2016 - 2017

0687-2458-01
  Female Deities in Taiwanese Religion                                                                 
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
Smadar WinterGilman-humanities279Tue1400-1600 Sem  2
 
 
University credit hours:  2.0

Course description
Female Deities in Taiwanese Religion: Historical Roots and Contemporary Practice

Female deities occupy a prominent position in contemporary Taiwanese religion, and have a long history in China. Some argue that worshipping a Chinese goddess is attested in the archaeological record as early as 5,500 years ago. In this course we will trace the belief in female deities throughout different historical periods in China, and we will identify gendered patterns in different religious traditions which operated in a society governed by patriarchal norms and male hierarchies. Special emphasis will be given to understanding the social and cultural contexts for such beliefs and practices in Taiwan today. We will examine the ways in which female deities are portrayed and conceived against an existing orthodoxy of male gods, territorial cults and well-established ancestor worship. We will explore the different meanings that worshipping a female deity has, in Taiwan, for men and for women devotees, as we follow recent controversies, especially among Buddhist believers, concerning the ways women should express their religious devotion. Finally, since Taiwanese goddesses are often imagined as mothers, we will examine the kind of motherhood that contemporary Taiwanese goddesses represent, comparing their model of motherhood with earlier notions of Chinese motherhood, and with Western beliefs in a mother-goddess.

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