Previous Years' Course Catalogues

In the past fifty years significant developments have taken place within biblical studies. A renewed focus on method and the task of interpretation has implications for the preacher in her/his weekly task of expounding the scriptures. This course will examine these more recent methods, inlcuding post holocaust, feminist, social science, postcolonial and empire studies and discuss their implications for preaching the biblical text. The course will focus on the intersection of these newer methods and the parallel developments within the "New Homiletic" since the 1960's.

A seminar on the language and literature of Ugarit. Knowledge of biblical Hebrew or some other Semitic language is presupposed. The texts are prepared in advance and presented by the students, with attention to grammar and syntax, and with consideration of literary and religious questions, from an historical and comparative point of view, and with reference to all the relevant scholarly literature.

A seminar on the language and literature of Ugarit. Knowledge of biblical Hebrew or some other Semitic language is presupposed. The texts are prepared in advance and presented by the students, with attention to grammar and syntax, and with consideration of literary and religious questions, from an historical and comparative point of view, and with reference to all the relevant scholarly literature.

A seminar on the language and literature of Ugarit. Knowledge of biblical Hebrew or some other Semitic language is presupposed. The texts are prepared in advance and presented by the students, with attention to grammar and syntax, and with consideration of literary and religious questions, from an historical and comparative point of view, and with reference to all the relevant scholarly literature.

This course will focus on the crucial developments of the 18th century in pneumatology as a way of examining the radical innovations in pneumatology of the modern era in contrast to early- and pre-modern understandings of the Holy Spirit. In particular, the shift of interest in 18th-century to "pneumatic" religion, both among Christian and anti-Christian apologists, will be studied in the context of the Church's own specific historical challenges in this era. Readings will be drawn mainly from English and German writers in an effort to understand better the constraints of comtemporary pneumatology in contrast to the less systematic and particularistic construals of the Holy Spirit and his work in the pre-modern periods.

This course will focus on the crucial developments of the 18th century in pneumatology as a way of examining the radical innovations in pneumatology of the modern era in contrast to early- and pre-modern understandings of the Holy Spirit. In particular, the shift of interest in 18th-century to "pneumatic" religion, both among Christian and anti-Christian apologists, will be studied in the context of the Church's own specific historical challenges in this era. Readings will be drawn mainly from English and German writers in an effort to understand better the constraints of contemporary pneumatology in contrast to the less systematic and particularistic construals of the Holy Spirit and his work in the pre-modern periods.

This course is primarily designed to improve student preaching through exposure to one of the strongest preaching traditions today. African American preaching varies widely and combines evangelical fervour with social cocern. It will be considered against the backdrop of black history and culture, theology of the Word, hermeneutics, compsoing for oral delivery, and homiletical theory and practice. This is not a course in how to preach as an African American, or in imitating the voice, gesture, or style of a culture not one's own; it is designed to stretch preachers beyond what may be familiar to help them to be more bold and imaginative in proclamation of the gospel, and to offer resources to develop their own preaching voice and style. The course will consist of video and audio clips, lectures, seminar presentations and class sermons. Evaluation: class presentations and seminar, 10%; two sermons, 70%; journal of reflections on readings and sermons, 20%.

Literature in classical and contemporary rhetoric and poetics with a view to more imaginative preaching.

Literature in classical and contemporary rhetoric and poetics with a view to more imaginative preaching.

Literature in classical and contemporary rhetoric and poetics with a view to more imaginative preaching. Lectures, seminars, essay, sermons, class presentation.

This course examines questions of gender, sexuality, embodiment, and power in the Hebrew Bible and texts from Second Temple Judaism. Several biblical and Hellenistic-period texts are used to explore these epistemological and methodological questions. Students will learn various theoretical approaches such as feminist, womanist, masculinity studies, and queer theory, from scholars both inside and outside of biblical studies. These approaches will be paired with a close reading of a variety of texts from the Hebrew Bible and early Jewish literature. Collaborative and decentering frameworks will be front and centre in both course material and pedagogy.

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.