Archive
Christianity
Sexual Difference in a Time of Terror
Ellen Mortensen
On July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people and wounded many others in a bombing and mass shooting in Norway motivated by his extreme right-wing ideology. In his manifesto, “2083: A European Declaration of Independence,” Breivik identified cultural Marxism, Islam, and feminism as the main causes of Europe’s decay. Arguing for the superiority […]
Read MoreReligion and the Body
Dominic Wetzel
Contributors include Kaucyila Brooke, Ann Burlein, Lindsay Caplan, Janet R. Jakobsen, Ins Kromminga, Laura Levitt, Minoo Moallem, Carlo Quispe, Catherine Sameh, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Saadia Toor, Dominic Wetzel, Melissa Wilcox, Paul Wirhun, and David Wojnarowicz.
Read MoreThe Feminist Ethnographer’s Dilemma
Panel featuring Orit Avishai and Lynne Gerber. Moderated by Margot Weiss.
Read MoreActivism and the Academy: The Feminist Ethnographer’s Dilemma
Recorded Sep 24, 2011
Does a feminist perspective limit researchers' abilities to see and interpret empirical realities? What happens when these perspectives clash with the reality of field observations? A group of ethnographers discuss how their feminist perspectives can both limit and enhance their ability to analyze power structures and evaluate social change. Panelists include Orit Avishai (Fordham University) and Lynne Gerber (University of California, Berkeley) in this discussion moderated by Margot Weiss (Wesleyan University).
ListenReligion, Race, and Sex in the American Antislavery Mission to Jamaica
Gale Kenny
Before the Civil War, white American abolitionists established a mission in Jamaica as a “test case” for emancipation. The abolitionists struggled to reconcile their political commitment to egalitarianism with the racial and cultural hierarchies of their civilizing mission. The talk will examine this tension through the lens of a sex scandal that almost destroyed the […]
Read MoreChristianity and the Global Politics of Sexuality
Elizabeth Castelli, Eng-Beng Lim, Ju Hui Judy Han, Mary-Jane Rubenstein, and Jordan Alexander Stein
After last fall’s McIntyre lecture on the influence of Christianity on foreign policy and religious freedom in Egypt by Professor Saba Mahmood of the University of California Berkeley, we return to the topic of gender, sexuality, religion, and politics with this panel discussion. Focusing specifically on sexuality, our panelists will discuss the ways in which […]
Read MoreChristianity and the Global Politics of Sexuality
Panel discussion featuring Jordan Alexander Stein, Ju Hui Judy Han, Eng-Beng Lim and Mary-Jane Rubenstein. Moderated by Elizabeth Castelli.
Read MoreChristianity and the Global Politics of Sexuality
Recorded Oct 21, 2010
Focusing specifically on sexuality, the panelists discuss the ways in which transnational and non-governmental Christian organizations have an impact on legal and social policies in different areas where Christians may comprise a small minority or a larger percentage of the population. In addition, sexuality continues to rankle and even divide Christian churches themselves, as evidenced by the recent tensions in the Anglican Communion over LGBT clergy members. This panel explores debates about sexuality within Christian churches and the global reach of Christian claims about sexuality. Panelists include Jordan Alexander Stein, Ju Hui Judy Han, Eng-Beng Lim and Mary-Jane Rubenstein, and the panel is moderated by Elizabeth Castelli.
ListenTowards a Vision of Sexual and Economic Justice
Kate Bedford and Janet Jakobsen
Sexual oppression and economic oppression are inextricably linked, but the movements and theoretical frameworks that address each of these issues so often treat them as discrete. Contemporary movements for global economic justice tend to shy away from sexuality issues, while campaigns for sexual rights rarely foreground economic concerns. In some spheres, however, the gap is beginning to close. BCRW highlights these potential intersections with its new project entitled Towards a Vision of Sexual and Economic Justice.
Read MoreSaba Mahmood: The Politics of Freedom
Full-length video of the lecture "The Politics of Freedom: Geopolitics, Minority Rights and Gender."
Read MoreShould Religious Ethics Matter to Feminist Politics?
Saba Mahmood
Established in 2004 in honor of Barnard alumna Helen Pond McIntyre ’48, the McIntyre lectureship highlights the work of scholars who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of Women’s Studies. In past years, the lecture series has welcomed numerous feminist icons, including legal scholar Patricia Williams; human rights advocate Dorothy Q. Thomas; feminist science […]
Read MoreSaba Mahmood: The Politics of Freedom
Recorded Oct 5, 2009
Introduced by Janet Jakobsen, Saba Mahmood delivered the lecture, "The Politics of Freedom: Geopolitics, Minority Rights and Gender" on October 5, 2009 at Barnard College. Originally titled "Should Feminist Ethics Matter to Religious Politics?" Mahmood's talk marked the sixth annual Helen Pond McIntyre '48 lecture. Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Mahmood is an expert on issues of secularism, gender, and modernity within the context of Islamist movements in the Middle East and South Asia. In this lecture, she reflects on why ethical practice and forms of embodiment matter to questions of feminist politics and analysis. By engaging some common misreadings of her 2005 book Politics of Piety, Mahmood urges feminist scholars to critically re-think the normative status accorded to secular conceptions of the self and body in contemporary debates about religion.
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