Reclaiming the feminine : a co-operative inquiry on the embodied experience of the divine feminine in Social Practice
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Authors
Nedungat, Dheepa
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Degree
Master of Social Practice
Grantor
Unitec Institute of Technology
Date
2015
Supervisors
Connor, Helene
Ayallo, Irene
Ayallo, Irene
Type
Masters Thesis
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
feminism
women and religion
goddesses
co-operative inquiry
self-identity
reflective practice
social practice
women and religion
goddesses
co-operative inquiry
self-identity
reflective practice
social practice
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Nedungat, D. (2015). Reclaiming the feminine : a co-operative inquiry on the embodied experience of the divine feminine in Social Practice. An unpublished thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Practice, Unitec Institute of Technology.
Abstract
This research represents the testimony of six women’s understanding of the divine feminine, including myself as co-researcher. Through a co-operative inquiry, we explored how our understanding influences us as social practitioners. Co-operative inquiry offered us an experiential and participative process to engage with the topic, by using a radical approach to research, in which the traditional role of researcher was replaced by a team of co-researchers all in equal positions. In this way, the research outcomes were generated based on a group effort.
This study is important because an inquiry into the divine feminine demonstrates the challenges we face as social justice advocates particularly in terms of our personal identity as women and our personal experiences of power. The research suggests if we are truly to engage in practices that are emancipatory, empowering and transformative, we need to address those challenges and review our relationship to power. The results of this research demonstrate how the process of inquiry into the divine feminine calls for:
having a balanced view, particularly in activism
reclaiming our power in our relationship to our womanhood and femininity
reclaiming our relationship to our body, our feeling self and to nature
We were each touched, moved and inspired by the inquiry process. The inward reflection not only honed our self-reflective skills, it also created a bridge to a deeper understanding of who we are. We learnt through group dynamics, how to collaborate and authentically engage in reflection and meaning-making, despite our differences and beliefs. We uncovered, through transformation of our being, the qualities of the divine feminine. What we discovered, was not a list of qualities to aspire to, rather the transformative aspect of the divine feminine was in the process of inquiry. It was in this process of inquiring what the divine feminine means, that each of us came into relationship with ourselves in a new transformative way.
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