WS 316 PQ - Feminism and Fundamentalism

Minimum Credit(s) Awarded: 4
Maximum Credit(s) Awarded: 4

This course will explore the social, cultural, political, and economic forces driving the growing trends of religious conservatism with the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions. In our initial exploration, we will seek to understand these movements on their own terms as best we can, by learning about their respective histories and value systems. We will then critically assess each movement and their respective value systems by examining women’s responses to each community from within each, both supportive and critical. Doing so will enable us to reflect on the gendered configurations of fundamentalist cultures through the gender roles that structure them, enabling us to examine underlying assumptions about masculinity and femininity that undergird these communities. We will also examine and critically assess the relationship between these value systems and the broader political, social, and economic belief systems of which they are a part. Cross-listed PHIL 316

Prerequisite(s): PHIL 101, WS 204