REL 258
Buddhism, Social Change, & Reproductive Justice in the Anthropocene
Last Offered Fall 2023
Division II Writing Skills Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed WGSS 225 / ANTH 258 / ASIA 258
This course is not offered in the current catalog

This course considers how three women profoundly shaped the Buddha’s life and legacy in terms of social change & reproductive justice. Our central characters are Maya–the Buddha’s mother, who died shortly after delivering him; Pajapati–the Buddha’s stepmother & aunt who raised him; and Yasodhara–his wife, whom he abandoned when he left home to seek enlightenment. We explore the classical Buddhist discourses and modern biographies to explore how these three women impacted what the Buddha taught and practiced in terms of social and gender justice. These women helped shape the Buddha’s radical decision to found the first renunciate order for women in Asian history and helped shape Buddhist attitudes towards female empowerment, bodily autonomy, and reproductive justice for that past 2500 years. Our historical genealogy will explore how Buddhism continues to disrupte modern hierarchies of sex, gender, caste, & class while claiming reproductive and social justice. Along the way we consider: How did these three women reject existing social hierarchies in the Buddha’s day and with what impacts for modern Buddhist practices and institutions? How do the social transformations of the Buddha’s day still impact modern struggles for gender justice & reproductive justice in the Anthropocene?