Previous Years' Course Catalogues

Most people, when the subject of mediaeval liturgy is mentioned, think of the old service books which have the words spoken (sacramentaries, lectionaries, missals, breviaries) and descriptions of the action (ordos). There is another class of book entirely, the liturgical commentaries, which goes through the public services, explaining the elements they contain. They were also interested in the ministers of the liturgy, their orders and dress, in the structure of church and altar, in the calendar (temporal and sanctoral), and of course in the vexed question of how a priest computed the date of Easter (no diocesan journals in those days).

Most people, when the subject of mediaeval liturgy is mentioned, think of the old service books which have the words spoken (sacramentaries, lectionaries, missals, breviaries) and descriptions of the action (ordos). There is another class of book entirely, the liturgical commentaries, which goes through the public services, explaining the elements they contain. They were also interested in the ministers of the liturgy, their orders and dress, in the structure of church and altar, in the calendar (temporal and sanctoral), and of course in the vexed question of how a priest computed the date of Easter (no diocesan journals in those days).

Most people, when the subject of mediaeval liturgy is mentioned, think of the old service books which have the words spoken (sacramentaries, lectionaries, missals, breviaries) and descriptions of the action (ordos). There is another class of book entirely, the liturgical commentaries, which goes through the public services, explaining the elements they contain. They were also interested in the ministers of the liturgy, their orders and dress, in the structure of church and altar, in the calendar (temporal and sanctoral), and of course in the vexed question of how a priest computed the date of Easter (no diocesan journals in those days).

This seminar will explore the special relationship of the arts to the concept of the imagination in the history of Western thought. It will also consider the implications this relationship was had for art's role in the areas of theology and ethics, areas in which reason has been thought to fail in providing adequate knowledge.

After the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, Christianity was supported by the whole apparatus of the Roman empire. This course explores how the movement survived and even thrived before that point. We will examine the challenges of life in urban centers of the empire using social scientific models and material evidence from this initial period to assess the ways in which the practices and forms of Christ movement were adapted to address these challenges and sometimes not well adapted. Along the way we will assess the state of scholarship on the "success” of early Christianity to consider alternative ways of formulating the questions it asks. Our topics will include ritual and affect, economic factors (like housing and status), social organization, health care, attitudes to suffering and the body, and ideas that helped to make life meaningful and navigable. 

This course will explore the different interpretations of religion emerging from the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. First generation thinkers in this school understood religion, especially Judaism and Christianity, to be integral to modern social and cultural evolution. Religion must be studied, they felt, because it can both display forms of pathological socialization and yet be a resource for a critique of, and eventual emancipation from, oppressive social realities. After exploring key writings of the first generation of Critical Theorists, the course will examine Jürgen Habermas's evolving appreciation of religious contributions to social justice and conclude with a selection of readings on the continued relevance of religious voices in the public sphere from such third generation Critical Theorists as Seyla Benhabib and Nancy Fraser.

Course explores contemporary issues in phenomenology

This course is an introduction to Christian apologetics and its relationship to evangelism. The course will teach the biblical, theological and historical foundations of Christian apologetics. Additionally, the course will serve as a primer of cultural exegesis and cultural hermeneutics, the goal of which is to equip students with the critical analytical tools to engage contemporary of cultural issues as the relate to matters of faith. Topics include comparative worldview, science and faith, secularism, aesthetics and ethics. Through required and recommended readings, group discussions and lectures the student will gain a clearer understanding of how to navigate and respond pastorally to some of today ' s most challenging issues while at the same time formulating a cohesive Christian response to them.

The course will have three sections: First under the heading ‘A plan for Reform’ we will examine the practical problem of grace in the 16th and 17th cc: salvation, mission to non-christians, bible and prayer, and ecclesial integrity. This becomes specific in the matter of the reform of the convent of Port-Royal and the emergence of the Petites Écoles and their writings of a spiritual and pedagogical nature. The matter of rigorism, with Antoine Arnaud following St Cyran leads to a treatment of matters in the second section: theologies of grace. This will start with the state of post-Tridentine theology, at Leuven in particular. Jansenius’ Augustinus 1640 will be understood as emerging from within these debates. The development of the themes of human sin, infinity and grace will be considered through the lens of the famous works of Blaise Pascal. The third section will cover the outworking of theological themes in terms of biblical translation and figural interpretation, catechisms, forms of spirituality (including theatre), the miraculous and continuing opposition to the Jansenist movement in response to its political vision.

An examination of religious myths, beliefs and experiences that express and contribute to transgenerational traumatic responses in communities and individuals. Exploration of ways religious narratives reveal multiple levels of psychodynamic processes that organize and give symbolic form to anxiety, grief, loss deriving from personal (abuse, neglect) and social realities (Holocaust; war; violent social strife). Trauma stories from different religious traditions (Christianity: Crucifixion; Judaism: emergence of monotheism; Abraham and Isaac; Job) and popular spiritualties will be explored, focussing on ways they may induce and symbolize trauma including ways they provide resources for healing.

Stewart Clegg has suggested that, “the ‘forgetting’ of power may yet be the ‘fate of our time’.” His caution signals how the more difficult it becomes to locate the source and nature of power amidst the complexity of social and political life, the harder it is to discern power’s presence, employ it effectively, or resist it when necessary. This course addresses a ‘forgetting’ of power in Christian theology. Although various approaches to contemporary political theology imply differing conceptions of the workings of power, seldom is the concept itself the focus of direct analysis. Without a fully developed concept of power, effortsto advance a coherent political theology, or to resolve problems in ecclesiology more generally, leave many questions unaddressed and numerous tensions obscured. In addition to analyzing both the limitations and untapped resources regarding the concept ofpower within the Christian tradition, the course will also engage wider debates over the nature of power by making the concept of ‘powerlessness’ a significant topic for discussion. For as contemporary scholars investigate the nature of power as both an oppressive and productive force, the Christian tradition’s wrestling with the significance of being without power, and its reflections on whether this is always an inherently negative situation, promises to offer a unique contribution to debates over the nature of power.

Stewart Clegg has suggested that,'the forgetting' of power may yet be the 'fate of our time' His caution signals how the more difficult it becomes to locate the source and nature of power amidst the complexity of social and political life, the harder it is to discern power, presence, employ it effectively, or resist it when necessary. This course addresses a 'forgetting' of power in Christian theology. Although various approaches to contemporary political theology imply differing conceptions of the workings of power, seldom is the concept itself the focus of direct analysis. Without a fully developed concept of power, effortsto advance a coherent political theology, or to resolve problems in ecclesiology more generally, leave many questions unaddressed and numerous tensions obscured. In addition to analyzing both the limitations and untapped resources regarding the concept ofpower within the Christian tradition, the course will also engage wider debates over the nature of power by making the concept of 'powerlessnes' a significant topic for discussion. For as contemporary scholars investigate the nature of power as both an oppressive and productive force, the Christian tradition, wrestling with the significance of being without power, and its reflections on whether this is always an inherently negative situation, promises to offer a unique contribution to debates over the nature of power.