In this article: Female theology faculty speak | In the classroom | Student perspective | Approaching gender in the classroom | Feminist theology
A few years ago, Karin Heller, associate professor of theology, felt the need to speak out.
“We’ve had a really hard season. We lost a female professor, the female associate chaplain also left, and there was a female philosophy professor who also left,” Heller said. “For whatever reasons, at the same time all these women left, four males were hired. Those are facts. I think they are explanatory by themselves. This is why at a certain moment two years ago I spoke out. All professors in the department have to be aware of this lack of balance regarding genders.”
She said she told the theology department that all colleagues should be more supportive of women and women scholars. It seems to have improved some since.
“I think yes, there has been an effort made to individually be much more aware of gender issues and include female faculty in all areas and committees and also on a personal level,” Heller said.
Now Heller is not the only woman in the department. Karen Petersen Finch, instructor of theology, is in her first year as a full-time faculty member at Whitworth. Petersen Finch taught Great Themes in Paul’s Letters as an adjunct at Whitworth prior to being hired full time.
“When I took the job, many people warned me, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” Petersen Finch said. “I think Karin made it easier for me and I hope to make it easier for the next woman.”
Petersen Finch said she has seen an increase in camaraderie in the department even from the beginning of the year.
“From my male colleagues, I’ve felt great respect and support, but I’m new so I may still have honeymoon eyes,” Petersen Finch said.
Heller said she has an added issue being the only Catholic.
“Being Catholic, it’s also another issue. I’m representing a minority in my department. This difficulty adds to the one that I’m also a woman. This combination does not make life easy every day,” Heller said. “I think people in America cannot always imagine everything I had to deal with because I’m European, French, Catholic and female.”
Heller said it can also sometimes be intimidating or hurtful for men because she has three doctorates.
“I’m not at all proud. I just did my job,” Heller said.
Petersen Finch said there seems to be a sense that the department is glad to have another woman.
“The department needs Karin and I and I think they are realizing that,” Petersen Finch said.
Petersen Finch said she feels like she can be herself at Whitworth.
“I want to have a sharp brain and a feminine manner. I have no intention of changing either. Some people will respond well and some won’t. And that’s OK,” Petersen Finch said.
Petersen Finch said the best way to describe the approach of the two female professors in the department is “Biblical egalitarian.” They argue for a partnership.
“We are two female professors now in the department and neither of us is a feminist, in the sense that we want to take power in the department,” Heller said. “All professors in the theology department have their differences, but we insist on an intelligent partnership.”
In the classroom
As a female professor, Heller said she has experienced what she describes as “contempt.”
Heller said these negative experiences have been few and have mostly occurred in her Man and Woman in the Image of God course offered each fall. This was her sixth year teaching the course, which is part of the women’s and gender studies minor.
“The attacks were never conducted upfront, but particular students skipped the class very often or left in the middle of the class without explanation and then accused me that I did not give them the information for the test,” Heller said. “I never had problems like these with female students in this class. I clearly felt that there was something going on underneath and related to the fact that I was a woman.”
Heller said she has some resistance every time she teaches the class from a very small group.
“There was only one time where it went too far,” she said.
Heller said she’s had students come to class to take a quiz and then leave to watch a soccer game rather than staying for the lecture. She said she went to Academic Affairs.
“I really found the behavior contempt of the professor,” Heller said.
Heller said she has found females to be more open to reflect in an academic setting on gender issues than males.
“The great majority of male students is comfortable with addressing these questions in an open discussion, but not all males are,” Heller said. “Those who still struggle with these issues struggle with the class. So far I did not encounter female students struggling with this class on account of gender.”
Heller said she sees some male students who have narrow minds with gender issues.
“I know some contest women to teach among students who attend theology classes,” Heller said.
Petersen Finch said she has also had a few outspoken male students on the issue of female inequality.
“I’ve really enjoyed my first year. In my case, it’s hard to tell with rebellious students whether it is because I’m a woman or new,” Petersen Finch said.
Petersen Finch said she has actually found female resistance more surprising.
“One of the most striking things to me is there are many females who come from backgrounds where women are not in ministry,” Petersen Finch said. “There are some young male students who are violently against it, but for the most part I’ve found men to be more teachable in that respect.”
Petersen Finch said she assigned an exegesis paper in her Intro to the Bible course and a male student wrote a well-written argument against the idea of inequality in Genesis.
“It was delightful to have a young man do this, but I realize I can’t grade based on that. I told him that I appreciated his arguments and that if he had argued just as strongly the opposite point, his grade would be the same,” Petersen Finch said.
Petersen Finch said she has had some students argue strongly against women’s equality.
“For us, our job is to be responsible and gracious regardless of worldview. As a woman teacher, that’s one of the teaching challenges,” Petersen Finch said.
Both Heller and Petersen Finch said they will continue to work to make sure female students feel support.
“I personally don’t care if students are male or female. I think I do feel a special sense of delight when a female is succeeding. But we’re looking at brains and hearts and I think I speak for the entire department that they are all delighted by a successful female. Definitely the majority don’t really see males and females differently. What students see and interpret is hard to know,” Petersen Finch said.
Student perspective
Junior Kimmy Stokesbary, a theology major, said she experiences a constant attitude that she is not respectable because she is female and often less worthy than her male counterparts.
Stokesbary said she considered changing her major several times, especially earlier this year. She realized it would be difficult at this point to change and still be done next spring, she said.
“Moses [Pulei] is my adviser and he encouraged me to stay,” Stokesbary said. “He said nothing is going to change unless you stay.”
Stokesbary said female professors in the department do not get as much attention as the male professors. This may be because of the amount of time professors have been at Whitworth, but it may also be attributed to gender.
“Certain theology faculty operate as lowercase ‘g’ gods of Whitworth. Karin has to continually fall beneath them,” Stokesbary said. “I feel like her skills and abilities haven’t really been able to shine.”
Stokesbary said Whitworth could improve drastically by intentionally hiring more female faculty.
Approaching gender in the classroom
Part of what shaped Mindy Smith‘s experience as a theology student at Whitworth in the late ’90s was the openness in addressing gender in the classroom.
“The sad part for me is that I’ve heard women [today] say they feel invisible in class. That wasn’t my experience, so that’s hard for me to hear,” Smith said.
Smith, now campus pastor for small group ministries, said theology professors may not be verbalizing their opinions on gender the same way they did when she attended Whitworth. When the issue is not openly discussed it can make people skeptical, she said.
Terry McGonigal, who teaches Biblical Themes of Shalom and is also dean of spiritual life, said he gets into issues of gender right at the beginning of this course by starting in Genesis.
“All I try to do is expand people’s perspectives. There are some people who just aren’t having it – not just guys but female students as well,” McGonigal said.
Professor of theology Jim Edwards said he discusses gender in the classroom when it is addressed in the material. Edwards said he tries be sensitive to the texts.
“I think the position of a professor has a sacred trust. When it is rightfully used, it is wonderful thing,” Edwards said. “It’s easy to use the position as a professor to pontificate on subjects not relevant to the material. I have lots of strong feelings about political issues, gender, race, materialism and globalization, but I do not feel I’ve been given legitimacy to spout off on issues in the classroom.”
When it comes to addressing passages that have been controversial regarding gender, Edwards said he tries to frame the issues by asking students to consider what is really being said and the context in which it was said. Edwards said he tries to get them to think about what they would hear if they were Corinthians, when, for example, looking at chapters 11 and 14.
“We tend to hear it from our own perspective,” Edwards said.
He said he also has students look at the passages or books in context of all of Paul’s writings and try to determine his views of gender based on all of his writings.
Feminist theology
When she first came to Whitworth, Heller taught more traditional theology in class. After observing gender, she has begun adding post-modern and feminist theologians to the courses, she said.
In college, Petersen Finch read feminist theologians. She said she thinks that is one thing that is missing from the department.
“I think it’s one thing that’s missing from the department. We need to teach a class on post-modern theology,” Petersen Finch said. “Feminist theology doesn’t fit me, but I appreciate the questions. Students should have the opportunity to deal with alternatives like that here.”
Petersen Finch said the department may be more open to a course like that today.
This story is part of the larger “The Women” project completed in spring 2009. Click here to find out more.
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