Course Highlight: Womanist and Liberation Theology
In the Fall of 2022, I was fortunate enough to take the course PHI 300 Womanist and Liberation Theology. When I registered for this class over the summer, I was not prepared for the meaningful conversations I would come to look forward to each week in a zoom call every Monday evening.
Professor Sharon Higginbotham
Womanism is the theory of woman’s relationship to nature and community, with an emphasis on Black women and how the intersection of identity affects their relationship to feminism. Womanism applied to liberation theology examines the struggles of marginalized people and how those struggles relate to the people’s social location. Its main focus is in political, economic, and systemic liberation from what has oppressed the particular group of people. This class uses all of these intersecting ideas to allow us to engage in the material.
The course description for PHI 300 is:
“Womanist theology is a liberation theology that analyses politically oppressive structures, cultural habits, and race and gender constructs, and the ways these forces can shape experiences of faith. This course offers opportunities to engage and confront unjust and repressive theologies in ways that support greater inclusion and well-being.”
Professor Sharon Higginbotham, a Womanist Scholar and Theologian, was the visiting professor for this class. By the first few weeks she was already holding space for all kinds of ideas and experiences. Regardless of differing opinions or lived identities, she cultivated a course that focused on learning the tenets of Liberation theology and Womanism. The layout of this course was primarily discussion-focused. Offered virtually, we spoke with each other weekly about texts that related to Womanism and Liberation Theology. Because this class was offered via Zoom, we benefitted from being able to see everyone at one time while we approached conversation. Each week we had discussions and journal entries that reflected our thoughts. Journals allowed for a more personal connection to the text which encouraged us to show vulnerability and understanding.
Excerpt from the class’ Padlet presentation
I personally chose this course as an elective that I felt would explore Black identity through a subject I wasn’t familiar with. Although I originally approached this class with a curiosity for Womanism, I ended up fascinated by what liberation theology can teach us. The opportunity to read texts from a diverse list of authors gave me freedom to reflect on how my own lived experience relates to the course. I am grateful to Professor Higginbotham for facilitating that space, and for the classmates who found their own attachments to the coursework.
Linked here is a Padlet that we collectively worked on with the intention to educate those who might not know about Womanist Theology entitled “Womanism In a Global Lens.” Looking through the lens of global social issues we are all struggling with, we made this as an educational resource for others to use.
Womanist and Liberation Theology is a course offered by the philosophy department. You can find more courses like this in the course catalogue.
Lirit Gilmore is a Creative Writing and Food Studies student. Lirit’s academic focus is centered in food writing and how it intersects with social location and identity. She is from Washington, DC and the Midwest, and enjoys baking in her free time. See all her work on Pulse@ChathamU here.