Course Catalogue 2026-2027

This course offers an introduction to Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Drawing principally on magisterial sources, it will survey the main themes of CST, including: the dignity of the human person and the principles of CST, the family, human work, economic life, the political community, the environment, war, and peace.

This course offers an introduction to Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Drawing principally on magisterial sources, it will survey the main themes of CST, including: the dignity of the human person and the principles of CST, the family, human work, economic life, the political community, the environment, war, and peace.

An introduction to the foundations and principles of Catholic moral reasoning in bioethics; consideration of select questions in contemporary bioethics in light of the Catholic moral tradition.

This course aims at a critical understanding of the theoretical base that informs the current practice of ministry. Theories of ministry and their practical consequences in the contemporary church are discussed.

This course aims at a critical understanding of the theoretical base that informs the current practice of ministry. Theories of ministry and their practical consequences in the contemporary church are discussed.

This course gives an overview of qualitative research methods in light of the students' respective research theology and design. It is focused on the elaboration of the DMin thesis proposal.

Explores Christian Kenosis as an expression of the unconditional love of God made known in Christ. Here the mutual relations of self-giving in the Trinity may be reflected in the lives of human persons. Of key significance is Hans Urs von Balthasar's appreciation of the paschal mystery. Also in dialogue are: Sarah Coakley, John Paul II and Thomas Merton.

1-2 Chronicles had little attention paid to it after the solidification of historical-critical biblical studies in the mid-19th century. This began to change in the 1980s with a new appreciation for the book as a literary whole. This course examines Chronicles in its context and in ours. Topics include: the context of Persian-period Judah, with comparative materials from elsewhere in the Persian Empire shedding light on the imperial context of Judah and Jerusalem; ancient media and scribal practice to understand textual production and reproduction; questions of individual and community identity formation (gender, ethnicity, class); how Chronicles has been read through the centuries, in both Jewish and Christian contexts. Collaborative and decentering frameworks will be front and centre in both course material and pedagogy.

This course is a close reading of the English text of Calvin's Institutio Christianae religionis of 1559. We begin by situating Calvin's theology in the historical and theological context of the 16th century Reformations before turning to a careful examination of the Institutes' major doctrinal themes and their significance both for Calvin's context and the subsequent history of Protestant theology.

Central ideas in the Kierkegaard corpus and their relevance to contemporary theological and philosophical concerns.

The history of interpreting the parables can be divided into several periods. Early interpretations tended to read the parables as allegorical moralisms. From roughly 1900 to the 1960s, the dominant approach understood the parables primarily as apocalyptic symbols. Contemporary scholarship often treats the parables as narrative-theological devices, emphasizing metaphor, ambiguity, and theological meaning, and focusing on what the parable does to the hearer and how it challenges prevailing assumptions. This course, however, shifts attention away from abstract theological or purely narrative readings toward the material, social, political, religious, and economic realities reflected in the stories told by Jesus between 27 and 30 CE. When read in light of these realities, the parables are interpreted as realistic narratives rather than as symbolic or purely theological constructions. The authenticity of the parables, as we have them in their literary contexts, is not assumed, and the parables are read as atypical stories of social transformation told by a Galilean social prophet. Interpreted from this perspective, the parables are not earthly stories with heavenly meanings, but earthly stories with heavy meanings. The parables Jesus told are not stories about God, but stories about God's kingdom.

The purpose of this course is to survey the contemporary trends in the theology of faith and culture with an emphasis on mission, dialogue, interculteration, and the emergence of contextual theologies. A major portion of the course will focus on understanding the paradigm shift from a classicist notion of culture to one that has given rise to the various contextual approaches and the so-called "World Christianity(ies)." We will survey some of the various models, methods, and issues involved in this paradigm shift. The course will also highlight certain tensions arising from this context such as the local-universal church tension, the dialogue-evangelism tension, the interculturation-syncretism tension, and the question of the theology of religions.