Previous Years' Course Catalogues

If spaces could talk…in fact they do!  Ideas dwell in space. The course examines the relation between architecture and religious ideas and how the experience of diaspora affects church space and practices. Through observing architecture, decoration, and activities performed in the buildings, the course explores how time and space are adapted and offers practical knowledge on how to decipher the changes.

We will discuss the concepts of religion, "official" religion, vernacular religion (the way people “do religion”), and its folkloric roots. Students will take part in a variety of observations in different sites (if permitted; otherwise there will be video tours).

If spaces could talk…in fact they do!  Ideas dwell in space. The course examines the relation between architecture and religious ideas and how the experience of diaspora affects church space and practices. Through observing architecture, decoration, and activities performed in the buildings, the course explores how time and space are adapted and offers practical knowledge on how to decipher the changes.

We will discuss the concepts of religion, "official" religion, vernacular religion (the way people “do religion”), and its folkloric roots. Students will take part in a variety of observations in different sites (if permitted; otherwise there will be video tours).

This course will examine the methods of biblical interpretation used in the Church from NT times through the 4th century. Areas covered will include the Jewish forms of exegesis found in the NT, the ellegorical method, the schools of Antioch and Alexandria, as well as interpreters such as Origen, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and St. Augustine. Course will consist of lectures, the reading of some introductory secondary works, and selected readings from Patristic commentaries.

This course invites students to reflect critically, from within an Eastern Christian frame of reference, on a series of current issues where the encounter of contemporaneity and classical wisdom is not only vital but also potentially very fruitful as regards conceptual yield. The issues include the following: virtual reality and cyberspace; war and peacebuilding; social and economic justice; multiculturalism; gender identity/expression and sexuality; (in)fertility and reproductive technologies; genetic research and genome engineering; palliative care and medical assistance in dying; and stewardship for an integral ecology. Contextual discussion of the foregoing will be embedded in a wider theological consideration of rights and responsibilities, as these have developed in the classic expressions of the Eastern Christian tradition(s). Students will thus become aware of how ethics occurs at the intersection of various fields within theology, as well as at the boundary with disciplines beyond it (e.g., philosophy, psychology and sociology).

This course invites students to reflect critically, from within an Eastern Christian frame of reference, on a series of current issues where the encounter of contemporaneity and classical wisdom is not only vital but also potentially very fruitful as regards conceptual yield. The issues include the following: virtual reality and cyberspace; war and peacebuilding; social and economic justice; multiculturalism; gender identity/expression and sexuality; (in)fertility and reproductive technologies; genetic research and genome engineering; palliative care and medical assistance in dying; and stewardship for an integral ecology. Contextual discussion of the foregoing will be embedded in a wider theological consideration of rights and responsibilities, as these have developed in the classic expressions of the Eastern Christian tradition(s). Students will thus become aware of how ethics occurs at the intersection of various fields within theology, as well as at the boundary with disciplines beyond it (e.g., philosophy, psychology and sociology).

This course invites students to reflect critically, from within an Eastern Christian frame of reference, on a series of current issues where the encounter of contemporaneity and classical wisdom is not only vital but also potentially very fruitful as regards conceptual yield. The issues include the following: virtual reality and cyberspace; war and peacebuilding; social and economic justice; multiculturalism; gender identity/expression and sexuality; (in)fertility and reproductive technologies; genetic research and genome engineering; palliative care and medical assistance in dying; and stewardship for an integral ecology. Contextual discussion of the foregoing will be embedded in a wider theological consideration of rights and responsibilities, as these have developed in the classic expressions of the Eastern Christian tradition(s). Students will thus become aware of how ethics occurs at the intersection of various fields within theology, as well as at the boundary with disciplines beyond it (e.g., philosophy, psychology and sociology).

The New Testament texts are not the only extant Christian writings from the first through early second centuries. In addition to these texts, there is a body of literature known as the Apostolic Fathers, which includes such texts as 1 Clement, the Didache, the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch, and the Shepherd of Hermas. The earliest of these texts likely is older than the latest books found in the New Testament. Some even appeared in early versions of the New Testament canon. In this course, we will read the Apostolic Fathers as well as selected other texts from approximately the same time frame, and consider their place within both early Christianity and contemporary scholarship.

An in-depth study of the theological ethics of Stanley Hauerwas, covering some of his major theological and philosophical influences, main themes of his work, the development of his thought, and some of his key interlocutors. The bulk of the course will focus on his ‘fundamental moral theology,’ including questions of the goal of human life, the nature of human actions and problems of action description, the significance of vision, narrative, and virtue in the Christian life, the place of ethics in the Christian community as people of God, and questions concerning the church’s peace witness. The course will also spend some time at Hauerwas’ work in the area of theology and medicine, particularly addressing how his broader theological and ethical convictions inform his approach to medical ethics. Finally, the course will touch on Hauerwas’s place in and contributions to theology in its more “dogmatic” expressions, his relation to Barth and to postliberalism, and his reception in both the Protestant and Catholic worlds.

Review of the debates of enculturation/ assimilation, inculturation, and multiculturalism, and proposal of intercultura!lty as alternative paradigm for constructive ethical and theological inquiry. This seminar format course draws from the multiple ethnic and cultural voices of Christianity, and attempts to create new intercultural spaces of ethical & theological reflection. Through exploration of key terms, themes, and authors, students will be challenged to develop and foster persona! skills in discerning the role their cultural background plays in their own religious tradition and theoethical ideas, as we!! as how it impacts their engagement of other cultural and religious traditions. Students wi!I develop key sensibilities toward greater intercultural competence.

The work of Ludwig Wittgenstein has been highly influential on many of the most important theologians of the last two generations. His work has also been influential on moral philosophers and moral theologians. This course in theological ethics will examine both the work of Wittgenstein himself, and those he has influenced, on a variety of the central questions for contemporary theological ethics. Key authors to be studied include Elizabeth Anscombe, Herbert McCabe, Fergus Kerr, Rowan Williams, Cora Diamond, and Stephen Mulhall. Topics to be discussed will include questions of intention and the problem of act-description, the nature of human flourishing, questions of analogy, and the nature of theological claims in relation to the moral life.

The work of Ludwig Wittgenstein has been highly influential on many of the most important theologians of the last two generations. His work has also been influential on moral philosophers and moral theologians. This course in theological ethics will examine both the work of Wittgenstein himself, and those he has influenced, on a variety of the central questions for contemporary theological ethics. Key authors to be studied include Elizabeth Anscombe, Herbert McCabe, Fergus Kerr, Rowan Williams, Cora Diamond, and Stephen Mulhall. Topics to be discussed will include questions of intention and the problem of act-description, the nature of human flourishing, questions of analogy, and the nature of theological claims in relation to the moral life.

The work of Ludwig Wittgenstein has been highly influential on many of the most important theologians of the last two generations. His work has also been influential on moral philosophers and moral theologians. This course in theological ethics will examine both the work of Wittgenstein himself, and those he has influenced, on a variety of the central questions for contemporary theological ethics. Key authors to be studied include Elizabeth Anscombe, Herbert McCabe, Fergus Kerr, Rowan Williams, Cora Diamond, and Stephen Mulhall. Topics to be discussed will include questions of intention and the problem of act-description, the nature of human flourishing, questions of analogy, and the nature of theological claims in relation to the moral life.