Seminar on Women and Religion: Goddesses in South Asia

In this course we will examine the multiple portrayals of the divine in feminine form in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of India and Tibet. We will first raise questions about the role and significance of goddesses from a comparative perspective, before examining the large variety of South Asian feminine divinities within their historical, mythological, iconographic, and theological contexts. We will also examine sociological and psychological perspectives on these traditions, opening a way for dialogue between indigenous and modern theoretical frameworks. 3 hrs. sem.