Judaism and Gender

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course will be taught by Julia Watts Belser, Ph.D., who formerly taught at Missouri State University. From contemporary controversies over women’s prayer at the Western Wall to the dramatic growth of new rituals and practices inspired by Jewish feminism, gender plays a critical role in shaping Jewish religiosity and political life today. This course examines how gender has shaped Jewish culture and religious practice throughout history. We trace the construction of gender in the rabbinic period, examining formative traditions of law, practice, and theology that shaped Jewish ideas of womanhood, masculinity, and androgyny. We explore modern transformations of Jewish life: studying new feminist rituals and religious practices, diverse expressions of gender in contemporary Jewish theology, the rise of queer Jewish culture, and the way transgender Jews are shaping new conceptions of Jewish gender.