RELIGIOUS STUDIES/WOMEN’S STUDIES 303

Women in Religion

Fall 2004

Western Illinois University

 

Professor:       John K. Simmons

Office hours:  Monday – Thursday, 2:00pm – 3:00pm; and by appointment                                                               

Email:             j-simmons@wiu.edu (email checked everyday)

Office:            WIU main campus = Morgan Hall, Room 412;  Phone: 309-298-1284

Dept Office:    Morgan Hall, Room 456;  Phone: 309-298-1057

Class meets:    Tuesday & Thursday, 12:30pm – 1:45pm in Morgan Hall 230

 

Web site: http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfjks  (PowerPoint notes for the class)

 

SYLLABUS

 

Religious Studies 303, Women in Religion, will be a three-part investigation into the powerful presence of women in the shaping of the world’s religious consciousness.   In Part I, we will identify three responses by women to what they conceive to be patriarchal oppression in religion: a) radical; b) reconstructionist; c) reformist.   In particular, we will focus on contemporary, women-led, new religious movements. 

 

Drawing on evidence from prehistory, history, literature, art, sociology, political science, economics, and religious studies, in Part II we will attempt to reconstruct the global shift in human religious perception from non-violent, earth-centered, egalitarian matrifocal societies to violent, sky-god, hierarchical patriarchal cultures.   We will also study the basic facts and ideological issues concerning the position of women in major world religious traditions today.

 

In Part III we will return to the present and explore the all-important relationship between identity and relationship, self-esteem and empowerment in any religious system.  By observing the presence of the feminine-element in a variety of popular cultural venues – film, television, music, art – we will try to establish a link, from a woman’s perspective, between social relevance and spiritual authenticity.  The quest for balance between male and female images of divinity will be key focus for our semester-length investigation of women in religion.  Bottom line – this course asks the question, “Why have women been given a subservient role in the great religious traditions of this world?”

 

 

Required texts: 

 

Women and Religion, Marianne Ferguson, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall), 1995.

 

Who Cooked the Last Supper? Rosalind Miles (NY: Three Rivers Press), 2001

 

Course structure:

The course will be structured as follows:

 

Part I:  Contemporary Feminist Religious Movements  -----------  Midterm =   50 points             

 

Part II:  From Goddess to God: The Patriarchal Shift -----------    Midterm =    50 points

 

Part III:  Women and Spirituality in the 21st  Century -----------  Final exam =  50 points

   150 points

 

Exam Format:

 

1.      In-class part of the exam:  on the day of the exam, we will have 20 computer-graded multiple choice questions worth 1 point each and 8 short answer identifications (you pick 5) worth 2 points each for an in-class exam total of 30 possible points (please bring a #2 pencil to the exams).  A review sheet will be handed out at least one week before the exam.

 

2.      Take home essay:  included in the review sheet to be handed out a week before the exam will be an essay question.  You can write the essay – open book, open notes – on your own, then bring the essay to the exam.  It will probably take 3 to 4 pages to answer the essay question, roughly 7 to 8 paragraphs, 500-600 words.  You are always welcome to expand further should you be so moved!  The essays may be typed or handwritten, though double-spaced typing is preferred.  Each exam will be worth 20 points for an exam total of 50 possible points.

 

Exam Grading Breakdown:

 

            In-Class:  multiple choice = 20 points

                            identifications =   10 points   

 

            Take Home essay:             = 20 points

                                                          50 points

 

Course Grading Scale:

 

            135 – 150  points = A

           

120 – 134  points = B

 

            105 - 119  points = C

 

              90 - 104  points = D

 

                0 -  89 = Not Pass              

 

 

Other Class Policies: 

 

While there is no “official” attendance policy, please try to attend every class session.  While most of the class notes are on the website, the exams will also include material drawn from videos that can only be viewed in class and from issues that arise in class discussion.  Missing class means you’ve missed a great deal of material.   Be there!

 

The three keys to success in this class (and most all college classes) are: a) attend class regularly; b) read the material in our text, and take some time to reflect on it; c) come to the exams well-prepared. I don’t offer “extra credit,” so please make the most of the in-class exam and the take-home essay.  The course requirements are non-negotiable; alternative assignments, personal life experience, or outside projects, however worthy they might be, will not be “graded” and points subsequently applied towards the final course grade.  What you see above is what you do for a grade in this class.

 

Open discussion is highly encouraged.  Ask questions; offer your informed opinions.  We’re here, together, to learn and explore this fascinating topic.  Welcome, one and all!

           

 

 

Welcome Aboard!