected to draw on the film if one is shown for that particular week. But go beyond an emotional reaction – analyze it, apply it to other readings, your own life experiences. If there are discrepancies between what you have learned the class lecture, the film or the particular required readings, make a note of this and explore why this may be the case You simply need to cite the name of the film when referring to it. Each three-page reflection is due on the course website, through UW-ACE, one week after the course material is covered, the following Friday at noon. The system is set up to monitor when you post your reflection and will reject late postings, even if just a couple of minutes after 12:00 noon.
Recommended publications
  • Feminist Theories in the Sociology of Religion1
    АУЧНЫЙ АУЧНЫЙ 17 Cvitković I.. РЕЗУЛЬТАТ РЕЗУЛЬТАТ Н Н FEMINIST THEORIES IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION УДК 316.2 CVITKOVIĆ I. ЦВИТКОВИЧ И. FEMINIST THEORIES IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION1 ФЕМИНИСТСКИЕ ТЕОРИИ В СОЦИОЛОГИИ РЕЛИГИИ Abstract Аннотация Sociology could not be bypassed by Социология не может не подвергаться the impact of feminist theories. Women’s влиянию феминистских теорий. Населе- population in religions. The increase of ние женщин в религии. Увеличение ин- interest in women’s religiousness on areas тереса к религиозности женщин в облас- of ex Yugoslavia. Why have women been тях, являющихся бывшими территориями ignored and marginalised by the society and Югославии. Почему женщины игнориро- the Church? What are feminist theories? Two вались и маргинализировались общест- kinds of feminist theories. Anthropocentrism. вом и Церковью? Что собой представ- An attitude of traditionalists to feminism. ляют феминистские теории? Два вида A woman in written religious sources. феминистских теорий. Антропоцентризм. How much has the stand view on the Отношение традиционалистов к феми- period influenced the position of women in низму. Женщина в письменных религиоз- religions? A woman in traditions of the Asian ных источниках. На сколько устоявшиеся and Far East religions. A woman in the взгляды определенного периода повлия- Abraham’s religions (Judaism, Christianity, ли на положение женщин в религии? Жен- Islam). When do feminist theories appear? щина в традициях азиатских и дальнево- Gender studies. Feminist theories in different сточных религий. Женщина в религиях religious traditions. What is required in Авраама (иудаизм, христианство, ислам). feminist theories? The position of a woman Когда появляются феминистской теории? in society and culture. A woman in the role of Гендерные исследования.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in Church and Society Women in Church and Society
    Women in church and society Report of research done by a research team at the PU vir CHO Fika J. van Rensburg School of Biblical Studies and Bible Languages Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir CHO POTCHEFSTROOM Email: [email protected] Abstract Women in church and society: Report of research done by a research team at the PU vir CHO The research project “Women in Church and Society” was con- ducted under the auspices of one of the focus areas for research and postgraduate education at the Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike Hoër Onderwys: “Reformed Theology and the Develop- ment of the South African Society”. This focus area is based in the Faculty of Theology (PU vir CHO) and is directed by Herrie van Rooy. Project 2 of this focus area is “The socio-historic context of the Bible and its implications for the development of South African Society” and is under the leadership of Fika J. van Rensburg. The first sub-project of Project 2 to be completed is “Women in Church and Society”. It commenced in 2000 and had its fourth and final workshop in September 2002. It was managed by a five-person executive committee and had the following categories of collabo- rators: 16 PU vir CHO researchers, 10 researchers from other South African universities, 6 international researchers, 19 masters’ and doctoral students, and 21 researchers with special expertise in relevant areas. In total 48 papers1 were read and discussed at the four workshops; and most of them have either been published or are in the process of being published as articles in accredited journals.
    [Show full text]
  • “Christianity & the Ordination of Women”
    ! Symposium on Religion and Politics WOMEN IN RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP “Christianity & the Ordination of Women” Reading Packet 2 2016 24!quincy!road,!chestnut!hill,!massachusetts!!02467! tel: 617.552.2271!!!!!fax:!617.552.1863 email:[email protected]!!!!!web:!www.bc.edu/boisi! ! ! BOSTON& COLLEGE& BOISI!CENTER!! FOR!RELIGION!AND!AMERICAN!PUBLIC!LIFE! ! Symposium on Religion and Politics WOMEN AS LEADERS IN RELIGIONS “Christianity & the Ordination of Women” Table of Contents: Ed. Leona M. Anderson and Pamela Dickey Young, Women and Religious Traditions, (Oxford University Press, 2004) “Women in Christianity” by Pamela Dickey Young 1 Gary Macy, The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination: Female Clergy in the Medieval West, (Oxford University Press, 2007). “The State of the Question” (Chapter 1) 15 Katharine Jefferts Schori, “The Challenges and Opportunity of Women in Religious Leadership: The Episcopal Example,” Berkeley forum, January 15, 2015 35 Tish Harrison Warren, “We Can agree to Disagree on Women’s Ordination,” Christianity Today, November 8, 2013 39 24!quincy!road,!chestnut!hill,!massachusetts!!02467! tel: 617.552.2271!!!!!fax:!617.552.1863 email:[email protected]!!!!!web:!www.bc.edu/boisi! ! ! 11/30/2015 The Challenges and Opportunity of Women in Religious Leadership: The Episcopal Example 11/30/2015 The Challenges and Opportunity of Women in Religious Leadership: The Episcopal Example 11/30/2015 The Challenges and Opportunity of Women in Religious Leadership: The Episcopal Example 11/30/2015 The Challenges and Opportunity of Women
    [Show full text]
  • The Implications of the Dominance of Women in the Zimbabwean Music Industry for the Ordination of Women
    Scriptura 86 (2004), pp. 234-240 THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE DOMINANCE OF WOMEN IN THE ZIMBABWEAN MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR THE ORDINATION OF WOMEN Lovemore Togarasei Department of Religious Studies Classics and Philosophy University of Zimbabwe Abstract There are numerous questions on gender and theology that have to be addressed in the African context. This article focuses on the dominance of women in the Zimbabwean gospel music industry. It opens with a brief history of the place of women in traditional music in Zimbabwe, then discusses gospel music and the dominance of women in this type of music. The possible factors that cause the dominance of women in the gospel music industry are then considered. The article ends with a section on the theological implications of such dominance of women, focusing on the issue of women ordination. The article concludes that, if the dominance of women in African Christianity and the teaching of the New Testament are considered, there are no convincing grounds for denying women ordination. 1. Introduction Gospel music has revolutionised the music industry in Zimbabwe. It has not only attracted followers from all age groups and social classes, it has also penetrated all sectors of the society. One can hear the music in churches, at wedding parties, at graduation parties, at birthday parties and even in beer gardens. There is, however, an interesting trend in Zimbabwean gospel music. Whereas, in other “secular” forms of music, men dominate, Zimbabwean gospel music is dominated by women. Why women have taken the gospel music industry by storm needs theological reflection that would address issues of gender in the African context.
    [Show full text]
  • What Does It Mean to Be a Christian Woman?
    Seattle aP cific nivU ersity Digital Commons @ SPU Seattle aP cific eS minary Projects Seattle aP cific eS minary, 2009 - January 1st, 2018 What Does It Mean To Be a Christian Woman? Sustaining and Empowering the Female Christian Faith in Light of Sexism in Christian Communities Erin Pauline Rooney Seattle Pacific nU iversity Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/spseminary_projects Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Rooney, Erin Pauline, "What Does It Mean To Be a Christian Woman? Sustaining and Empowering the Female Christian Faith in Light of Sexism in Christian Communities" (2018). Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects. 6. https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/spseminary_projects/6 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Seattle aP cific eS minary, 2009 - at Digital Commons @ SPU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Seattle aP cific eS minary Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ SPU. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN WOMAN? : SUSTAINING AND EMPOWERING THE FEMALE CHRISTIAN FAITH IN LIGHT OF SEXISM IN CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES “What Does it Mean to Be a Christian Woman?” ERIN PAULINE ROONEY SEATTLE PACIFIC SEMINARY This paper is dedicated to Celeste Cranston & Shannon Nicole Smythe You are two women who show me what sustaining faith looks like. Table of Contents Introduction: Where are We as Christian Women? 1 The Author’s Context 2 Overview of the Project 6 Focus and Framing Questions 8 Hopes for the Reader 8 Yes, the Course is Required - but
    [Show full text]
  • The Unmarried (M)Other: a Study of Christianity, Capitalism, and Counternarratives Concerning Motherhood and Marriage in the United States and South Africa
    Southern Methodist University SMU Scholar Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations Religious Studies Winter 12-21-2019 The Unmarried (M)Other: A Study of Christianity, Capitalism, and Counternarratives Concerning Motherhood and Marriage in the United States and South Africa Haley Feuerbacher Southern Methodist University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.smu.edu/religious_studies_etds Part of the Africana Studies Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Feuerbacher, Haley, "The Unmarried (M)Other: A Study of Christianity, Capitalism, and Counternarratives Concerning Motherhood and Marriage in the United States and South Africa" (2019). Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations. 19. https://scholar.smu.edu/religious_studies_etds/19 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Religious Studies at SMU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Studies Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SMU Scholar. For more information, please visit http://digitalrepository.smu.edu. THE UNMARRIED (M)OTHER: A STUDY OF CHRISTIANITY, CAPITALISM, AND COUNTERNARRATIVES CONCERNING MOTHERHOOD AND MARRIAGE IN THE UNITED STATES AND SOUTH AFRICA Approved by: ____________________________________ Dr. Joerg Rieger Distinguished Professor of Theology, Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair of Wesleyan Studies, and Founding Director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School Dr. Crista Deluzio Associate Professor and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor of History and US Women, Children, and Families Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Faith and Feminism in Nineteenth-Century Religious Communities
    FAITH AND FEMINISM IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES Press SBL T HE BIBLE AND WOMEN An Encyclopaedia of Exegesis and Cultural History Edited by Christiana de Groot, Irmtraud Fischer, Mercedes Navarro Puerto, and Adriana Valerio Volume 8.2: Faith and Feminism in Nineteenth-Century Religious Communities Press SBL FAITH AND FEMINISM IN NINEteenth-CenturY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES Edited by Michaela Sohn-Kronthaler and Ruth Albrecht Press SBL Atlanta Copyright © 2019 by SBL Press A ll rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office,S BL Press, 825 Hous- ton Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Sohn-Kronthaler, Michaela, 1969– editor. | Albrecht, Ruth, editor. Title: Faith and feminism in nineteenth-century religious communities / edited by Michaela Sohn-Kronthaler and Ruth Albrecht. Description: SBL Press, [2018] | Series: Bible and women ; Number 8.2 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers:L CCN 2018020291 (print) | LCCN 2018034863 (ebook) | ISBN 9780884142744 (ebk.) | ISBN 9781589835825 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780884142751 (hbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Women in Christianity—Europe—History—19th century. | Bible— Feminist criticism. | Women theologians—Europe. Classification: LCC BV639.W7 (ebook) | LCC BV639.W7 F325 2018 (print) | DDC 274/.081082—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018020291 Press Printed on acid-free paper.
    [Show full text]
  • Claiming Our Heritage: Chinese Women and Christianity
    Claiming Our Heritage: Chinese Women and Christianity Kwok Pui-lan he history of Protestant Christianity in China has been Christian women in passing, or tell the stories of a few notable T interpreted largely from the missionary perspective. Christian women, such as the Song sisters, Li Dequan, Deng KennethS.Latourette,in his monumentalstudyof more than900 Yuzhi, and Wu Yifang, without offering many details about the pages, A History of Christian Missions in China, records compre­ time and context in which they lived. hensively the work and contribution of the missionaries.' The Scholars in women's history have paid more attention to memoirs of both male and female missionaries, such as Robert women's writings, autobiographies, letters, diaries, private pa­ Morrison, Timothy Richard, Harriet Newell Noyes, and Welthy pers, and other unpublished works. Treating women as subjects, Honsinger, fill out the details of the activities and private lives of missionaries in China.' When Chinese scholars such as Ng Lee-ming and Lam Wing-hung began to study mission history from the Chinese The relationship of Chinese side, they focused on the lives and thought of Chinese male Christian women to the Christians and their responses to the social change of China.' But thestoryof Chinesewomenin Christianityhas seldombeentold. unfolding drama of the Their relationship to the unfolding drama of the missionary missionary movement has movement has never been the subject of serious academic study. never had serious academic This oversight is hardly justifiable, since according to a national report of 1922 women constituted 37 percent of the Protestant study. communicants, and the number of women sitting in the pew certainly was far greater.' they have attached more importance on how women have expe­ rienced and interpreted their lives rather than what has been On Writing Women's History in the Church written about them.
    [Show full text]
  • NYUPRESS Women in Christian Traditions
    Women in Christian Traditions BY REBECCA MOORE Instructor’s Guide Women in Christian Traditions offers a concise and accessible examination of the roles women have played in the construction and practice of Christian traditions, revealing the enormous debt that this major world religion owes to its female followers. It recovers forgotten and obscured moments in church history to provide a richer and fuller understanding of Christianity. This text provides an overview of the complete sweep of Christian history through the lens of feminist scholarship. Yet it also departs from some of the assumptions of that scholarship, raising questions that challenge our thinking about how women have shaped beliefs and practices during two thousand years of church history. Did the emphasis on virginity in the early church empower Christian women? Did the emphasis on marriage during the Reformations of the sixteenth century improve their status? Must all churches ordain women to the pastorate? These questions and others have important implications for women in Christianity in particular, and for women in religion in general, since they go to the heart of the human condition. This work examines themes, movements, and events in their historical contexts and locates churchwomen within the broader developments that have been pivotal in the evolution of Christianity. From the earliest disciples to the latest theologians, 224 pages | Paper | 978-1-4798-2175-4 Religion | Gender & Women’s Studies from the missionaries to the martyrs, women have been instrumental
    [Show full text]
  • WOMEN in WORLD RELIGIONS Rels U181-001 Spring 2008 TR 11:00 – 12: 15 Bobet 214B
    WOMEN IN WORLD RELIGIONS Rels U181-001 Spring 2008 TR 11:00 – 12: 15 Bobet 214B Dr. Catherine Wessinger Bobet 406 865-3182 office [email protected] COURSE OBJECTIVE: To understand the ways women's roles in society and religious beliefs are interrelated and affect one another. This will be accomplished through the historical study of some of the major religions of the world, their scriptures, ideas, myths, practices, and customs, as well as by an examination of the various theories of the origin of patriarchy. BOOKS: Catherine Wessinger, unpublished chapters on Blackboard. WESSINGER. Mary Pat Fisher, Women in Religion (Pearson/Longman, 2007). FISHER. T Jan. 8 Introduction R Jan. 10 Definition of Terms WESSINGER, "Introduction," 1-19. T Jan. 15 Women’s Religious Experiences FISHER, 12-34. R Jan. 17 QUIZ #1: Terms and Women’s Religious Experiences Women in Prehistory and the Origins of Patriarchy WESSINGER, archaeology, 1-20, source materials, 1-9. T Jan. 22 The Origins of Patriarchy WESSINGER, anthropology and history, 20-25; psychology, 25-32, source materials, 9-16. R Jan. 24 QUIZ #2: Women in Prehistory and the Origins of Patriarchy Women in Indigenous Religions FISHER, 35-63. T Jan. 29 TERM PAPER TOPIC MUST BE APPROVED BY INSTRUCTOR. 5 pts. deducted from the grade of the term paper if the topic is not approved by this date. Apache WESSINGER, 1-15, source materials, 1-5. R Jan. 31 No Class T Feb. 5 Off – Mardi Gras R Feb. 7 Off – Mardi Gras break T Feb. 12 Apache WESSINGER, 15-25 VIDEO: “Sunrise Dance” (30 min.) R Feb.
    [Show full text]
  • Barros Women in Christian Tradition Syllabus Winter 2017 REVISED
    Santa Clara University Religious Studies TESP 79: Women in Christian Tradition Winter 2017 Instructor: Dr. Pearl Maria Barros Meeting Times: MWF 11:45 AM – 12:50 PM Email: [email protected] Location: Dowd 208 Phone: 408-551-3625 Office: Kenna 300K Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 1 PM – 2 PM and By Appointment Course Description Examining the role of women in the Christian tradition through a feminist theological lens, this course recognizes that women have always been active (if not always welcome) participants in the development of Christian thought. The course begins by tracing the insights of 20th and 21st century Christian feminist theologians whose work offers an important lens through which to view the construction of “woman” in the Christian tradition. To develop our own “hermeneutic of suspicion,” we will repeatedly ask these questions as we engage theological and historical portrayals of women in Christianity: Where are the women? Which women are portrayed? How are they portrayed? Who is controlling the narrative? Because Christian faith centers on the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth who Christians believe to be “the Christ,” we will explicitly engage women’s understandings of Christology. We will pay close attention to how intersections of sexuality, gender, race, class, ability, and so forth contribute to Christological reflection. Employing feminist and decolonial pedagogical models of collaborative learning and shared responsibility for the production of knowledge, student groups will offer presentations each Friday that focus on a specific woman from the Christian tradition. Course Learning Objectives 1. Learn to analyze the complexity of the Christian tradition’s understanding of women, including the ways women have historically influenced it.
    [Show full text]
  • Women's Religious Leadership
    JASR 29.2 (2016): 134-149 JASR (print) ISSN 1031-2943 doi:JASR 10.1558/jasr.v29i2.31139 29.2 (2016): 134-149 JASRJASR (print)(online) ISSN ISSN 1031-2943 1744-9014 doi: 10.1558/jasr.v29i2.31139 JASR (online) ISSN 1744-9014 Contested Feminisms: Women’s Religious LeadershipContested and Feminisms: the Politics Women’s of Contemporary Religious Leadership andWestern the Politics Feminism of Contemporary Western Feminism Kathleen McPhillips Kathleen McPhillips University of Newcastle University of Newcastle Abstract Abstract Feminism is a relatively recent social movement of radical reform, emerging fromFeminism the mass is a relativelypolitical movementsrecent social ofmovement democratisation, of radical secularisationreform, emerging and liberalismfrom the thatmass swept political across movements the Western of democratisation, world from the seventeenth secularisation century and onwards.liberalism Thethat sweptfirst wave across of the organised Western feministworld from political the seventeenth action was century articu- latedonwards. in the The abolitionist, first wave temperanceof organised and feminist suffrage political movements action wasin America articu- andlated Europe in the inabolitionist, the mid-nineteenth temperance century and suffrage and culminated movements in inthe America Seneca Fallsand EuropeConvention in the of mid-nineteenth 1848 in New centuryYork State and whereculminated the women’sin the Seneca rights movementFalls Convention was born. of 1848Religion in Newwas Yorka crucial State in flwhereuence the in thewomen’s work ofrights first wavemovement feminists was enjoying born. Religion close tieswas toa crucialthe liberal infl uencemovements in the ofwork Protestan- of first tism,wave particularly feminists enjoying the Quaker close movement. ties to the However, liberal movements as modernity of Protestan-progressed intotism, the particularly twentieth the century Quaker and movement.
    [Show full text]