Written by Martin Sicam ’13, Mathematics Major and  Catholic Studies Minor

When a man and a woman look upon each other, what does each see? Why does the Church exclude women in the Priesthood? Why do we call God “Father” and never “Mother”? In the philosophically based class Woman and Man (taught this Fall by Professor Elizabeth Kelly), we delve deep into questions such as these to arrive at intrinsic truths. On the first day of class, we were instructed to write down what we think it means to be a man or what it means to be a woman. It is a simple task to note the stereotypical characteristics of each. But those answers only satisfy what it means to be like a man or woman. We want to know what it really means to be man and woman, male and female, father and mother. As the semester progresses, we put more focus on the archetypal, or intrinsic characteristics. Our goal is to reach truths about the essences of each, and apply that to questions that challenge our very identities and culture. Of course, sometimes it is through the stereotypes that we discover essential truths. After prayer, the class is usually opened with an “example of the day”, in which different students share personal experiences that relate to the stereotypical/archetypal sides of men and women. Some truths can be found even in seemingly trivial situations. Men are stereotypically accused of only thinking about women and sports, whereas women are equally accused of thinking solely of men and fashion. I believe it is this mutual sense of being drawn to each other that in turn, draws students to this class. There is some sort of natural tendency for men and women to desire to learn more about the other.