Fall 2010 Religious Studies/Women s Studies RS 3350 Section 12411/WS 3351 Section MWF 9:30-10:20 Quinn 202

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1 Fall 2010 Religious Studies/Women s Studies RS 3350 Section 12411/WS 3351 Section MWF 9:30-10:20 Quinn 202 Dr. Horak Office: Worrell 202 Office hours: MWF 10:30-11:30 and by appointment Phone: ; abhorak@utep.edu Required Text: Reading packet available at Paper Chase, 2900 N. Mesa, suite H Course Requirements: Response Papers 30% Response papers are your responses to the texts you are reading. They should not be a summary of what you ve read, but an analysis of issues raised through the readings and in class. Response papers should be meaty they will be graded on the effort you put into them, not on whether or not I agree with your observations. Response papers may be turned in online to abhorak@utep.edu or typed or legibly handwritten. Response must be at least two pages long. Shorter papers will receive lower grades. Midterm paper 30% Research and analysis on a religious figure or myth. 5-8 pages, typed, double spaced, 12 pt. font, one inch margins. Please follow MLA or APA style for documenting sources. Final paper 30% Analysis and criticism of religious ideas within a novel or film. 5-8 pages, typed, double spaced, 12 pt. font, one inch margins. Please follow MLA or APA style for documenting sources. Class participation and involvement 10% Course Policies: -Regular attendance is a must. Please don t be late. -Papers are due at the beginning of class on their due dates. -Late papers will drop a letter grade for each class day they are late. -Plagiarism will not be tolerated and may result in expulsion from the class. -Students with excessive absences and missing assignments may be dropped from the course on drop deadline. -Students must treat each other with respect and courtesy and should expect the same from me. Help me help you succeed in this class. Ask questions. Come to my office. Schedule an appointment. E- mail me with questions, comments, and/or concerns.

2 Fall 2010 Religious Studies/Women s Studies Assignment Schedule Aug. 23: Introduction to the Course 25: This I Believe. 27: Faith and Skepticism Everyone s a Skeptic about other religions Response Paper #1 due: Completed This I Believe essays 30: Images of the Divine Sep. 1: Gender and Religion Reading Packet (RP): Michael Kimmel, Gender and Religion 3: Feminist Theology RP: Anne Clifford, The Why and What of Christian Feminist Theology 6: No Class - Labor Day 8: Eid ul-fitr RP: Ramadan 2010 begins Response Paper #2 due: Discuss religious rituals and ceremonies. What is the importance of religious ritual and ceremony? What is the importance of sacrifice within a religion? Do any rituals or ceremonies hold special importance for you? Have you ever sacrificed for a belief system when, why and how? 10: Language RP: Rita Gross, Female God Language in a Jewish Context 13: Sacred Texts RP: Anne Clifford, Feminist Perspectives on the Bible 15: Creation of male and female Genesis 1&2; RP: Koran 7:188-7:192; Riffat Hassan, The Issue of Woman-Man Equality in the Islamic Tradition 17: Yom Kippur RP: Yom Kippur Response Paper #3 due: Discuss the concept of atonement and/or forgiveness. Are they the same? Are they a product of religious beliefs or can they exist outside of religious ideals? Are they necessary? How might they be achieved outside a religious context? Is the desire for forgiveness a natural or constructed desire? Is it selfless or selfish? 20: Sin and Suffering Genesis 3; RP: Koran 2:28-2:32, 7:18-7:34; Phyllis Trible, Eve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread; Marianne Ferguson, Writings that Implicate Women for the Introduction of Evil 22: Guest Speaker: Alanna Bach, Family Educator Temple Mt. Sinai 24: Masculinization of Religion RP: Rosemary Ruether, The Hebrew God and Gender

3 27: Religion and the Body Judges Judges 19-21; Phyllis Trible, An Unnamed Woman: The Extravagance of Violence 29: Purity and Virginity RP: Geraldine Brooks, Prologue and The Holy Veil; Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Virgin s Cage Viewing of Submission Oct. 1: Guest Speaker: Maissa Khatib, director Arabic Studies 4: Purity and the Body Viewing of The Education of Shelby Knox Response Paper #4 due: Give arguments for both sides of the debate over religious beliefs and the body. What role should religious texts, creeds, and traditions play in such issues as abortion, virginity, sex before marriage, divorce, masturbation, promiscuity, etc 6: Purity and Faithful Daughters Judges 11; RP: Chün-fang Yü, trans., Biography of the Great Compassionate One of Xiangshan; Patricia Ebrey, trans., The Book of Filial Piety for Women 8: No Class 11: Purity and Faithful Wives RP: The Ramayana; Viewing of Sita Sings the Blues Midterm Paper Topics due in Class 13: Sita Sings the Blues cont 15: Mothers and Husbands Genesis 15-18, 21-22; RP: Riffat Hassan, Islamic Hagar and her Family; Letty Russell, Children of Struggle 18: Guest Speaker: Reverend Felicia Hopkins, St. Marks United Methodist Church 20: Midterm Paper due in Class 22: Miraculous Births Matthew 1; Luke 1-2; RP: Koran 19:1-19:39; Ganesha: Lord of Success; Rosemary Ruether, Isis of Egypt 25: The Virgin Mary RP: Marina Warner, Second Eve and Virgins and Martyrs; Stephen Benko, From Doctrine to Devotion 27: Virgen de Guadalupe RP: Linda Hall, Our Lady in Mexico; Rosemary Ruether, Tonantzin-Guadalupe: The Meeting of Aztec and Christian Female Symbols in Mexico 29: Virgen cont RP: Pat Mora, Coatlicues Rules: Advice from an Aztec Goddess; Sandra Cisneros, Guadalupe the Sex Goddess Response Paper #5 due: Write your own response to the veneration of the Virgin Mary. Is she a good role model? Does she help or hurt women? Does she empower women? Does she subvert or support masculine ideals? Is she an independent or dependent figure? Course Drop Deadline

4 Nov. 1: All Saints Day/Dia de los Muertos RP: All About the Solemnity of All Saints, Day of the Dead History 3: Women in the New Testament Matthew 1; John 4:1-30; John 8:1-11; Luke 10:30-42 Response Paper #6 due: Research the four women named in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 (use the internet or a Biblical concordance or dictionary). What message does the inclusion of these women send? Chose one of the stories from John or Luke to further your argument. 5: Diwali RP: Diwali the Festival of Lights Response Paper # 7 due: Discuss either All Saints Day, Dia de los Muertos, or Diwali. You might chose a saint to discuss. Why do some religions honor saints? You might discuss one of your own ancestors. Is Dia de los Muertos the same as ancestor worship in the Shinto religion? Why do some religions worship ancestors? You might discuss the recurrent use of light and light imagery in many world religions. 8: Religion and Sexuality Leviticus 18 & 20; Romans 1 Viewing of For the Bible Tells Me So 10: Guest Speaker, Reverend Katie Houts, Metropolitan Community Church of El Paso 12: No Class 15: Religion and Sexuality cont Response Paper # 8 due: What role does religion play in establishing our civic laws give arguments for both sides. What is your own relationship to religious texts? How do they affect your opinions, actions, judgments, etc : 17: Feminization of Religious History RP: Marianne Ferguson, Competent Women who Helped Shape Their Religious Traditions 19: Feminization of Religion RP: Riane Eisler, The Other Half of History: Part II; Rita Gross, Buddhism after Patriarchy? 22: Language revisited RP: Marianne Ferguson, Language as a Representation of Reality Response Paper #9 due: Give arguments for both sides of the gender inclusive language debate within the religious and secular community. Where do you find yourself within the debate and why do you think you have the viewpoint that you have? What document(s) would you most like to rewrite using gender inclusive language? Does language shape reality? 24: No Class Thanksgiving Holiday 26: No Class Thanksgiving Holiday 29: Course Evaluations Final Paper topics due in class Dec. 1: Response Paper #10 due: This I Believe revisited 8: Final paper due at final exam time - 10:00 a.m., Quinn 202

5 Gender and Religion Reading Packet Table of Contents Michael Kimmel, Gender and Religion, from The Gendered Society, Michael Kimmel, New York: Oxford, Anne Clifford, The Why and What of Christian Feminist Theology, from Introducing Feminist Theology, Anne Clifford, New York: Orbis Books, Rita Gross, Female God Language in a Jewish Context, from WomanSpirit Rising, Carol Christ & Judith Plaskow ed., San Francisco: Harper, Ramadan 2010 begins Anne Clifford, Feminist Perspectives on the Bible, from Introducing Feminist Theology. The Koran, 7:188-7:192, from The Koran, N.J. Dawood trans., London: Penguin Classics, Riffat Hassan, The Issue of Woman-Man Equality in the Islamic Tradition, from Women s Studies in Religion: A Multicultural Reader, Kate Bagley & Kathleen McIntosh eds., Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, The Koran 7:18-7:34 Phyllis Trible, Eve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread, from WomanSpirit Rising. Marianne Ferguson, Writings that Implicate Women for the Introduction of Evil, from Women and Religion, Marianne Ferguson, Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, Yom Kippur Rosemary Ruether, The Hebrew God and Gender, from Goddesses and the Divine Feminine, Rosemary Ruether, Berkeley: U of California, Phyllis Trible, An Unnamed Woman: The Extravagance of Violence, from Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narrative, Phyllis Trible, Philadelphia: Fortress, Geraldine Brooks, Prologue and The Holy Veil, from Nine Parts of Desire: the Hidden World of Islamic Women, Geraldine Brooks, New York: Anchor Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Virgin s Cage, from The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, New York: Free Press: Chün-fang Yü, trans., Biography of the Great Compassionate One of Xiangshan, from Under Confucian Eyes, Writings on Gender in Chinese History, Susan Mann and Yu-Yin Cheng eds., Berkeley: U of California P, Patricia Ebrey, trans., The Bok of Filial Piety for Women from, Under Confucian Eyes, Writings on Gender in Chinese History.

6 The Ramayana Riffat Hassan, Islamic Hagar and her Family, from Hagar, Sarah, and their Children: Jewish, Christian and Muslim Perspectives, ed. Phyllis Trible & Letty Russell, Louisville: Westminster, Letty Russell, Children of Struggle, from Hagar, Sarah, and their Children. The Koran 19:1-19:39 Ganesha: Lord of Success Rosemary Ruether, Isis of Egypt, from Goddesses and the Divine Feminine. Marina Warner, Second Eve and Virgins and Martyrs from Alone of all her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary by Marina Warner, New York: Vintage Books, Stephen Benko, From Doctrine to Devotion, from The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology, Stephen Benko, Brill, Linda Hall, Our Lady in Mexico from Mary, Mother and Warrior by Linda Hall, Austin: U of Texas P, Rosemary Ruether, Tonantzin-Guadalupe: The Meeting of Aztec and Christian Female Symbols in Mexico, from Goddesses and the Divine Feminine. Pat Mora, Coatlicues Rules: Advice from an Aztec Goddess, from Women s Studies in Religion: A Multicultural Reader Sandra Cisneros, Guadalupe the Sex Goddess, from Women s Studies in Religion. All About the Solemnity of All Saints, Day of the Dead History Diwali the Festival of Lights Marianne Ferguson, Competent Women who Helped Shape their Religious Traditions, from Women and Religion Riane Eisler, The Other Half of History: Part II, from The Chalice and the Blade, Riane Eisler, San Francisco: Harper, Rita Gross, Buddhism after Patriarchy? from After Patriarchy: Feminist Transformations of the World Religions, Paula Cooey, William Eakin, Jay McDaniel, eds., Maryknoll: Orbis, Marianne Ferguson, Language as a Representation of Reality, from Women and Religion