Löwe, Sophia
Learning to love the wor(l)d radically with Black Feminist Lyricism:.
Research master thesis, Master Research Master Theologie en Religiewetenschappen.
Abstract
The primary purpose of this thesis is to contemplate method and theory in the academic
study of religion in terms of its hegemonic discursive wor(l)dmaking strategies, alongside the
question: (How) Can Black feminist (radical) love operate as a discursive strategy (or ontoepistemological
intra-section) to narrate self<>other in the study of religion?
The individual chapters are thought of as individual strains, together forming a constellation of
colors. Inspired by the radical love shimmering through Black feminist lyrical expressions, the
thesis aims to learn from and with these texts and lyricists in order to flesh out the discursive
whiteness inherent to contemporary knowledge- and discourse-making in the academic study of
religion. (1) My fascination with radical love, as a non-reductive onto-epistemological approach,
forms the foundation of the work. (2) On the basis of Miller and Driscoll’s Method as Identity
(2019), I contemplate the role of the critical neutral (white) scholar (self) of religion as observer
of the less neutral(/black) Other, alongside notions of personhood that make such clear
distinction and distance-making possible. (3) This chapter both question the binarization between
self and Other, and explore possibilities of narrating multiplicities and wholeness from an intraactive/
relational/co-constitutional perspective of personhood. (4) Drawing inspiration from
Lorde’s Poetry is Not a Luxury (1985), I weave words into worlds, following the pattern of
radical love offered by Black feminist lyricists. With the intention to show a discursive
entanglement of narrating intra-active wor(l)dmaking and navigating non-white discursive
cultures (of scholarship), the thesis can be read as a creative contemplation that plays with
discursive techniques and notions of contructing self<>other in the study of religion. It can be
read as an attempt to entangle (past) criticism with the (present) quality of showing up fully
human for (future) transformation of shared wor(l)ds.
| Type: |
Thesis
(Research master)
|
| Supervisors (RUG): |
| Supervisor | E-mail | Tutor organization | Tutor email |
|---|
| Stuckrad, C.K.M. von | | Faculteit GGW, Vergelijkende Religiewetenschap | C.K.M.von.Stuckrad@rug.nl |
|
| Supervisors from outside the RUG: |
| Tutor outside | E-mail | Tutor outside organization | Tutor outside email |
|---|
| Miller, Monica R. | | Lehigh University | mrm213@lehigh.edu |
|
| Degree programme: |
Master Research Master Theologie en Religiewetenschappen |
| Academic year: |
2020-2021 |
| Date of delivery: |
16 Sep 2022 10:00 |
| Last modified: |
16 Sep 2022 10:00 |
| URI: |
https://rcs.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/661 |
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