Skill Building Courses
|
P1 |
Developing an Authentic Personality This course enables you, in the safe company of other women, to explore how to hear and respond to your own inner voices in the face of religious, cultural, and family expectations. This five-week course uses case studies and women-to-women interaction by way of illustrating the innovative learning style of Catherine College. |
Open |
|
P2 |
This course offers a creative writing experience that supports the lives of women for whom writing is, or is becoming, an important liberative and spiritual practice. Develop your own writing (prose or poetry) in solidarity with a circle of supportive "sisters" from another continent. |
Open |
|
P3 |
This course develops your managerial skills. It is designed to coach you in the basic skills that will be useful to you when planning projects or undertaking leadership responsibilities. The course is one way of preparing yourself for making significant changes in your family, your workplace, in your community, and in your world. |
Open |
|
P4 |
Developing Gender Awareness for Empowerment This course explores particular issues affecting women and provides the tools for developing the critical gender analysis needed to observe, evaluate, and act. Based on the work of Indian scholar Virginia Saldhana, this course allows you to explore the image of women in the media, common attitudes towards women, the dignity of women, women’s bodies, violence, widowhood, women’s spirituality and more. |
Open |
|
P5 |
English for Gender Studies This course is a primer for students who have some understanding of the English language but would like to improve their skills, especially in relation to the study of gender and women’s issues. |
November 2009 |
Academic Courses -- Honors and Graduate
|
H07 |
This course is built upon the insights of various Muslim scholars, notably, Prof. Asma Barlas from Pakistan, Prof. Leila Ahmed from Egypt, and Prof. Karen Armstrong from the UK. In each lesson, there are two or three opportunities to listen to Muslim women speaking for themselves and interacting with each other. Participants respond to the written materials, audio and video recordings and engage each other in discussions among themselves as they progress through the course. |
Open |
|
H14 |
Role Perceptions of Women in Children’s Literature All ages and cultures have used story as a means of telling new generations about the past and educating children about desired codes of behaviour. Story telling seems to have been important to human beings even before writing became a means to preserve these tales. Accordingly this course will begin by examining the oral and written narratives used by mothers to inculturate their daughters. You will learn to decipher the hidden wisdom and to discern the social conditioning implied in childhood stories. Overall, this course will enable women to recover their past in order to better design the future for their mothers, sisters, and children. Course by Dr. Patricia Pinsent, Roehampton University, London, UK. |
Open |
|
H19 |
Women's Ministries According to the Christian Scriptures, 30-150 C.E. What does the New Testament say about the leadership of women in the Church? What functions were attributed to women in early Christian communities? Course by Dr. John Wijngaards, London, UK . |
Open |
|
H20 |
A Prophetic Spirituality of Justice This course focuses upon the integral role that "acting justly" plays in the self-understanding promoted by the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions. Guided by the feminist writing of Dr. Mary Grey, this course enables participants to rediscover the pivotal role that peace-making, doing justice, motherly compassion, respecting the earth, and sharing resources have with the prophetic spirituality of the Abrahamic faiths. Course by Professor Mary Grey, Strawberry Hill University, London, UK |
Open |
|
H26 |
Women’s Leadership According to Christian Tradition, 100-2010 C.E. The course outlines the main stages of women’s involvement in Christian ministry. It sketches the background and details of the ordination of women deacons. It describes the various social and cultural prejudices that gradually caused the ban on women’s leadership functions to be enshrined in Church law. Course by Dr. John Wijngaards, London, UK. |
Open |
|
H31 |
Violence Against Women: Global Realities and Responses Gender based theories of violence against women focus on a prevalent belief system across cultures and religious systems where males are understood to be superior to women and entitled to maintain their authority over women using a variety of controlling and coercing means, including violence. The gender-based analysis recognizes the ways in which women have been conditioned to accept this belief system and the importance of educating women and men to the dangers and limitations of gender role conditioning. This course connects many forms of male violence against women, such as domestic violence, trafficking, female foeticide and infanticide, dowry deaths, and more. The contributions of Asian scholars will be principally used to develop this course. |
Open |
|
H28 |
Gender from a Cross Cultural Perspective This course provides awareness of suppressed and alienated aspects of one’s Self as a result of gender conditioning in patriarchal systems, examines gender related double standards and helps participants adopt a gender-sensitive worldview in all aspects of one’s life. The history of gender studies, feminisms and the theories of gender, gender and religion, gender and the media, and gender and the law are some of the topics explored. Dr. Dr. Jeane Peracullo, Dr. Leslie de la Cruz, Ms. Beverly Sarza, Ms. Natty Manauat, Ms. Laureen Velasco, Dr. Leni dlR. Garcia of De La Salle University in Manila are developing this course. |
January 2010 |
|
16 |
Microcredit and Gender Microcredit is an important development for reducing poverty in areas where billions of people lack access to formal financial services. Microcredit is also a potentially significant contribution to gender equality and women’s empowerment as women’s ability to earn an income increases their well-being, as well as the well-being of their families and the wider society in which they live. This course examines the theory and practice of Microcredit with its promise for women’s empowerment as well as its potential for enhancing exploitation of women. |
January 2010 |
|
H34 |
Men, Masculinities, and Spirituality This course explores patriarchy and hegemonic masculinities, the men’s movement and evangelical spirituality, theoretical considerations with respect to sexual difference and spirituality, and more. The course is based on the work of Dr. Joseph Gelfer, Associate Research Associate at the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University and Editor of the Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality. |
January 2010 |
|
H30 |
Transcending Gender: Exploring the Creative Tension between the Anima and the Animus in Jung's Psychology Carl Jung theorized that the animus and anima were archetypes functioning as mediators between the conscious and unconscious – archetypes that could be identified in both men and women and in fact, are not gender specific. This course will explore Jung’s theories in light of gender analysis. Dilys Phipps-Nilsson, lecturer at the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK is developing this course. |
April 2010 |
|
H11 |
Globalization and Gender Our world is rapidly becoming international integrated, partly through trade links, partly through the new means of communication. This has a great influence on exposing gender issues and, at times, on stimulating social change. This course is based on the scholarship of Nobel Peace Prize winning economist Amartya Sen and other Asian scholars. |
April 2010 |
|
H33 |
The Mystics: Their Lives and Legacies throughout the Age Worldwide there is a growing realization of the global spiritual heritage of women across different religions and cultures. So many spiritual ‘foremothers’, female saints, mystics and female religious communities are being discovered today. Yet a comparative historical enquiry provides plenty of evidence that most religions have validated women’s lives primarily in terms of domestic observances and family duties. Religions have been less inclined to encourage women’s search for religious experience and enlightenment, or inspired them to follow exceptional paths of spiritual devotion and perfection.In this course Dr. Ursula King makes the connections between mysticism and feminism, exploring a via feminina for contemporary women and men, and the the great significance of love and wisdom for a feminine mystical way. |
June 2010 |
|
H29 |
Women in Judaism and Early Christianity This course examines the position of women at various stages of the history of Judaism, and considers the influence of Judaism on the Early Christian communities’ struggle to define the status of women. This course will be based on the scholarship Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, Director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. |
June 2010 |
|
H09 |
Women and Gender in Hinduism Traditional Hindu society is indisputably patriarchal in rights and practices. At the same time it manifests a preference for female symbols in worship and religious myths, a preference that may have arisen from the influence of the Dravidian cult of the mother goddess. The course examines if and how this underlying preference predisposes Hindu society to female emancipation. |
June 2010 |
|
H32 |
Women in the Tradition of Buddhism This course explores the traditional Buddhist appraisal of women as well as women’s position in Buddhism. Further it examines some of the dimensions and discourse in the intersection of Buddhism and Western feminism. The course will be based on the insights of Bhikkhuni Dhammananda, Thailand's first female monk in the Theravada Buddhist tradition and abbess of Songdhammakalyani Monastery, Dr. Rita M. Gross, and others. |
October 2010 |
|
H06 |
The Shape of the Church Emerging from Women’s Leadership The Catholic Church and some Protestant churches have traditionally functioned as a patriarchal & hierarchical pyramid. That model is being reshaped and remolded due to women’s leadership. This course is based on scholarship theologian from Asia who explore a model rooted in life-affirming, struggle-centered and change-oriented theology, rooted in the experiences of those who suffer, especially women who have often been silenced and marginalized in the church and in society. |
October 2010 |
|
H18 |
Marriage and Gender in Bantu Africa Bantu culture, which covers a large slab of the African continent, dictates marriage customs including the dowry system and polygamy. The Bantu concept of women's role still determines the fate of many women in African societies. |
January 2011 |
|
H02 |
Asian Matriarchal Societies A number of tribal societies in India, Malaysia and the Philippines have preserved typically matriarchal features. Analysing such features helps us identify the variety of elements in ownership, parental authority, social roles and kinship that make up the web of male-female relationships. |
January 2011 |
|
H35 |
Mary Magdalene & the Leadership of Women in the European Middle Ages . Mary Magdalene acted as a counter-heroine in the Middle Ages, challenging the patriarchal notions of the time. This course will be based on the research and writings compiled by Sr. Theresia Saers MA M.Ed. and others. |
January 2011 |
|
H24 |
Women and International Law Women have gradually acquired more rights in various countries. Conventions of international law have had, and still have, a beneficial influence on national policies. The course studies the extent of provisions made for women in present-day international statutes, and assesses how they are being implemented on local level. |
April 2011 |
|
H25 |
Women's Economic Status and Health Issues Poverty directly affects physical well-being. The course examines how women's poverty in particular has contributed to diseases that women suffer in many parts of the world. The course proposes models of alleviation that tackle both the economic condition and the improvement of health at the same time. |
April 2011 |
|
H04 |
The Causes of Women's Emancipation in the Twentieth Century The twentieth century has seen an upsurge of women's emancipation in education, politics, commerce, the sciences and professional occupations in Western countries. What caused this phenomenal social change? How have women and society benefited? What are the harmful effects of this far-reaching social transformation? |
April 2011 |
|
H08 |
Democracy and the Emancipation of Women Are democracy and the emancipation of women necessarily intertwined? This course studies the historical connection between the two and cases where the connection failed. What can social leaders learn from such past experiences? |
October 2011 |
|
H10 |
The Education of Women and Social Development Research shows that the level of literacy and education of women correlates with the level of social and economic development of a country. The course examines in particular what kind of education contributes most to lifting a society out of poverty. |
October 2011 |
|
H15 |
Feminism, Redemption and Christian Tradition This course will be based on Mary Grey's ground-breaking work Redeeming the Dream. Redemption cannot be said to have really come to women unless they are fully integrated in all aspects of the salvific process initiated by Christ. |
October 2011 |
|
H21 |
The 'Querelle des Femmes' in post-renaissance Europe In France, Germany, Italy and England, from the 17th to the 19th centuries, women were submitted to academic and social debates focusing on their status as human beings. The exchanges revealed both the deep-seated cultural and religious prejudices prevalent at the time and the emergence of a group of militant women. |
Jan 2012 |
|
H22 |
The Rise of Male Domination in Ancient Cultures Male domination in western societies has been associated with the arrival of systematic agriculture and the concomitant need of state building. Others claim that man's social dominance is inborn. The course examines such claims and proposes tentative conclusions of relevance to women's emancipation. |
Jan 2012 |
|
H23 |
The Suppression of Women's Writings During the Enlightenment The injunction, found in 1 Timothy 2,11-15 that women should not teach, prevented women from being educated in the Middle Ages. Women's writings, if any existed, were generally ignored. This prejudice continued even during the time of the Enlightenment. |
April 2012 |
|
H27 |
Women Leaders in the European Middle Ages In spite of the overwhelming patriarchal ambience, medieval societies did produce some outstanding women leaders. Some ruled as queens or held other political posts. Others performed leadership roles in a religious context, as abbesses or spiritual writers. The course examines the status that was accorded them in their own contemporary society, and evaluates some of their lasting contributions. |
April 2012 |
|
H03 |
The Impact of Women’s Careers on Family Life In modern society many women combine pursuing an active career while caring for children. This often results in tensions. The course examines how professional women in a number of countries cope with these stresses and which approaches have been found helpful to reduce conflict. |
October 2012 |
Advanced Seminars
|
S17 |
Man and Woman in God's Image - Wrestling with Gender in the Thinking of the Church The book of Genesis asserts that God created 'man' in his own image. The original Hebrew phrase permits this to be understood as either referring to the male only, or to both man and woman. The course is based on the life-long study of Kari Børresen. We follow the discussion in detail, from the Greek and Latin Fathers of the Church to well into the Middle Ages. We assess the consequences of this anti-feminist trend in Tradition for the position of women in the Christian Churches. |
July 2010 |
|
S12 |
Female Genital Mutilation Female genital mutilation is mainly practised in the Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt. It is not known in other Muslim countries. The course analyses the history of the practice, its cultural origins, its being embedded in religion and effective approaches to combat the abuse. |
November 2010 |
|
S13 |
Female Infanticide Girls are killed at birth in some parts of India and China when they are seen by the parents as competing with male offspring. Although poverty is the main cause of the practice, strong cultural and religious prejudices also lie at its roots. |
November 2010 |
|
S05 |
Christology in Feminist and International perspectives The course is based on the scholarship of Rosemary Radford Ruether and other international scholars and moves through five modules: |
Jan 2011 |
For Inquiries Contact:
Deborah Rose-Milavec at dean@catherinecollege.net
Moodle Docs for this page