Feminist Theory and the Study of Religion

This seminar aims to put feminist theory and religious studies into conversation with each other in order to explore the resulting intersections. It will examine new directions in current scholarship. What does it mean to apply a gender studies lens to the study of religion? How do feminist conceptions of embodiment reinforce and/or context religious conceptions of the body? What are the implications of the "return of religion" currently invoked in feminist discourses? We will read works by Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Rosi Braidotti, Donna Haraway, Saba Mahmood, Shawn Copeland, a.o. Other thematic choices may be determined by interest of graduate students enrolled in the course.