RT1217: Religion and Gender

School Religion
Department Code SHARE
Module Code RT1217
External Subject Code 100339
Number of Credits 20
Level L5
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Professor Geoffrey Samuel
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2013/4

Outline Description of Module

Gender studies has had an enormous impact on research in the Arts and Humanities and on Religious and Theological Studies in particular. This module presents an exciting opportunity for students to familiarise themselves with one of the great critical intellectual movements of the twentieth century as it pertains to the study of religion and also to explore the construction and negotiation of gender roles in a variety of specific religious contexts. The module will involve a study of gender issues over a variety of religious traditions, focussing in particular on the role and position of women in religion, and will also examine some of the intellectual developments within the study of gender and religion.

On completion of the module a student should be able to

·         To introduce students to current theoretical perspectives in the study of gender and religion.
·         To introduce students to current methodological approaches to the study of gender and religion.
·         To introduce students to the ways in which gender roles are formulated and challenged in a range of religious traditions.
·         To familiarise students with examples of religious practice that have a gendered dimension.
·         To encourage students to consider common themes in the study of gender and religion (such as the nature and role of authority and protest, the negotiation of individual and group identities and the social and political roles of religious practice).
·         To encourage students to consider the global role of gender and gender studies in the study of religions both ancient and modern. 

How the module will be delivered

 The module will be delivered in lecture and seminar format. Lectures will be used to cover the basic data, theoretical perspectives on that data and the various methodological orientations to the gathering and processing of data. Seminars will provide an opportunity for discussion and reflection on course content. The students will be organised into informal reading groups in order to facilitate co-operative study.

Skills that will be practised and developed

Knowledge and Understanding:
  • identify and describe a range of theoretical orientations to the study of gender and religion
  • integrate and synthesise theoretical materials on gender with the study of specific religious traditions
  • compare and contrast gender roles in a variety of religious traditions
  • give examples of  texts and practices that are relevant to the study of gender and religion and analyse their role in the transmission and adaptation of gender roles in specific social and religious contexts
  • integrate and analyse evidence drawn from both historical and contemporary data
 Intellectual Skills:
  • reason evidence while being tolerant of other interpretations of that evidence
  • critically evaluate examples of religious text and practice as they pertain to the study of gender and religion
  • sustain a logical argument and reach a conclusion that can be defended as reasonable
  • analyses a broad range of information
  • compare and contrast theoretical orientations, both religious and academic, to gender roles as they pertain to religious life
 Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:
  • empathetic representation of the views and practices of others
  • awareness of the multi-faceted complexity of religious belief and practice
  • demonstration of awareness of religious contributions to wider issues in society
  • awareness of how personal and communal identities can be, in part, shaped by issues of gender and gender role
 Transferable Skills:
  • ability to communicate orally in an appropriate medium
  • the ability to make presentations
  • the ability to write effectively
  • the ability to find, manage and utilise information and data
  • the ability to filter, select and critically appraise large volumes of information and data
  • the ability to manage deadlines
  • the ability to work as part of a team 

How the module will be assessed

(1) One essay of 2,000 words, selected from a range of topics given in the module handbook. The essay will focus on a specific aspect of the construction and negotiation of gender roles in a given religious tradition, and will count for 50% of the marks.
(2) One exam of 1.5 hours, consisting of three essay questions selected from three sections covering the main areas of the module, and counting for 50%.

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Written Assessment 50 Religion And Gender N/A
Exam - Autumn Semester 50 Religion And Gender 1.5

Syllabus content

 

  • Gender and Religion: Theoretical Perspectives
  • Gender and Religion: An overview
  • Gender and Religion in Context: Case Study One
  • Gender and Religion in Context: Case Study Two

Essential Reading and Resource List

Ahmed, Leila. Women and Gender in Islam, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1992.
 Ask K. and Marit Tjomsland eds., Women and Islamization : contemporary dimensions of discourse on gender relations, Oxford ; New York : Berg, 1998.
 Atkinson,  Clarissa W., Buchanan, Constance H., and Miles, Margaret R. (eds.),  Immaculate and Powerful: The Female in Sacred Image and Social reality, pp.39-59. Boston: Beacon Press, 1987.
 Bynum, C., Stevan Harrell and Paula Richman eds., Gender and religion : on the complexity of symbols, Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, 1986.
 Cosslett, T., Alison Easton, and Penny Summerfield eds., Women, power, and resistance : an introduction to women's Studies, Buckingham ; Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press, 1996.
Harlan, L., Paul B. Courtright eds., From the margins of Hindu marriage : essays on gender, religion, and culture, New York : Oxford University Press, 1995.
Jantzen, Grace M. Power, gender, and Christian mysticism, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1995.
 Leslie, Julia (ed.), Roles and Rituals for Hindu Women. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992.
King, U., ed., Religion and gender, Oxford, UK ; Cambridge, USA : Blackwell Publishers, 1995.
 Mahmood, Saba. Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject, Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 2005.
 Mernissi, Fatima. The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam, Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., Reading and New York, 1991.
Rosaldo, M.Z. and Lamphere, L. Woman, Culture and Society,  Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1974.
 Rozario, S., Purity and Communal Boundaries, Allen and Unwin, North Sydney, 1992.
 Arvind Sharma (ed), Women in World Religions,,  pp. 206-233. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1987.
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