Thinking Otherwise: Feminist Theologies (AH9100P)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

This unit explores the contribution of feminist scholarship to Christian theology. It surveys the history of feminism as a term, charts the growth of significance within theological discourse since the 1980s and of resistance to it. It considers the significance of feminist methods, hermeneutics and approaches to reading and interpreting Scripture, and the consequent impact on feminist theologizing, analysis of Christian doctrine, and the understanding Christian tradition and liturgical life. It pays particular attention to the intersection of feminism with other theologies of liberation, against structures of oppression. Considering a range of contemporary social issues, this unit examines the actual and potential contribution of feminist insights to shaping nuanced and vibrant theological perspectives.

Unit code: AH9100P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Summarise key principles of feminist thought and interpretation of biblical narrative in relation to particular historical periods and particular theological disciplines;

2.

Evaluate changing definitions of feminism in relation to their implications for the contemporary church;
3.

Analyse the argument of one or more key contributions to the literature of feminist theology in English;

4.

Assess the contribution of feminist thought to theological discussion in Australia and elsewhere;

5.

Formulate a response to a contemporary social question drawing on principles of feminist theology.

Pedagogy

Lectures, Seminars, Tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

  • Althus-Reid, Marcella, Indecent Theology: theological perversions in sex, gender and politics, London: Routledge, 2010.
  • Aquino, Maria Pilar, Our Cry for Life: Feminist Theology from Latin America , trans. Dinah Livingstone. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1993.
  • Byron, Gay L and Vanessa Lovelace, Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse, Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016.
  • Clifford, Anne M. Introducing Feminist Theology. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2001. (Recommended for purchase)
  • Copeland, M. Shawn. Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009.
  • Dube, Musa, Postcolonial feminist interpretations of the Bible, St Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2006.
  • Hooks, bell, Teaching to Transgress, New York: Routledge, 2014.
  • Hunt, Mary E., and Diann L. Neu, eds. New Feminist Christianity: Many Voices, Many Views. Woodstock, Vermont: Skylight Paths Publishing, 2010.
  • Junior, Nyasha, An introduction to womanist Biblical Interpretation, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015.
  • Kwok Pui-Lan, Introducing Asian Feminist theology, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 2000.
  • Kwok Pui-Lan, Hope Abundant: third world and indigenous women’s theology, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2010.
  • Midgley, Clare and Alison Twells, Julie Carlier (eds), Women in Transnational History. Connecting the Local and the Global, London: Routledge, 2016.
  • Ruether, Rosemary R., ed. Women Healing Earth: Third World Women on Ecology, Feminism, and Religion. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1996.
  • Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth, Wisdom Ways: Introducing Feminist Biblical Interpretation. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2001.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Essay – 4000 words

 0 70.0
Book Review

Book Review – 2000 words

 0 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-27 12:32:13 +1100