Syllabus: Jamet Feminism & The Reclamation of the "Fallen" Woman

Course Title: Shameless Survival: Jamet Feminism, Biblical "Whores," & Caribbean Freedom

Subtitle: From Rahab to Rihanna: Reading Sex, Survival, and Sacred Text Anew

Course Description

This course employs Jamet Feminism—a Caribbean-born framework that rejects colonial, patriarchal, and respectability politics—as a critical lens to reinterpret biblical women labelled as promiscuous, sinful, or "whores". We centre the lived realities of Black and Afro-Caribbean women to argue that joy, performance, sexuality, and visibility are tools of survival and empowerment. The course moves from scripture (Tamar, Rahab, Gomer, the women of the Gospels, and the "Whore of Babylon") to contemporary cultural expressions (dancehall, soca, whining, and figures like Cardi B and Rihanna), insisting that true liberation requires sexual freedom, cultural pride, and embodied self-possession.

Core Theoretical Tools

Jamet Feminism: Challenges respectability; centres pleasure, performance, and public presence as resistance.
Intersectionality (Kimberlé Crenshaw): The interconnected nature of race, gender, class, and sexuality in shaping experience.
Bodily Autonomy: The right to self-possession and self-definition, free from state, religious, or communal policing.
Embodied Hermeneutics: Interpreting texts through the lens of the body, desire, and lived experience.

Weekly Curriculum

Module 1: Laying the Foundation: Theory & Stigma

Week 1: Introducing Jamet: Colonialism, Respectability, and the Right to Public Joy.
Week 2: Core Concepts: Intersectionality, Bodily Autonomy, and the Politics of "Shame".
Week 3: The Biblical Tool of Stigma: How "Fallen Woman" Narratives Police Morality.

Module 2: Reclaiming the "Fallen" Women of the Hebrew Bible

Week 4: Tamar (Genesis 38): The Trickster. Survival, Leverage, and Claiming Justice on Her Own Terms.
Week 5: Rahab (Joshua 2, 6): The Collaborator. Sex Work, Hospitality, and Theological Treason as Liberation.
Week 6: Gomer (Hosea 1-3): The Prophetic Allegory. When a Woman's Body Becomes a Metaphor for National Sin.
Week 7: Ruth & The "Whore of Babylon" (Revelation 17): Diaspora, Loyalty, and Decoding the Ultimate Apocalyptic Scapegoat.

Module 3: The Gospel's "Sinful" Women & New Testament Reclamations

Week 8: The "Sinful" Woman (Luke 7:36-50): Intimacy, Anointing, and the Performance of Unashamed Love.
Week 9: The Samaritan Woman (John 4): Public Testimony, Multiple Marriages, and Theological Discourse.
Week 10: Mary Magdalene: From Demonic Possession to Apostle—Reclaiming the Witness.

Module 4: From Sacred Text to Dancehall Stage: Contemporary Jamet Praxis

Week 11: Dancehall & Soca as Sacred Space: "Whining", Carnival, and the Theology of Embodied Release.
Week 12: Case Study: Cardi B & Rihanna—Sexual Capital, Economic Power, and Controlling the Narrative.
Week 13: Diasporic Tensions: Respectability Politics vs. Jamet Freedom in Migration.
Week 14: Final Synthesis: Building a Liberation Ethic of Shamelessness.

Assignments & Assessment

Stigma Analysis Journal (20%): Weekly entries connecting weekly themes to a contemporary cultural moment or personal observation.
Major Paper: Biblical Reclamation (40%): A 7-10 page paper applying Jamet's feminist principles to offer a new interpretation of one biblical figure from the syllabus, using at least two theoretical tools.
Cultural Theology Project (30%): A creative analysis (e.g., video essay, podcast, or photo essay with analysis) that "reads" a song, performance, or public persona (e.g., a specific Jamet feminist Soca anthem or a Rihanna video) as a Jamet feminist theological statement.
Participation & Leading Discussion (10%): Informed, respectful engagement.

Required & Suggested Materials

Key Theoretical Readings: Excerpts from Kimberlé Crenshaw, M. Shawn Copeland, Carolyn Cooper (Jamaican dancehall culture), and selected articles on Jamet/Jamette history.
Biblical Focus: Primary texts on the women listed.
Multimedia Hub: Curated playlist of Dancehall/Soca tracks, music videos, interviews, and performances by artists like Patrice Roberts and Nessa Preppy (Splash), Lady Lava (Bare Bounce), Rihanna ("Pour It Up"), Cardi B ("WAP"), and carnival footage.

Course Ethos: This class operates from the premise that the personal is theological. We will engage with explicit content in both ancient texts and modern culture with academic rigour and respect for the lived realities they represent. Our goal is not to condemn or glorify but to critically understand and reimagine narratives of freedom.