Previous Years' Course Catalogues

Studies in the theory of history and methods of historical study and writing, related mainly to Christianity.

This course will examine selected Greek texts written under the early Roman Empire (200 B.C.E. - 180 C.E.) for the sake of comparison with writings of earliest Christianity. The purpose is twofold: to familiarize the student with the larger literary context (Greek) of earliest Christianity and to develop the analysis of ancient literary style.

This course addresses issues in the area of Practical Theology with attention to their practical implications for research, including the history of practical theology in pre-modern canon law and moral theology, the writings of Friedrich Schleiermacher, the correlation of theology with the disciplines ofthe human sciences, and contemporary global developments in practical theology; the varieties scholarly guilds related to practical theology, and their discussions of method; liberation, post-modern and post-colonial issues is practical theological research; and designing practical theological research, including research proposals and ethical issues.

This course addresses research methods in the area of Practical Theology with attention to theological priorities and epistemologies embodied in research. The course will consider issues in Practical Theology and the implications for research, including the history of practical theology, the correlation of theology with the disciplines of the human sciences, and contemporary global developments in practical theology; the varieties scholarly guilds related to practical theology, and their discussions of method; liberation, post-modem and post-colonial issues is practical theological research; and designing practical theological research, including research proposals and ethical issues. Students will develop proposals for research based on class discussion. In this course students will simultaneously develop their own research project while encountering the diverse movements, methods, and logics at work in practical theology internationally. While the focus is on methodological thinking and its theological implications-specifically, how practical theologians articulate and make a case for the way they go about their investigations-students will also learn about the history of practical theology, the ebb and flow of practical theology in the late modern and the early postmodern period, and world wide developments through local, regional and international scholarly associations.

This seminar course is intended to provide the graduate student in theology with a broad understanding of the anthropological conditions that constrain all human thought, including religious and theological thought. It also attempts to provide an overview of the historical development of theology in the Christian tradition as an intellectual and spiritual exercise, and later, an academic enterprise. There is no intention here to discuss the specific methods employed in the various types of theology (whether biblical and narrative, political or prophetic, natural, philosophical, apophatic etc.) or of the theologies of particular Christian denominations. Rather, attention will be focused on understanding the broader methodological frameworks (methodological assumptions, commitments, theories) within which those theologies function.

After Christendom - This course considers the waning dominance of Christianity as a social and cultural institution, through three units of focus—the recent past, the ancient past, and the contemporary moment. The first of three units considers the beginnings of this shift in the global cultural reconstructions of the early modern European "Enlightenment", Christian missions, and "totalwar".The interactions of these elementsrefashioned Euro-American religiousself-identity, but also shifted Christian self-understandings towards a new non-European centre that is still being worked out. The second unit focuses on Christianity before Christendom. What did ancient Christ-followers think they were joining and what made such affiliation meaningful to them? In what way might their circumstances inform a Christianity that is no longer at the centre? The third unit will focus on the challenges to Christian identity and mission in a post-modern context and pluralistic world. The paradigm shift in theological method and engagement will be explored.

On Value and Valuing - Each year the Summer Graduate Seminar explores a theme of broad cross-disciplinary significance. This year we will consider how value is discerned, created, and maintained through social, economic, and theological structures. Themes include imago Dei, sacredness, work, consumption/consumerism, Marxist theory, the commodification of religion, and the valuing force of ritual & architecture. The course will treat three cases in detail: how social and political values drive immigration policy, how human value is theologized, and how Jesus's ministry intersected with economic & cultic values. Throughout the course we will emphasize contemporary implications and contextualization.

Topic To Be Determined- Each year the Summer Graduate Seminar explores a theme of broad cross-disciplinary significance. Topic Information will be forthcoming

A study of literature associated with the types of asceticism and the associated spiritual theology that developed in Christian antiquity (ca. 350 to ca. 680).

A study of literature associated with the types of asceticism and the associated spiritual theology that developed in Christian antiquity (ca. 350 to ca. 680).

The cross-disciplinary migration of ethnography - or, more broadly, qualitative methods (QR) - has called not just for its application to, or even, integration with the various academic fields in which it lands. Rather, each discipline needs to reinvent and reimagine qualitative approaches in light of the nature, goals and norma of their own scholarly communities. Theology - where ethnographic approaches are increasingly being used - is not exempt from this need. While the sub-fields of Practical Theology and Ethics are best known for their use of ethnographic approaches to the theological disciplines, other sub-fields (e.g., Constructive/Systematics, Biblical studies, Digital Studies and more) have recently followed suit. Tobust conversations at these inter-disciplinary intersections are developing complex ways for arranging myriad vectors of knowledge production that contribute to a theological project. This course is designed for AD theology students (all research areas) intending to use ethnography or QR in their thesis projects. While exploring some of the QR methods most used by theologians, its man purpose is to engage with the core theological questions associated with the use of QR for theological purposes, including, but not limited to: reflexivity, normativity and representation. Ths course will be offered in a primarily asynchronous mode, with 4 synchronous meetings acheduled over the course of the semester.

The cross-disciplinary migration of ethnography - or, more broadly, qualitative methods (QR) - has called not just for its application to, or even, integration with the various academic fields in which it lands. Rather, each discipline needs to reinvent and reimagine qualitative approaches in light of the nature, goals and norma of their own scholarly communities. Theology - where ethnographic approaches are increasingly being used - is not exempt from this need. While the sub-fields of Practical Theology and Ethics are best known for their use of ethnographic approaches to the theological disciplines, other sub-fields (e.g., Constructive/Systematics, Biblical studies, Digital Studies and more) have recently followed suit. Tobust conversations at these inter-disciplinary intersections are developing complex ways for arranging myriad vectors of knowledge production that contribute to a theological project. This course is designed for AD theology students (all research areas) intending to use ethnography or QR in their thesis projects. While exploring some of the QR methods most used by theologians, its man purpose is to engage with the core theological questions associated with the use of QR for theological purposes, including, but not limited to: reflexivity, normativity and representation. Ths course will be offered in a primarily asynchronous mode, with 4 synchronous meetings acheduled over the course of the semester.