Not to interrupt the discussions happening, but I thought I'd jump in and
introduce myself and my work. My name is Susan Andree, and I'm an undergrad
student in Maine, USA. At the moment I'm in the process of writing my
honors thesis for the Department of Religious Studies at Colby College, and
although my topic seems to be changing on a daily basis, I am looking at how
gender is constructed in contemporary neo-/pagan practices in the U.S.
Provisionally I am approaching this subject with postmodern theories from
feminism and from 'post-phenomenological' religious studies which takes into
account the influence of social, historical, and politcal contexts. (so
much left unsaid here!) I look forward to participating in this list!
BTW, I have taken a seminar course that focused solely on Mary Daly, her
evolution in writing and politics from _The Church and the Second Sex_ to
_Quintessence_, and have also had the opportunity to hear her speak on this
last work of hers at a time when her status at BU was under attack. (This
course did not just look at her works disembodied but of necessity placed
her works in the cultural contexts which have shaped her politics and her
foci over many years.) I thought it necessary to add to the previous
discussion of Mary Daly on this list that at BU she had a long history of
teaching her courses to both men and women, but would not teach a 'co-ed'
class, I think because of the power dynamics involved. This separatist
approach was popular with students and had been successful for many years
before it became a larger political issue initiated by a conservative
Christian student acting as part of a conservative Christian (activist?)
group. (And this most recent political event which cost her her position at
BU should also be understood in light of the fact that the same issue
occurred __years before, at which time her position was saved termination
in large part from student demand.) If there was interest expressed by male
students, she would, at least from my understanding, offer a separate class
for men. For those interested in pursuing feminist readings of Mary Daly,
I'd suggest the book _Feminist Interpretations of Mary Daly_, published by
Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000. (ed. S.L. Hoagland and M. Frye.)
It has been a couple years since I've engaged with these issues, so forgive
my vagueness on dates and specifics.
Susan
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