Previous Years' Course Catalogues

Close reading of selected Psalms, according to these categories: a. Psalms in the OT that appear in the NT; b. key psalms within the structure of the Psalter; c. imprecatory psalms; d. popular psalms that do not appear in the NT. Tasks: a. Original language work in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, b. Reading (in translation) of the reception history of the Psalms, including the use of the Psalms in the NT, also c. chiefly Diodore and Theodore, Origen, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Jerome, Augustine, Aquinas, Rashi, Calvin, Luther, moderns, and d. Selected readings in hermeneutics, including Frei. Teaching Method -- two weekly seminars, with readings for discussion and analysis of the primary sources. Means of evaluation -- one major paper to be submitted at the end of the term.

This course treats either books (Job, Sirach, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom of Solomon) or thematic aspects (creation, prayer, eschatology) of the sapiential tradition as it evolved in the period 538 BCE - 70 CE with an eye to the relationship of these books to the broader swath of sapiential textual traditions of the era, including the instruction literature from Qumran. In 2010, the focus will be Ben Sira, with attention to the significance of textual variants in the manuscript traditions for our understanding of the formation of the Bible. Course will be a seminar. Seminar participation, seminar presentations, major paper.

This course treats either books (Job, Sirach, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom of Solomon) or thematic aspects (creation, prayer, eschatology) of the sapiential tradition as it evolved in the period 538 BCE - 70 CE with an eye to the relationship of these books to the broader swath of sapiential textual traditions of the era, including the instruction literature from Qumran. The focus will be Ben Sira, with attention to the significance of textual variants in the manuscript traditions for our understanding of the formation of the Bible. Course will be a seminar. Seminar participation, seminar presentations, major paper.

This course treats either books (Job, Sirach, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom of Solomon) or thematic aspects (creation, prayer, eschatology) of the sapiential tradition as it evolved in the period 538 BCE - 70 CE with an eye to the relationship of these books to the broader swath of sapiential textual traditions of the era, including the instruction literature from Qumran. The focus will be Ben Sira, with attention to the significance of textual variants in the manuscript traditions for our understanding of the formation of the Bible. Course will be a seminar. Seminar participation, seminar presentations, major paper.

he church in many quarters has lost the ability to communicate with the cultures around it. The problem in part may be modernism, not postmodernism. Students will be encouraged creatively to engage cultures through theological engagement with the news and with two sets of arts: the arts needed to proclaim the gospel (often beyond the biblical text) and the arts of using cultural arts paintings, sculpture, dance, architecture, movies, and theatre) and artifacts in the sermon. This class will function as a preaching seminar and laboratory where discussions will cover required readings, writing assignments, and issues raised in class.

Law reflects the way in which society understands and organizes itself through common agreements and forms of restraint. This course examines the different ways religious legislation was generated in ancient Jewish communities and the different functions such legislation served in these communities. Special attention will focus on the legal codes embedded in the Torah, exploring the many similarities with and dependence upon other ancient Near Eastern legal corpora and judicial systems. Extra-canonical Jewish texts from the Second Temple and early rabbinic period will be studied as well, since they illumine the processes of scriptural exegesis and community development through which legal codes evolved.

Law reflects the way in which society understands and organizes itself through common agreements and forms of restraint. This course examines the different ways religious legislation was generated in ancient Jewish communities and the different functions such legislation served in these communities. Special attention will focus on the legal codes embedded in the Torah, exploring the many similarities with and dependence upon other ancient Near Eastern legal corpora and judicial systems. Extra-canonical Jewish texts from the Second Temple and early rabbinic period will be studied as well, since they illumine the processes of scriptural exegesis and community development through which legal codes evolved.

law reflects the way in which society understands and organizes itself through common agreements and forms of restraint. This course examines the different ways religious legislation was generated in ancient Jewish communities and the different functions such legislation served in these communities. Special attention will focus on the legal codes embedded in the Torah, exploring the many similarities with and dependence upon other ancient Near Eastern legal corpora and judicial systems. Extra-canonical Jewish texts from the Second Temple and early rabbinic period will be studied as well, since they illumine the processes of scriptural exegesis and community development through which legal codes evolved.

law reflects the way in which society understands and organizes itself through common agreements and forms of restraint. This course examines the different ways religious legislation was generated in ancient Jewish communities and the different functions such legislation served in these communities. Special attention will focus on the legal codes embedded in the Torah, exploring the many similarities with and dependence upon other ancient Near Eastern legal corpora and judicial systems. Extra-canonical Jewish texts from the Second Temple and early rabbinic period will be studied as well, since they illumine the processes of scriptural exegesis and community development through which legal codes evolved.

Seminar exploring patterns of involvement of religion in the public sphere. Traditional assumptions about church and state, impact of 19th-century "disestablishment" and 20th-century pluralism, Catholicism and the state in Quebec, women as religious reformers, the social gospel, Christian populism in the prairies, ecumenical and evangelical approaches to public engagement, implications of constitutional change are among the topics considered. Informed participation, mid-term written assignment, research paper.

Seminar exploring patterns of involvement of religion in the public sphere. Traditional assumptions about church and state, impact of 19th-century "disestablishment" and 20th-century pluralism, Catholicism and the state in Quebec, women as religious reformers, the social gospel, Christian populism in the prairies, ecumenical and evangelical approaches to public engagement, implications of constitutional change are among the topics considered. Informed participation, mid-term written assignment, research paper.

The book of Jeremiah is the longest of the major prophets and is the source of significant New Testament quotations. Its central focus on judgment and lament is countered by only a few chapters of hope for restored fortune. Despite the book’s complexity that lends itself to sustained critical engagement, it also serves as a profound theological and pastoral resource. This course explores the book through six key questions: what is the import of the textual variance in the Jeremianic material? does the book have a discernible structure or modes of organization? what is the role of history and of the prophetic person/persona within the book? what message does the book have and how is it communicated? how has the book been received and responded to? how does the book relate to the larger canon of scripture? Each question takes up enduring critical issues and will immerse students in deep exegetical study of the text, engage them with diverse scholarship across the ages and globe, and call them to consider the message and implications of the text in our own contexts.