The shining garment of the text : feminist criticism and interpretative strategies for readers of John 1:1-18
The Shining Garment of the Text. Feminist Criticism and Interpretative Strategies for Readers of John 1; 1-18. This thesis is concerned with the issues facing me as a woman-centred reader of the Christian scriptures. I am concerned, for example, with the process whereby women's experience has been given or denied value within patriarchal culture. I believe that the patriarchal culture, determined by an approach to human experience which I have described as 'phallogocentric', has used gender difference in a signatory or symbolic sense and that it has employed the feminine gender to define an 'Otherness' against which it promotes or defends its own identity and value. In consequence, women, and by extension, whatever is associated with their differentiated experiences, have suffered a generalised devaluation, which, in the most extreme instances, amounts to an attempt to abolish or exclude them altogether. I am also concerned with the sense in which this phallogocentric approach has determined the process of biblical interpretation, demanding singular, exclusive readings of texts whose authority must be guaranteed by the assumption of a transcendent presence or truth. My aim is, first of all, to illustrate this
Jasper, Alison E.
Philosophy
The shining garment of the text : feminist criticism and interpretative strategies for readers of John 1:1-18. The Shining Garment of the Text. Feminist Criticism and Interpretative Strategies for Readers of John 1; 1-18. This thesis is concerned with the issues facing me as a woman-centred reader of the Christian scriptures. I am concerned, for example, with the process whereby women's experience has been given or denied value within patriarchal culture. I believe that the patriarchal culture, determined by an approach to human experience which I have described as 'phallogocentric', has used gender difference in a signatory or symbolic sense and that it has employed the feminine gender to define an 'Otherness' against which it promotes or defends its own identity and value. In consequence, women, and by extension, whatever is associated with their differentiated experiences, have suffered a generalised devaluation, which, in the most extreme instances, amounts to an attempt to abolish or exclude them altogether. I am also concerned with the sense in which this phallogocentric approach has determined the process of biblical interpretation, demanding singular, exclusive readings of texts whose authority must be guaranteed by the assumption of a transcendent presence or truth. My aim is, first of all, to illustrate this
garment text feminist criticism interpretative_strategy reader john garment text feminist criticism interpretative strategies readers john concerned issue_face woman centred reader christian_scriptures concern example process_whereby woman_experience give value within patriarchal culture believe patriarchal culture determine human_experience describe use gender_difference symbolic sense employ feminine gender define otherness promotes defend identity value consequence woman extension whatever associate differentiated experience suffer generalised extreme instance amount attempt abolish exclude altogether also concern sense determine process biblical_interpretation demand singular exclusive reading texts whose authority must guarantee assumption transcendent presence truth aim first illustrate