In this unique offering, the GTUx cameras capture five women scholars of five different religious traditions in moderated, unscripted discussions about women's bodies in relation to tradition, sacred texts, agency, history, sexuality, piety, motherhood, and more.

Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala, Chair of the Women’s Studies in religion (WSR) program at the GTU, facilitates the discussions. The other panelists are Rita Sherma, Director and Associate Professor at the Center for Dharma Studies at the GTU, visiting professor of Sociology of Religion Paula Nesbitt, Chancellor Jackman Professor of the Arts at the University of Toronto in the Department for the Study of Religion Naomi Seidman, and GTU doctoral student in Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion Leslie Bowling-Dyer.

This offering was developed in conjunction with GTU Dean Jennifer W. Davidson and Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala, and takes place at the Women's Faculty Club at the UC Berkeley campus. The questions that prompted these four conversations were developed by the Women’s Studies in Religion program.

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Leslie Bowling-Dyer is a doctoral candidate in the Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. In her dissertation, “A Womanist Work Ethic: Black Laywomen's Consciousness and Labor,” she explores how Black laywomen forge their identity and work ethic in response to their lived experience within the American political economy. She is particularly interested in how sacred cosmologies inform inherently fluid social identities. Leslie regards herself as a product of the Black church tradition. Her work stems from her deep appreciation for how the women-centered networks within Black congregations help laywomen make meaning and forge purpose from the routine social disrespect they encounter in both private and public arenas of society. Leslie received her Master of Divinity from the American Baptist Seminary of the West (now Berkeley School of Theology), where she focused on Womanist ethics. In addition, she holds a BA in African American Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. Currently, Leslie is an associate minister at Allen Temple Baptist Church. She served for 15 years as a campus minister before pursuing doctoral studies. Leslie lives with her husband and two teenage children in Oakland, California.

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A visiting professor of Sociology of Religion at the GTU, Paula Nesbitt has taught courses on women, gender, and religion for more than 20 years, including at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Denver. She is a co-author of the Anglican Communion’s academic and applied gender justice resources (2018, 2022) and has presented internationally on these and related topics. She has conducted several research studies on ordained women has authored numerous articles and book chapters on women and religion. She is currently working on an update to her 1997 book, Feminization of the Clergy in America: Occupational and Organizational Perspectives (Oxford University Press). In addition to serving on the International Anglican Women’s Network steering group (since 2016), she currently serves on the GTU Women’s Studies in Religion steering group. She holds a M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School and a MA and PhD in sociology from Harvard.

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Dr. Dhala is Director of the Madrasa-Midrasha Program and Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at the GTU. She received her PhD from the GTU in 2021 and her MA in Islamic Studies from the GTU in 2017. Prior to her matriculation at the GTU, she pursued traditional Islamic seminary studies for over seven years and has led Muslim communities worldwide for nearly two decades.

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Naomi Seidman is Chancellor Jackman Professor of the Arts at the University of Toronto in the Department for the Study of Religion and the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies. She is working on a book on Freud's Jewish legacies. It explores how, in Jewish ritual, Passover marks the beginning of a psychological journey to Shavuot, the celebration of Sinai.

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Rita D. Sherma is founding Director and Associate Professor at the Center for Dharma Studies; Core Doctoral Faculty; and Co-Chair of Sustainability 360 Initiative at GTU, Berkeley, CA. Formerly, she was the Swami Vivekananda Visiting Professor in Hindu Studies at USC, Los Angeles. She holds an MA in Women’s Studies in Religion, and a PhD in Theology & Ethics from Claremont Graduate University, CA. Sherma is co-founder of the American Academy of Religion’s Hinduism Program Unit. She is the founding Vice President of DANAM (Dharma Academy of North America)—a scholarly society for research on Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious & interreligious studies—and serves on the Board of the Society for Hindu-Christian Studies. Sherma has authored/edited/co-edited several books and is the founding Editor-in-Chief of \"Journal of Dharma Studies.\" She serves on the Editorial Board of \"Reading Religion\" Journal (an AAR publication). Her pedagogical approach goes beyond encounters in the classroom to create collaborations with her students in research, writing, publications, and sponsoring students' leadership in their disciplines.

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