Women's Studies 200/History 296

Women, Spirituality and Power: Cross-Cultural Comparsions

Fall, 1999-2000

How are the changing and varied experiences of women related to notions of the sacred? How is the very distinction between "women" and "men" affected by such notions? In what ways is spirituality a source of power for women, or a limit to their power? Can we develop a vocabulary for understanding women's experience in societies which know no distinction between sacred and profane? The critical and self-reflective use of historical analysis and interpretation will be central to this inquiry into the relationships between women's experiences and the boundaries between sacred and profane in various cultures. Among the case studies used for this inquiry will be African and African-American women, and European women during the transition from medieval to modern society. The reasons for the comparative approach will, I hope, become clear as the semester progresses.

Harold Garrett-Goodyear

hgarrett@mtholyoke.edu

Skinner 209, ext. 2451

Dickinson 101, ext. 2055