Course Description
What do religions say about women? What do women say about religions? This class will examine women’s lives in a variety of religious traditions around the world.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will draw up individual agreements regarding their reading and assignment schedule. In accordance with the Graduate School guidelines, readings for graduate students will be more extensive and more advanced in nature. Graduate students will be expected to complete a research assignment that is more substantial than undergraduate assignments in both length and critical engagement with the literature.
Athena Title
Women in World Religions
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course will allow students to: (1) gain a basic understanding of key themes related to women in a variety of religions around the world through course readings, (2) strengthen critical thinking skills through the examination and discussion of course readings, (3) develop strong writing and analytical skills through course assignments.
Topical Outline
What do religions say about women? What do women say about religions? This class will examine descriptions, stories, and films about women in a variety of religious traditions around the world, such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Native American traditions, Vodou, shamanism, traditional African religions, and Goddess worship in ancient times and today. Specific examples and themes will vary. Sample outline: I. Historical perspectives: Venus figurines; Hindu and Roman goddesses; religious empresses in Byzantium and China. II. “Extraordinary” women and women who are “called”: Mozambican women diviners; Catholic and Holiness activists in the USA; a Mother Guru in India; women shamans in Korea and China. III. A range of women’s roles in society and family: Childbirth and household rites in Hindu India; women’s mourning work in Central America; urban Muslim women in Iran; women and saints in Morocco. IV. Women navigating male-dominated institutions: Rural Muslim women in Iran; women prophets in Japan and Senegal; Buddhist and Catholic nuns; a Jewish congregation in the USA. V. Women, knowledge, space, and power: Women experts in Tantric Buddhism in Tibet; women’s healing and indigenous traditions in Bolivia and Mexico; the Shakers in the USA; mothering in Haitian Vodou in the USA; a Native American female deity; female religious experiences among Native Australians.
Syllabus