Gender and Asian Religious Traditions

3 credit hours · Graduate

In this course we will examine the gender aspects of religious traditions in South, Southeast and East Asia. Women are often portrayed in such roles as daughters, mothers, wives, goddesses, demonesses, temptresses, Buddhas and bodhisattvas. This portrayal is upheld by cultural systems in which both men and women participate, and can best be understood by a critical analysis of the societies in which these religions are embedded. Attention will be given to the ways that gender informs religious institutions, individual identity and practice, and the historical development of Asian religious traditions.