Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description
God and "God Talk"
Instructor(s): Mary Stange, Philosophy and Religion
Description: Is the God of the three great monotheistic traditions—Judaism, Christianity
and Islam—an affirmative action, equal opportunity Creator? Or is there something
about the theology (“god-talk”) undergirding monotheism that necessitates gender inequality?
A generation ago, the radical feminist Mary Daly remarked, “As long as God is male,
the male is God.” Is this true? What about God the Mother? Students in this seminar
explore women’s religious and social experience in the three great monotheistic traditions,
paying particular attention to the ways in which gender roles and expectations both
give shape to, and are legitimated by, theological discourse. Students will employ
primary and secondary sources from a variety of media, and will engage in hands-on
study, via such means as field research, role-playing, and creative writing exercises,
to frame the contemporary issues surrounding gender, God, and god-talk in the context
of two millennia of Western monotheism.
Course Offered