WGST 256(S) Engendering Buddhism: How Women and Men Shape and Are Shaped by Buddhism (Same as Anthropology 256 and Religion 256) (W) (D)

REL 256(S) Engendering Buddhism: How Women and Men Shape and Are Shaped by Buddhism (Same as Anthropology 256 and Women's and Gender Studies 256) (W) (D)
This course looks at how gender has shaped Buddhism as well as how Buddhism has shaped gender. Most generally, it considers the myriad ways that Buddhist soteriology and practice produce the very gender differences they purport to overcome. How have the Buddha and his far-flung disciples institutionalized gender differences in spite of their putative goal of transcending duality? We examine the varying experiences of women and men in Buddhist societies and literatures as a lens by which to analyze the pervasive operation of social and gender hierarchy. Our analysis revolves around several interdependent themes. Finally we discuss how well feminist and American revisions of Buddhism have transformed gender and other forms of difference. (1) How do female and male bodies become the subject of a specific set of Buddhist gazes? What does Buddhist discourse say about the possibility of gaining enlightenment in the female body? (2) How do gender divisions reflect deeper social divisions such as class and race in Buddhist discourse? (3) How have feminist deconstructions of Buddhism transformed gender and social hierarchies in the contemporary world? This course fulfills the Exploring Diversity Initiative by seeking to theorize the ways that Buddhism has produced and reinscribed gender differences and social hierarchies.
Format: seminar. Requirements: 2 midterm papers, weekly Blackboard participation, final research papers, and class participation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 20). Preference given to religion majors, women's and gender studies concentrators, and seniors.
Hour: GUTSCHOW