Gender, Religion & the Law - Dr. Gila Stopler

Credits: 2

The purpose of the course is to acquaint students with relevant aspects of the varieties of religion state relations across the globe, of feminist theory and women's rights in different countries, and of the intersection between them. The course will then use this comparative perspective to reflect on the interaction between women's rights and religion state relations in Israel. The comparative and interdisciplinary perspectives will improve students' comparative skills and deepen their understanding of the relations between law and society.  

This course explores these issues through three focal points.  First, we will examine the ideas of some major thinkers in legal and political theory who have theorised about the relationship of law and religion.  Our starting point for this will be the seminal contribution of John Rawls’s work Political Liberalism.  After looking at Rawls’s theory we will turn to responses and reactions to Rawls from other prominent thinkers. Second, we will examine ‘religio-legal’ cultures and traditions to understand how they expressed and represented the relationship of law and religion. Finally, we will look at selected case studies – instance where law and religion have directly encountered each other – as points of reflection and discussion. 

Grade: Take-home exam (24 hours) 100%