UCSB Professor to Discuss Buddhism and Gender

To many scholars, the Buddhist religion appears inconsistent in its views of women.

But Vesna Wallace, a lecturer in UC Santa Barbara's Department of Religious Studies, feels the apparent contradictions can be understood when the texts in which they are expressed are considered in the context of the time and place in which they were written.

Wallace will discuss her study of Buddhism and gender in a talk titled, "The Equivocal Attitude of Buddhism Toward Women," to be presented by the UCSB Affiliates at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 14 at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara.

UCSB Affiliates and Chancellor's Council members will be admitted for $5. Admission will be $8 for all others.

Wallace's talk is the second in a four-part series focusing on women and religion.

Later presentations will be "Women and the Qur'an," (March 27) by Ruqayya Khan, a visiting professor in UCSB's Department of Religious Studies, and "Mothers and Goddesses: Women in Search of the Feminine Divine," (April 9) by Nancy Ramsey Tosh and Melissa Wilcox, both post-doctoral students in the Department of Religious Studies.

Wallace, a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies, specializes in Indian Buddhism and has also studied Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist practice.

For further information or to make reservations, contact UCSB Community Relations at (805) 893-4388.