Module THEO3161: Feminism and Theology

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO3161: Feminism and Theology

Prerequisites

• Christian Theology: The Essential Questions I or II

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce the central questions that frame feminist theological enquiry.
• To give students the tools to analyse the interaction between feminist theory and Christian teaching in feminist reconstructions of Christian doctrine, and assess the value placed on innovation on the one hand and continuity with tradition on the other.
• To enable students to develop the skills necessary to analyse constructive proposals in feminist theology and in the broader area of theologies of liberation.

Content

• The development of feminist identity politics (particularly in the US) over several decades has produced an interdisciplinary field of study that balances the production of new knowledge with the goal of changing culture and politics. Feminist theology began with the recognition that Christianity had a history of supporting the patriarchal structures against which feminist politics struggled, and has gradually produced a body of literature that challenges tradition even as it searches within that tradition for liberative Christian truths. In doing so, feminist theology continues the tradition's engagement with new knowledges in perceived conflict with Christian truth.
• Over the past three or four decades, the shape of the discourse has grown and changed so much that a survey of the literature would be unwieldy. This course proposes, instead, to begin with a now-classic text within the field (Elizabeth Johnson's She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse) and to move from that fixed point through the texts on which it draws and through its critical reception. Johnson draws on feminist theory and works through the feminist and liberation perspectives within theology; she also engages ancient and medieval Christian theology to construct her proposal. The close reading of Johnson (and examination of her sources) dissects a specific feminist theology and in so doing gets at the structure of feminist theology as a discourse. Obviously, the field of feminist theology has moved forward since the publication of She Who Is in 1997. Thus, the course will also look at the critical reception of Johnson's work both in the immediate responses as well as the uses to which Johnson's proposal has been put.

Learning Outcomes

• A detailed and systematic understanding of the most influential thinkers of the past three decades and their use of source materials. Analytical awareness of a variety of feminist theological methodologies.

• An ability to analyse proposals in feminist theology with intellectual rigour and historical depth. A capacity to perceive and interpret relationships between Christian beliefs and theoretical frameworks, such that their mutual influence becomes perspicuous and available for academic study. Skills in reading, researching, and writing about the way in which theologies of liberation adapt a mode of engagement of theology with philosophy that draws on a long tradition of Christian enquiry.

• Skills in the analysis of the interaction between theory and theology in a wide range of traditions and cultures. An ability to read sophisticated and multivalent texts with intellectual nuance. Research, presentation, and writing skills. A capacity to discern the relative values assigned to theory and doctrine in the construction of theological proposals.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures convey information and exemplify an approach to the subject-matter, enabling students to develop a clear understanding of the material and to improve their skills in interpreting and evaluating information.
• Seminars enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding both through preparation and through interaction with students and staff, promoting awareness of different viewpoints and approaches, as well as affording developmental opportunities for skills in theological reflection.
• Formative essays develop subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the acquisition of information through reading and research, and in the structured presentation of information in written form.
• Summative essays and Exams assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in research, analysis and argumentation, including the written presentation of information in written form under time constraints.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 3,000 word essay. Regular brief written analyses and oral presentations on set texts in seminars.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University