Unit Code:	AST2GSL
Alternative Unit Code:	AST3GSL
Unit Short Title:	GODDESSES, SEXUALITY AND LIBERATION: INDIA AND BEYOND
Credit Points:	20
Unit Description:	In this subject students are introduced to the representation of the goddess in the religious traditions of India and, by way of comparison, to those of old Europe and Mesopotamia. Through an analysis of a selection of mythic and religious texts we will study the images of goddesses in several religious traditions and will investigate what this image tells us about gender relations, sexuality and the status of women in the cultures studied. We will also examine the extent to which goddesses are gender exclusive or whether they include both genders in their ambit. The approach will be historical as well as sociological.
Class Requirements:	two 1-hour lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week
Work Experience Indicator:	Not undertaking work experience in industry
Available to 'Study Abroad' students:	Y

Assessment:

Assessment Type	%	Comments
one 1,500-word class paper	30
one 3,500-word essay	70	Third year students will be expected to show a greater achievement of discipline-specific skills in their written work than second year students.

Readings:

Reading Type	Title	Author	Publisher
Prescribed	Hindu Goddesses. Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu religious tradition	Kinsley, D.	University of California Press 1986
Recommended	Seeking Mahadevi: constructing the identities of the Hindu Great Goddess	Pintchman, T.	State University of New York Press 2001
Recommended	The Goddesses' mirror. Visions of the Divine from East and West	Kinsley, D.	State University of New York 1988

Unit Streams:

Teaching Period	Unit Class	Location
2   26-JUL-10   29-OCT-10	Day	BUNDOORA

Unit Coordinators:

Title	First Name	Last Name	Location	Primary Coordinator
Dr	Greg	Bailey	BUNDOORA	Y