Courses in the planning stage

Women in Islam

This course describes and analyses the position of women in Islam. It is not just a question of theory.

It is frequently, wrongly, assumed that the day-to-day practice of Islam is uniform in all Muslim countries. In fact, customs and culture vary greatly from one Muslim society to the next. This course documents such differences, analyses their causes and draws conclusions that allow a clearer distinction between culture and religion.

Gender and microcredit

The course will cover the following topics:

• microcredit & microfinance as a tool for poverty allevation and women's empowerment
• assessing organizations that are directly or indirectly involved in the credit delivery system
• the connection between awareness, personal decisionmaking and liberation from poverty
• the specific place of women in micro-economic units such as the family, the village, etc.
• the role of Self Help Groups as a mechanism to deliver credit effectively, etc.

Mary Magdalene & the leadership of women in the European Middle Ages

The Middle Ages manifested a surprisingly active devotion to Mary of Magdala. She was venerated as a 'counter-heroine' who dared to do things normally forbidden to women.

In spite of the overwhelming patriarchal ambience, medieval societies did produce some outstanding women leaders. Some ruled as queens or held other political posts. Others performed leadership roles in a religious context, as abbesses or spiritual writers. The course examines the internal tensions between the official status accorded to women and women's own self understanding.

Women in Buddhist Tradition

Gautama Buddha had female disciples and many countries have witnessed the emergence of orders of Buddhist nuns. The interaction between Buddhist spiritual teachings and cultural customs has led to a variety of attitudes towards women in Buddhist communities.

Women in Judaism and Early Christianity

The position of honour and respect attributed to women in Judaism was enlarged by the way in which women were treated as equals by Jesus Christ. The earliest Christian communities lived by standards of emancipation that were only eroded much later by absorption in Christian Hellenism.

TRANSCENDING GENDER--Exploring the creative tension between the Anima and the Animus in Jung's psychology

Are you dissatisfied with being told that 'men are from Mars; women are from Venus'? Does you own feminine identity seem to escape both Mary of Nazareth and Mary of Magdala? Then try getting your mind around allowing every person to have a feminine and masculine "soul" (anima and animus). Try exploring the world of dreams, art, mythology, and world religions with Carl Gustav Jung.