WOMEN AND RELIGION
IN THE WEST
REL 5144
COURSE DESCRIPTION
CALENDAR
TEXTS
ASSIGNMENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Course Description Gender roles and perceptions have, in all cultures, been largely shaped by religious experience and ritual behavior. In turn, cultural understandings of the distinctions between men and women have affected the development of religious traditions. Utilizing historical, anthropological, political, psychological, and sociological insights, this course examines the issues that lie at the intersection of gender and religion. Spring 1998 SYLLABUS
JAN 6 Introduction to course; syllabus; class intros 8 Women, religion, and myth
READ1: C--1-21 13 The Ancient Goddess
READ2: PC--Gimbutas (63-71); Spretnak (72-76)
F--ch. 1-2 15 What Happened to the Goddess? 20 Women in Ancient Religions
READ3: C--21-38 22 It All Began with Eve
READ4: Genesis 1-3
START: assn. 1 27 The Hebrew Scriptures
ASSN Assignment 1
READ5: Gen 12 & 16; Numbers 31; Ruth; Esther; Judith
PC--Plaskow (39-50); F--ch. 3 & 4 29 Pauline Christianity
READ6: 1 Cor 11:1-16; Gal 3:26-28; Eph 5:21-33;
1 Tim 2-3,5 2 Tim 3 FEB 3 Women in Early Christianity
READ7: C--160-183
Torjeson, When Women Were Priests 5 The Canonization of Virginity
DUE: Assignment 1
READ8: A--Chapter 4
START: Assignment #3 10 Mary--Virgin, Mother, and Goddess
READ9: A--ch. 5 12 Mary in Popular Religion
READ10: F--ch. 5
START: Assignment 2 17 Woman as Witch
READ11: A--Chapter 3 19 Women in Islam
READ12: C--185-207 24 Case Study #1: Ann Lee and the Shakers--
Celibacy and Equality
READ13: A--308-331, C--209-233 26 Case Study #2: The Mormons--
The Place of Women in U.S. Religion
READ14: Laake, Secret Ceremonies MAR 3 Case Study #3: Women's Religious Communities
START: assn. 3 5 World Religions: Comparisons and Contrasts
READ15: C--39-132 10 The Gender of God
READ16: PC--Walker, 95-104; McFague, 139-50;
Ruether,151-62 12 Religion, Gender, and Language
READ17: PC--163-69; F--ch. 6 ------------------------SPRING BREAK-------------------------- 24 Full Inclusion and Religious Leadership
DUE: Assignment #2
READ18: PC--Brown, 226-234; F--ch. 8 26 Christianity and Violence Against Women
READ19: PC--Thistlethwaite, 302-13 31 Feminist Theology
READ20: F--ch. 7
PC--Williams, 179-86; Umansky, 187-198 APR 2 Women and Religious Ritual
READ21: PC--Starhawk
Northup, Women and Religious Ritual 7 Lesbianism and Religion
READ: PC--Daly, 199-207; Heyward, 293-301 9 Panel presentations 14 Panel presentations
DUE: assn 3 16 Panel presentations
Texts PC = Plaskow and Christ, Weaving the Visions A = Armstrong, The Gospel According to Woman L = Laake, Secret Ceremonies T = Torjesen, When Women Were Priests F = Ferguson, Women and Religion C = Carmody, Women and World Religions Northup, Women and Religious Ritual Wessinger, Women's Leadership in Marginal Religions Torjeson, When Women Were Priests
Assignments I. Research Project a. From the books by Torjeson, Wessinger, and Northup, choose ONE general area of interest--that is, choose as your general topic from the following list: · women in early Christianity
· women's leadership roles in religion
· women in marginal religions
· women's ritualizing
· women in American religion
b. Within one of these categories, focus on a specific, relatively small issue, event, or theme to research extensively. Clear your topic with me. c. Write a thorough, detailed, well-researched paper on your findings. The paper should not merely be an historical account, but should evidence a theoretical point of view--say (for example), a new analytical approach to an old problem; a new compilation of research; an interesting comparative analysis; the uncovering of an ignored problem. While the paper need not be on the level of a thesis, you could consider it a mini-thesis, in that the same standards of research and original scholarship should apply, though on a smaller scale.
II. Book Reports a. Write a scholarly and analytical report on EACH of the other two books. Your report should be of the type usually found in scholarly journals. While your opinion of the text is important, it is equally valuable for you to be specific in your criticisms, both positive and negative, and to demonstrate your own grasp of the important issues in the books.
b. For each book report, append a list of at least three academic journals that might reasonably publish your report on that particular book. (This involves becoming familiar with the publications in the field!)
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