Speaker: Bible open to interpretation
Library room 101 was filled Wednesday for Dr. Susan Shaw’s lecture “They Didn’t Teach Me That in Sunday School: Feminism and the Bible.” Giving “a taste” of what it is to approach the bible with a feminist lens, Shaw said she wants students to think critically about everything, including the bible and religion.
Invited by Ann Austen, professor and director of the Center for Women and Gender Studies, Shaw is transitional director of the school of language, culture and society and professor for women and gender studies at Oregon State University (OSU), as well as an ordained minister. She began her studies in religious studies but said she became progressively more interested in a feminist interpretation.
“This interpretation style allows the bible to mean many different things,” she said. “Anytime we interpret a text we bring a series of experiences and assumptions.”
At OSU, Shaw teaches a feminism theology class and used to teach a graduate class about feminist interpretations. Shaw has also led a workshop called “Bad Girls of the Bible,” women Shaw said she sees as strong and independent.
Much of the lecture was spent analyzing different scripture stories and figures, including Eve, Paul, Luke and Jesus, interacting with the adulteress and the woman at the well. Both show his respect for women, Shaw said, and are evidence that he often pushed gender-role boundaries in his relations. Shaw said by Jesus coming to the aid of the adulteress, he is portrayed as the “knight in shining armor saving the damsel in distress,” and the story shows the hypocrisy of the men who would condemn the woman caught in adultery but not the man.
Emma Hanks, a graduate student in marriage and family therapy, attended the lecture out of curiosity.
“I think it’s always helpful to get another perspective on things,” she said.
– k.vandyke@aggiemail.usu.edu