Course Description

From the first days of Christ’s earthly ministry, women have been essential to the declaration, understanding, and articulation of the gospel, yet historically women have been marginalized when tracing theological movements within the church. By exploring the theological writings of women during the long period 1100–1950, this course restores women to a written theological tradition that has considered education and ordination necessary prerequisites for claiming the authority to write theology. By asking a series of interrelated questions—how did women historically justify their writing practices? who qualifies as a theologian? what are the forms in which theology is written? what counts as theology?—we will find that the very concept of theology is deepened profoundly when we consider women’s writing and spiritual practices over the centuries.