 | Women & Religion |
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CALENDAR
Spring 1998 JAN 11 Introduction to course; syllabus; class intros 13 Women, religion, and myth
READ1: C--1-21 18 The Ancient Goddess
READ2: F--ch. 1 20 The Snake Goddess (guest presentation)
READ3: F--Ch. 2 25 What Happened to the Goddess?
READ4: F--ch. 3 27 Women in Ancient Religions
READ5: C--21-38 FEB 1 It All Began with Eve
READ6: Genesis 1-3
F--ch. 4 3 The Hebrew Scriptures
READ7: Gen 12 & 16; Numbers 31; Ruth;
Esther; Judith 8 Pauline Christianity
READ8: 1 Cor 11:1-16; Gal 3:26-28;
Eph 5:21-33; 1 Tim 2-3,5 2 Tim 3 10 Women in Early Christianity
READ9: C--160-183 15 Mary--Virgin, Mother, and Goddess
DUE: Assignment 1 17 The Canonization of Virginity
READ10: F--ch.5 22 Mary in Popular Religion 24 Woman as Witch 29 Case Study in American Religion: Ann Lee
and the Shakers--Celibacy, Equality, bi-gendered God
READ11: C--209-233 MAR 2 World Religions: Comparisons and Contrasts
READ12: C--39-132 7 Women in Islam
READ13: C--185-207
DUE: Assignment 2 9 Native American Women and Religion 14 Language and The Gender of God
READ15: F--ch. 6 16 Full Inclusion and Religious Leadership
-----------------------SPRING BREAK--------------------------
28 Feminist Theology
READ14: R--All (no reflection due) 30 Women Alone Together:
Communities of Life and Worship
READ16: F--ch. 8 APR 4 The Rapture of Canaan
READ17: SR--all (no reflection due)
DUE: Assignment 3 6 The Return of Sarah's Daughters
READ18: F--ch. 7 11 The Pull of Tradition (guests)
DUE: assn 4 13 Current Currents TEXTS F = Ferguson, Women and Religion
C = Carmody, Women and World Religions
R = Ramshaw, Under the Tree of Life
SR= Reynolds, The Rapture of Canaan Assignments Assignment 1 · Choose any biblical story or text. It can be from either the Hebrew or Christian scriptures (if someone wishes to choose a text from the Koran or another religious text, please check with me first.) The text should be long enough to include one complete, significant story. · Rewrite the text, with the central figure as a woman instead of a man (or vice versa), altering as necessary and appropriate all the societal and biblical attitudes and norms that would apply. · Analyze your text, considering such questions as
How would the central figure act differently, if at all?
How would surrounding characters act differently, if at all?
How would events have unfolded differently?
Would the consequences be different?
How would the meaning of the story change?
What other attitudes and expectations would come into play?
How does this illuminate the biblical picture of women?
How did you go about deriving this text?
Anything else you can think of. · Write up your analysis as a carefully organized critical essay.
Assignment 2 1. Attend at least TWO worship services/religious events of two different religious groups. The two religions/groups must be distinctly different. Choose only one from any two groups listed below: - Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox
- Quaker, Unitarian
- wiccan or pagan
- pentecostal, charismatic, African-American or evangelical Protestant
- alternative Christian (Adventist, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormon)
- Muslim
- Jewish
- Unity, Aquarian, or other New Thought religious group
- Episcopalian
- Buddhist, Hindu, or other Eastern religion
• You may find that you want to attend more than one service for each group in order to accumulate enough information; that is up to you. 2. Carefully and thoroughly observe the service/event. Look for anything that gives clues to how this religious group considers/values/treats/includes/models/theologizes women. Some areas to observe (others may occur to you):
• Content of the service--prayers, hymns, blessings, readings, etc. What does the choice of these particular texts say about the roles of women and men? What kind of language is used? What pronouns are used for the believers and for God?
• Leadership and other roles--Who does what? What are the relative roles and positions of women and men? Do women participate as worship leaders? How are male and female leaders dressed? How are they addressed? What seems to be the relative importance of their roles?
• Congregational behavior--Where do men and women sit? How are they dressed, comparatively? How do they behave during the service? How do they divide responsibilities (children, holding books, participating in service, etc.)? How many women are there, compared with men? Do movements or gestures differ?
• Ritual actions--Do women and men differ in how they participate in and respond to the various ritual actions taking place? 3. Do some research on your two chosen religious groups. What has been their historical attitude toward women? What is the group's policy on women in leadership roles? What historical documents does the group depend on for answers to these questions? How has the group's approach to women changed in the 20th century, if at all? How do women in the group feel about their religion? (You might want to do this before going to the services, or go "cold" before forming an opinion of the group.) 4. Write a thorough, detailed, careful paper reflecting your research, both in the pew and in the library. Include:
• your field observations
• your background research discoveries
• your analysis of what you found, with specific and general conclusions
• comment on the process you went through as you did the project There is no set page length for this paper. My rough guess is that you will need around 7-12 pages to do a good job, but that can vary widely.
Assignment 3 1. Read The Rapture of Canaan thoroughly, taking notes (or read it once through for fun, then go back and take some notes a second time through.) 2. Written assignment:
(a) Write a brief summary of the plot (story line) of the book (1-2 paragraphs).
(b) Answer the following questions: - What is the role or position of women in the religion?
- What is the role or position of men in the religion?
- List several incidents, attitudes, or behaviors in the book that illustrate the role of women in the religion.
- How is that role determined by the beliefs and structure of the religion?
- What is the image of God projected in this religion?
- How does the ending of the novel reflect a change, if any, in Ninah's role, or her perception of that role?
3. Your response can be written as a list of answers to the questions, rather than as an essay. Be sure to answer the questions fully, however.
Assignment 4 1. Read Under the Tree of Life carefully and reflectively. 2. Write a thoughtful, thorough, well-considered essay on the following question: Are you a feminist? - Focus specifically on the issue of religion; that is, you may or may not think of yourself as a feminist with regard to other social issues, but how do you feel about a feminist approach to your own religious tradition?
- If you are not religious personally, or are an agnostic or atheist, the question still applies, since these too are religious choices.
- Remember that men as well as women can be feminists.
3. In your essay, be sure to consider Under the Tree. - Are you sympathetic to Ramshaw's arguments, or not?
- Where and how do you disagree with her, if you do?
- What issues does it raise that you had not thought about before, if any?
- How does her account alter your own thinking, if it does?
- What is the single most striking thing you encountered in reading the book?
4. Comment, in general, on whether feminist thought is a positive or negative force in the religious arena. - Don't just answer "yes" or "no"--give a thoughtful analysis of the pros and cons before offering your own opinion.
- Support your conclusion with clear arguments.
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