Previous Years' Course Catalogues

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to representative examples of major approaches to theological study in the contemporary world, engaging the categories of overall systematic outlook, historical change, Scripture, the theological discipline, ecclesial reality, cultural specificity, and mission. We will probe these themes through a careful reading of select texts by major contemporary theologians, both Protestant and Roman Catholic. Among the issues to be addressed are: how have the Enlightenment and other aspects of modernity exerted pressure on theologians to clarify their method? What is the relation of methodological reflection in theology to the being/character of the triune God? Does every method have its corresponding metaphysics? How shall theology and philosophy be related? What role does Scripture play in the process of theological reasoning, and how does it relate to the doctrines and tradition(s) of the church? By the end of the course students will be able to describe accurately some of the many and complex senses of theological “method”; relate these to matters of substantive Christian teaching; and be better equipped to confidently articulate their own theological visions, which they will do in a preliminary fashion in the final assignment.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to representative examples of major approaches to theological study in the contemporary world, engaging the categories of overall systematic outlook, historical change, Scripture, the theological discipline, ecclesial reality, cultural specificity, and mission. We will probe these themes through a careful reading of select texts by major contemporary theologians, both Protestant and Roman Catholic. Among the issues to be addressed are: how have the Enlightenment and other aspects of modernity exerted pressure on theologians to clarify their method? What is the relation of methodological reflection in theology to the being/character of the triune God? Does every method have its corresponding metaphysics? How shall theology and philosophy be related? What role does Scripture play in the process of theological reasoning, and how does it relate to the doctrines and tradition(s) of the church? By the end of the course students will be able to describe accurately some of the many and complex senses of theological “method”; relate these to matters of substantive Christian teaching; and be better equipped to confidently articulate their own theological visions, which they will do in a preliminary fashion in the final assignment.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to representative examples of major approaches to theological study in the contemporary world, engaging the categories of overall systematic outlook, historical change, Scripture, the theological discipline, ecclesial reality, cultural specificity, and mission. We will probe these themes through a careful reading of select texts by major contemporary theologians, both Protestant and Roman Catholic. Among the issues to be addressed are: how have the Enlightenment and other aspects of modernity exerted pressure on theologians to clarify their method? What is the relation of methodological reflection in theology to the being/character of the triune God? Does every method have its corresponding metaphysics? How shall theology and philosophy be related? What role does Scripture play in the process of theological reasoning, and how does it relate to the doctrines and tradition(s) of the church? By the end of the course students will be able to describe accurately some of the many and complex senses of theological “method”; relate these to matters of substantive Christian teaching; and be better equipped to confidently articulate their own theological visions, which they will do in a preliminary fashion in the final assignment.

Eco-feminism and New Materialism offer two intersecting theoretical and activist movements addressing our current planetary crisis as it is marked by climate change, rapid degradations of eco-system, and ecological injustices. Both movements construct alternatives to western philosophical hierarchical dualisms such as mind and body, theory and practice, or the value of transcendence or mind/spirit over immanence and body/earth by revaluing the agency of other-than-human matter. New materialism is a relatively new movement and seeks to displace human privilege by attending to the agency of matter itself, especially other-than-human matter. Discoveries in quantum physics, the advances in complexity, chaos, emergence, and systems theories, as well as crucial environmental concerns like climate change have impressed upon scholars a profound sense that the material world is not dead, passive, or inert, but vital, animated, and even agential. This course studies these important movements in conversation with ecofeminist theology and ecological theology. The attention to ecofeminist thought is key because in analyzing the ways western thinkers have shaped a sense of matter as feminized, passive, or inert, New Materialism and (feminist) theological responses to our planetary emergency (most notably climate change) are relying on ecofeminist methodologies and analyses.

Eco-feminism and New Materialism offer two intersecting theoretical and activist movements addressing our current planetary crisis as it is marked by climate change, rapid degradations of eco-system, and ecological injustices. Both movements construct alternatives to western philosophical hierarchical dualisms such as mind and body, theory and practice, or the value of transcendence or mind/spirit over immanence and body/earth by revaluing the agency of other-than-human matter. New materialism is a relatively new movement and seeks to displace human privilege by attending to the agency of matter itself, especially other-than-human matter. Discoveries in quantum physics, the advances in complexity, chaos, emergence, and systems theories, as well as crucial environmental concerns like climate change have impressed upon scholars a profound sense that the material world is not dead, passive, or inert, but vital, animated, and even agential. This course studies these important movements in conversation with ecofeminist theology and ecological theology. The attention to ecofeminist thought is key because in analyzing the ways western thinkers have shaped a sense of matter as feminized, passive, or inert, New Materialism and (feminist) theological responses to our planetary emergency (most notably climate change) are relying on ecofeminist methodologies and analyses.

This course examines methodological features of constructive theological reflection, focusing on hermeneutics as a strategic way of thinking about the role of texts, traditions and social location in doing theology. Taking a broadly historical approach that focuses on modern and contemporary periods, attention is given to philosophical and contextual interpretation theories in conjunction with liberal, postliberal, liberationist, feminist and other theological methodologies. The aim is to better understand how theological sources, processes, criteria, and aims are determined and become reflected in specific theological formulations€”for instance, regarding the character of faith, authority, revelation, role of philosophical reflection, social justice, cultural contexts, intercultural, de/post-colonial dynamics, and religious pluralism.