dear concordia, please pay for me to fly to new york and present my research. love, maggie.

the following is the abstract for my senior research paper... don't fall asleep!



I began my research on Saint Augustine’s views on women with my own preconceptions in regards to the topic. Tainted by popular analysis in academia, I had believed Augustine to have a negative concept of women, in support of the superiority of men. What I found was quiet different. Through looking at several of Augustine’s writings throughout his life, I was able to see changes in his concept of women. Augustine, in his younger years, may have entertained the ideology of the previously suggested notion, however, if one is to look closely at his later writings, one would see that Augustine often writes in support of women’s equality with men in their spiritual power, role in original sin as well as choice, marriage, etc. In my paper, I will use a historical methodological lens to take a closer look at the periods in Augustine’s life that influenced his views on women. By focusing on Augustine’s time immersed in Greco-Roman pagan culture, practicing Manichaeism, his study of Neo-Platonism and, finally, his life as a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church, one is able to clearly observe the metamorphosis of this great theologian’s theories on women. Throughout each of these life periods, Augustine is influenced by the cultural views, thought constructs and practices of that particular lifestyle that formed popular opinion on the views and treatment of women. As previously eluded, this is not a common view throughout academia. Many would agree that Augustine was influenced by his surroundings; however, I have yet to discover a scholar that embraces the idea that Augustine’s different life periods influenced his views on women, allowing them to change throughout his life. In my paper, I hope to bring greater light to this concept, sharing my findings in hope of continued dialogue throughout the academic word.


word.