Gender and Judaism

CAS-RN337/637

Tuesday/Thursday 12:30-2:00, CAS315

Michael Zank, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Religion

Boston University

Office hours: Tu/Th 2-3pm, STh 639, or by appt. (mzank@bu.edu or tel: 353-4434)

Course Description

1. Background

The nineteenth-century discovery of matriarchy gave rise to many lively speculations on the origin of societal order. As part of nineteenth-century feminism, the debate on the role of biblical religion in bringing down the primordial religion of mother earth was part of a radical critique of the "male" order and its guardians, the patriarchal state and its institutions (church, schools, the home). The recent boom of gender studies shows that this question is far from settled. Yet it casts the question in a different light, fuelled by different interests. The question of gender has penetrated virtually every aspect of the Humanities, from literature to religion, were it has become an important tool for examining common assumptions about social, cultural, and political modes of expression such as religion, art, and philosophy. The character of seemingly universal means of ordering the phenomena we perceive, the very "we" or "I" of perception, is revealed in its gendered perspective. Even the standard of objectivity of historiography and critical philosophy has come under attack as a form of "male gaze."

Religion, as a traditional form of social ordering, is a pertinent subject for gender critique. Religion enforces different roles for men and women by means of establishing ritual, mythological, and socio-political order as well as providing an agency of perpetuation of power relationships. On the other hand, religious sources may also serve to justify and support radical change in the self-determination and formation of women and men.

The monotheistic tradition of Israel, a formative element of Western culture, provides a fertile area for the study of gender relations. Monotheism itself is a critical statement against the gendered deities of the Ancient Near East and thus deeply involved and implicated in the making of gender identity in the West. Furthermore, Judaism (in its various manifestations), Jewish literature (in its many languages), and Jewish societies (in their various cultural contexts) provide an interesting case for the complexities of gender, especially in light of recent revisionary studies informed by feminism and gender theory.

2. Course Objectives

"Gender and Judaism" introduces to the interface between the biblical monotheistic revolution (often cast as a revolt of patriarchy against preceding matriarchal societies), its subsequent Judaic interpretations (where tension exists between the image projected by religious literature composed by male authorships and the often matriarchal social reality), and modern critical approaches to the historiography and practice of Judaism. The latter aspects (historiography and liturgical practice) speak to the current cultural debate of modernism vs. postmodernism. The course also serves the interest of introducing to strategies of text interpretation that are generally relevant to an understanding of Judaism and other scripture based traditions.

3. Teaching Style

The class is run as a seminar. Readings must be completed in advance of the relevant session so students’ participation will not only be lively but also based on sound information. Student will be required to present frequent summaries of assigned readings or independent research in form of presentations to the class.

3. Prerequisites

One of the following or equivalent courses: RN101, RN216, AN260

4. Grading

Brief in-class presentations and general participation (50%). Presentation on a "female voice" (last week of classes) (25%). Term paper: Reflections on Gender and Judaism: What have I learned? (25%)

The following titles are recommended for purchase and available at the BU bookstore:

David Biale, Eros and the Jews. From Biblical Israel to Contemporary America (New York, Basic Books, 1992).

Daniel Boyarin, Carnal Israel (University of California Press, repr. edition. 1995).

Please make sure to own an edition of the Hebrew Bible.

Recommended edition: Tanakh. A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (ed. Jewish Publication Society, 1985). A New Testament may also come in handy but generally biblical texts can easily be found on the web and downloaded, printed, etc. (E.g., http://jewishhistory.huji.ac.il/links/texts.htm)

Course Schedule

0. Intro

Sept 4

What is Gender?

I. The Absence of the Goddess and the Worship of One God Alone

Sept 9 - 18

Source Texts:

Secondary Lit.:

II. The Female Voice as a Male Invention

Sept 23, 25

Sept 30-Oct 2

Oct 7-16

"Covenant and the Male Imagery of Love"

Oct 21-30

"The Judaism of the Male Householder: Women in the Mishnah"

Source Texts:

Secondary Lit.:

Nov 4-6

"Mythological Woman as a threat to (male) order: Lilith, Eve and Satan"

Source Texts:

Secondary Lit.:

Nov 11-13

"The Male Brotherhood: From Pharisees to Kabbalists"

Source Texts:

Oct 18-20

"Feminine traits of the Israelite Male (as defined by the Israelite Male)"

Oct 25

"The Colonized Female: Women Adopting Male Views of Women"

Source Text:

Secondary Lit:

Dec 2-4

"The Gender of Desire: Platonism and Its (Ill) Effects (From Philo to Maimonides)"

Readings:

III. Recovering the Female Voice

Dec 9-11

Presentations on Contemporary Female Voices

The following are possible base texts for presentations, whereby some of the titles contain a whole range of texts. There are other appropriate sources, and you are encouraged to find your own.

General reading (required for everyone): David Biale, Eros, ch. 9