Religions and gender [ LTHEO2430 ]

At the end of this activity, the student will be able - to explain the notion of gender, its origin, evolution and pertinence; - to understand what is at stake in this notion in the fields of anthropology, ethics, history, society and religion; - particularly, to understand and analyse the impact of gender on religions and of religions on gender.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

The elements of evaluation are the regular and active participation, the writing of a short essay (maximum 5 pages on a subject that can be chosen among the topics of the course) and an oral exam.

There will be lectures and also important interactive moments based on texts that have to be read by all participants.

2015-2016

Religions through the prism of gender

Religious traditions have to face the challenge of gender studies exploring a reality which attracts ' sometimes with a kind of obsession ' the special attention of religions. Human bodies are considered as the scenes of salvation and of sin; they are objects of rigid norms and of ecstasy. The myths of masculinity and femininity produce narratives, images and messages: beginning with the founding documents of religions until the most recent representations in the world of advertising and in pop music. The course will reconstruct some aspects of this strange and difficult proximity of gender studies and religious studies which both have a hard time with finding a common ground. They still tell each other more often: Je t'aime' Moi non plus.

Selected texts will be available on iCampus.