|
MEET KAREN, WSE
STUDENT
|
 “The
Women's Spirituality program sang to
my soul and inspired me to pick up my
old dream of teaching and writing, perhaps
forgoing wealth for success on my own
terms.”
Read
more » |
|
LEARN MORE
|
|
|
|
READ OCHRE JOURNAL |
|
|
|
MORE ON WOMEN’S
SPIRITUALITY
|
|
|
|
The diverse Women’s Spirituality movement
has cultivated various ways in which women could
pursue an authentic spiritual quest and engage
with the issues of our time to effect constructive
transformation. This CIIS interdisciplinary program
constitutes one of the leading sites for the academic
study of this phenomenon. The distinguished faculty
includes several of the intellectual pioneers
in Women’s Spirituality whose work is internationally
known.
Both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees are now offered
in a flexible format—combining online courses,
weekend courses, and a summer intensive—as
well as the regular residential format.
The program’s orientation emphasizes the
study of world religions, cultural history, philosophy,
embodied wisdom, "submerged" beliefs
of subaltern cultures, and the emergent chorus
of women’s voices from disparate orientations.
The womanist, feminist, and post-colonial approaches
of the faculty and students are committed to an
engaged spirituality and the eco-social vision
of peace, justice, and sustainability. We believe
that the academic exploration of all aspects of
Women’s Spirituality is a fertile area within
academia and a source of insightful work that
is much needed in the world today.
Students are invited to pursue work in one or
two of the following six Areas of Emphasis:
Women in World Religions / Faith and Feminism
The experience and influence of women in organized
religions and the profound experience of women’s
spiritual quests are explored in courses on the
Abrahamic traditions, that is, Christianity, Judaism,
and Islam; Buddhism; Hinduism; Native American
and other indigenous spirituality; and Goddess
traditions in various cultures. Subjects include
the spiritual leadership of women prophets and
saints in the Abrahamic traditions; the significance
of Asian goddesses and spiritual figures; the
evidence for the transmission of a spiritual black
mother from Africa to all continents; iconographies
of the Divine (and semi-divine) Feminine such
as Holy Lady Wisdom, Black Madonnas, and Mary,
Queen of Heaven; the Buddhist path to wisdom and
compassion; and the study of the "submerged"
rituals and heresies of subaltern cultures.
Feminist and Ecofeminist Philosophy
Feminist philosophy has long emphasized a relational
approach to the key philosophical issues, an approach
that incorporates the postmechanistic worldview.
Ecofeminist philosophy explores the embodied,
embedded, eco-social context of philosophical
issues, with attention to the emergent field of
ecological, or holistic, thought. Courses include
work with process philosophy and process theology/thealogy;
womanist-feminist worldviews and methodologies;
Luce Irigaray’s ethics of sexual difference;
and literary responses to major philosophical
issues.
Body Wisdom / Women and Healing
Western culture is slowly emerging from the mechanistic
worldview, which denied the creative responses
of the bodymind to perturbations and denied the
body as a source of wisdom. Our program includes
an emphasis on women’s embodied wisdom. Courses
include work in the psychology of women; female
modes and powers of healing; contemporary issues
in women’s health; issues in female embodiment
and sexuality; and experiential studies in movement
and bodywork.
Women’s Mysteries and Sacred Arts
Many elements in the emergence of language, ritual,
music, and the arts have roots in cultural responses
to the elemental powers of the female. Courses
include work in music, dance, ritual, literature,
painting, and film appreciation. The experiential,
as well as intellectual, study of the ritual arts
is intended to evoke one’s innate creativity
and sources of mystical insight, embodied healing,
and artistic blossoming.
Archaeomythology and EcoSocial Anthropology
The academic blinders imposed by the mechanistic
worldview, patriarchal culture, and the econometric,
anti-spiritual bias of the social sciences long
prevented an understanding of cultures with an
entirely different cosmology, or worldview. This
area of study includes a dual focus on both ancient
and contemporary cultures. Among the pioneering
achievements of the archaeologist Marija Gimbutas
was the creation of archaeomythology, an interdisciplinary
study of neolithic cultures that draws from archaeology,
linguistics, religion, mythology, and cultural
anthropology. Regarding the study of contemporary
nonpatriarchal or matristic cultures in eco-social
contexts (an emergent subfield within anthropology),
the pioneering work of Peggy Reeves Sanday and
her colleagues has now illuminated this neglected
area of study. In addition, we focus on anthropological
insights into postcolonial dynamics North and
South, East and West.
Peace and Partnership Studies / Justice, Community,
Sustainability
Engaged spirituality draws on active compassion
that is joined with an analysis and vision of
the contemporary dynamics of modern and non-modern
cultures. Women all over the world have excelled
at breaking through stale systems of rationalization
for violence and have created fresh paths to peace
and community well-being. Courses include the
study of cultures that passed long eras in peace,
the causes of structural and other violence, the
shift from dominator systems to values of partnership,
postcolonial challenges and alternatives, and
frameworks for problem-solving and constructive
initiatives that draw on reciprocity and mutuality.
Studies are tailored to individual interests.
Our coursework encourages personal and intellectual
development in the greater context of working
toward eco-social transformation. The doctoral
dissertation—envisioning personal and social
transformation and grounded in the literature
of Women’s Spirituality and at least one
other academic field —brings the student
to the creation of an original contribution to
the growing body of knowledge of women’s
spirituality, women’s studies, philosophy,
religion, and the humanities.
Both degrees may be earned through flexible formats.
Some courses are offered weekly, some are offered
on weekends, and some are offered online. For
both the M.A. and the Ph.D., up to 17 of the 36
required units may be earned through online courses.
The remaining 19 units may be earned through weekend
courses and a summer intensive—or in combination
with residential, weekday classes.
Courses may be augmented by independent studies
in conjunction with Women’s Spirituality
Journeys with core and adjunct faculty to sites
abroad.
|
