Previous Years' Course Catalogues

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 Reformation 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.

This course will consist in a close reading of the English text of Calvin's "Institution Christianae religions" of 1559. We begin by situating Calvin's theology in the historical and theological context of the 16th century Reformation 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. Seminar style. weekly readings and reflections; major paper.

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 Reformation 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.

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 Reformation 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.

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 Reformation 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.

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 Reformation 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.

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 Reformation 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.

The New Testament and early Christianity originated in an "interfaith" context, which entailed the worship of deities from across the broader Mediterranean and Near Eastern world. Whether it be Mithras from Persia or Isis from Egypt or deceased emperors of Rome or (yes) the God of Israel, veneration of these gods shaped not only religious life but society itself. In this course, students will gain a better understanding of these gods and their relationship to religious, social, economic, political, and gendered (among others) dimensions of shared human existence.

The question of the genesis of moral behaviour/morality is a problem which requires clarification. In all (Western) societies today, serious discussions are now taking place about the shift In, and loss of, moral values, the opportunities and dangers that such discussions present, and the necessity of either reviving old moral values or searching for a new morality.

At the same time, from a scientific perspective moral behaviour and value commitments clearly do not arise from free search or choice. However, we experience the feeling of "l can do no other" which accompanies a strong commitment to a (religious) concept of morality, not as restriction, but as the highest expression of our free will. What is the resulting experience of this apparently paradoxical feeling of an unchangeable, and yet voluntary, commitment to values/moral behaviour?

This question interrogates the core of plural and democratic societies and their need for a common set of moral values. How can teaching/religious education provide resources to positively value and maintain moral diversity within societies?

The course probes Luther's understanding of major Christian doctrines. Theological ferment in the Sixteenth Century will be examined in every class, including Luther's (theological) relationship to other Magisterial Reformers, Radical Reformers, and Roman-Catholic/ Counter-Reformation Reformers. Attention will also be paid to such matters as the extent to which the Magisterial Reformation was an aspect of Renaissance Humanism or a departure from it, and the (putative) anti-Semitism of Luther and its relation to more recent manifestations of anti- Semitism. Weekly readings, lectures, and classroom discussions. Essay (50%) and final examination (50%).

The course probes Luther's understanding of major Christian doctrines. Theological ferment in the Sixteenth Century will be examined in every class, including Luther's (theological) relationship to other Magisterial Reformers, Radical Reformers, and Roman-Catholic/ Counter-Reformation Reformers. Attention will also be paid to such matters as the extent to which the Magisterial Reformation was an aspect of Renaissance Humanism or a departure from it, and the (putative) anti-Semitism of Luther and its relation to more recent manifestations of anti- Semitism. Weekly readings, lectures, and classroom discussions. Essay (50%) and final examination (50%).

This course surveys aspects of Christian thinking (not necessarily strictly theology) of the early modern period, concentrating on France, England, and representatives from other Western European countries. Lectures and readings focus on the question of (re)defining Christian identity, within several areas of religious concern: devotional life, epistemology, human history, and social relations. The course aims to provide students with first-hand knowledge of primary material that was either influential upon or typical of fundamental (though often conflictual) ways of construing Christian identity during this period and that have remained, in various guises, still a part of contemporary Christian outlooks.