PHRE 363 - Women in Chinese Religions

This course will study the images, roles, and experience of women, both lay and ordained, in Chinese religions: Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and popular religious sects. Discussion will focus on the following issues: gender concepts, norms and roles defined in each religion; attitudes toward women and the feminine; the female body as a central theme in religious doctrine and practice; the biographies of women recorded in Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist literature; and female deities in Chinese religions. Readings will be taken from primary texts in translation and secondary studies.

Credits: 3 hours
NOTE: This course fulfills the Philosophical/Religious Mode of Inquiry and the Intercultural Interconnecting Perspective of the Liberal Studies Program.
NOTE: This course counts toward the 63-hour Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) graduation requirement.