Women & World Religions
This course explores feminine perspectives of religion and spirituality in classical and indigenous religions today and throughout history. We will examine images of the divine, mythological presentations, as well as roles and practices of women in each tradition through the study of traditional writings, feminist themes and feminist theologies. In doing so, we will address questions such as: What do sacred sources in traditional religions say about women and issues of gender; and how both men and women in society have used oral and written sacred narratives.
By the end of this course, students will have...
1. Become familiar with major classical and contemporary theological themes of gender within various religious traditions, as well as the differences between institutional and personal religion;
2. Gained a historical and thematic understanding of the intellectual and social developments within these traditions by exploring philosophical and theological problems and methods of dealing with them;
3. Learned how to read and interpret theological and academic texts while acquiring a command of philosophical and religious language; and
4. Demonstrated what it means to adopt a "philosophical attitude" towards various worldviews.
