Womanist Ethics and Theology

3 credits · Graduate School

This seminar places the moral agency and theological reflections of African American women at the center of human social relations and ecclesiastical institutions. Using various womanist ethical methods and theories, we will develop a range of tools, conceptual and practical, by which to assess ways for going beyond normative reflections of theology and dominant ethical systems which often discount the exigencies of tripartite oppression. This course will explore and analyze the insights into the relationship between black women and the Divine and the ways this relationship shapes their moral agency in attaining wholeness, integrity, and meaning. Issues under our investigation will include womanist explorations of: the Divine or ultimate reality; the origin and purpose of human existence; authority and freedom in religious understanding; pluralism and religious truth; embodiment and sexuality, evil, suffering and death; compassion, joy, and hope; and Divine involvement in human history. [3] Ms. Floyd-Thomas