GSFS 330 - Religion, Gender, and Sexuality in India

FC ARHU CD WINT

4 credits
How do religious ideologies influence social behaviors and norms related to gender and sexuality? And how are these norms lived out, reinforced, and subverted? This course considers how Hindu and Jain traditions negotiate the complex relationship between religion, gender, and sexuality. Topics may include: kinship and family; pregnancy and childbirth; goddess traditions; asceticism; transgender identities; masculinities; somatic nationalism; and eroticism in literary and performance traditions. Students will explore each topic through engagement with diverse primary and secondary sources, including autobiographies, oral histories, ethnographies, films, religious narratives, and theatrical performances.