The above course carries Arts and Humanities, Culture Studies A
distribution.

India has one of the oldest continuous traditions of goddess-centred
religious activity.  Archaeologists see evidence of goddess worship
in the artifacts they find in their excavations of the earliest
civilizations on the subcontinent.  Who is this goddess (or, who are
these goddesses)?  Why has she held popular imagination for so many
centuries?  What role can she possibly play in today’s highly
technical and technological world?  We will address these issues
through our reading, through video, and discussion.

We will begin with a detailed look at some of the oldest hymns to
the Goddess, from the Rig Veda, the oldest extant literature in any
Indo-European language.  We will read and discuss several stories
from later mythology and examine ways those goddesses are worshipped
today.  And we will consider what it takes to become a goddess.

Finally, we will consider the role the goddess plays in contemporary
literature and in popular culture both in India and in the West.
Why do Sita and Draupadi continue to feature in song, story and
art?  What does it mean when Xena Warrior Princess transforms
herself to the fierce goddess Kali?

As we consider the goddess in her many manifestations, we will also
explore scholarly ways to talk about religion, film and literature
through our reading and discussions.  Most classes will begin with a
short lecture, but most of our time will be spent discussing the
material we’re reading.  Many classes will also include video clips
and occasionally, an entire movie.

This course treats aspects of culture in India, and so satisfies the
Cultural Studies requirement in the College.

Texts:  Students will purchase one textbook (Jacqueline Suthren
Hirst’s Sita’s Story).  All other reading Assignments will be
available on OnCourse, and include short selections from the
following larger works, as well as a number of scholarly articles:

Cornelia Dimmitt and J.A. van Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology.
Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, The Rig Veda.
John Stratton Hawley and Donna Marie Wulff, The Divine Consort:
Radha and the Goddesses of India.
Lynn Bennett, Dangerous Wives and Sacred Sisters.
Mandakranta Bose, Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval and
Modern India.
Elisabeth Benard, Goddesses Who Rule.

Grading:  Each week students will submit a 2-page (double-spaced)
essay on material covered that week in readings and in class
discussion.  Students will also submit a 5-8 page research paper on
a topic suggested by the course, subject to the professor’s
approval.  Alternately, students may submit a 2-page bibliography
and abstract for a presentation they will give during the last week
of class.  In either case, the outline/abstract will be due at the
beginning of the third week of the term, rough draft due at the end
of week six, and the final draft will be due no later than the
scheduled final examination date and time. There will also be a few
brief surprise quizzes during the term.

Short essays:  6 x 10 points = 	60
Research project/paper = 	35
Surprise quizzes = 		5

Attendance:  You are adults, and how you choose to spend your Monday
and Wednesday evenings is entirely up to you.  However, you will be
unable to produce good work, and consequently, to receive good
grades, if you miss class.  Further, you will, by missing class,
miss the occasional spontaneous quizzes, and thereby miss points.