Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• STH TF 808: Travel Seminars
  Travel seminars are offered each year by the School of Theology, and they afford students the ability to think about theology and ministry in relationship to various local and global contexts. The descriptions of each seminar and the cluster requirements which they fulfill are listed as the courses are announced. (Cluster 2)
• STH TF 810: Global and Community Engagement Capstone
  MDiv students on the Global and Community Engagement track design a customized practicum or seminar with the help of their advisor that serves as an integrative capstone course and culmination of their degree program. (Cluster 2)
• STH TF 813: Theological Writing Workshop
  This course is a general introduction to the tasks of conducting research in order to write academic theological arguments. The course focuses on honing the skills you already have in order to research more efficiently, and write more precisely.
• STH TF 821: Contextual Education I (Dual Degree)
  Integration of Theology and Practice (ITP) reflection groups for STH-SSW dual degree students in their advanced placements. Offered fall semester. 1 credit. MDIV CORE REQUIREMENT.
• STH TF 822: Contextual Education II (Dual Degree)
  Continues and presupposes STH TF821 for STH-SSW dual degree students. Offered spring semester. 1 credit. MDIV CORE REQUIREMENT.
• STH TF 901: Doctoral Colloquium 1
  All first-year ThD and PhD students at STH are required to take this two-semester doctoral colloquia associated with the Doctoral Research and Teaching Internship Program (DTRIP). The colloquia focus on (1) research methods, (2) teacher training, and (3) professional identity.
• STH TF 902: Doctoral Colloquium 2
  The continuation of TF901.
• STH TH 701: History of Christianity
  A survey of the history of Christianity starting with the second century Mediterranean world, with particular attention to the role of women in the Christian movement and the encounters between Christianity and other religions. Moving through Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages and the European Reformations, including the emergence of Wesleyanism, the survey traces early transatlantic history, following the development of Christianity in colonial Latin America up to the liberationist movements of the late twentieth century and the emergence of other branches of Christianity.
• STH TH 803: History of Social Christianity
  The course examines the historical development of social Christianity, focusing on primary source texts that have contributed to our understanding of Christian social action today. Exploring a range of Protestant, Catholic, and ecumenical sources, the class traces the historical-theological development of social Christianity from the eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. The course investigates how the historical development of social Christianity contributes to contemporary conversations on economic justice, racism, human rights, environmental justice, and world peace. While focused primarily on sources from the United States, the class engages wider resources, such as the global ecumenical movement.
• STH TH 812: The Church in Late Antiquity
  The development of the Christian Church, its institutions, theology, and social and political roles, from Constantine to Charlemagne, in the context of the transformations of late antique culture and society, East and West. COUNTS AS A MDIV CHURCH HISTORY II CORE REQUIREMENT. (Requires TF 701 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 817: Varieties of Ancient Christianity
  Surveys the many different and often competing forms of Christianity that arose and flourished in the second to the seventh century. Topics covered include martyrs, apocalypticism, Hell, Gnostics, prophecy, magical texts, angels and demons, and the various meanings of Christ.(Cluster 1) (Fulfills New Testament II requirement for MDiv students). Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Historical Consciousness
  • Social Inquiry I
• STH TH 819: American Theological Liberalism
  American Theological Liberalism provides an overview into the historical and theological development of liberal theology in the United States. Through reading a variety of primary and secondary sources, the course is designed to provide students an historical and theological overview into the development of liberalism and assess the ongoing significance of theological liberalism in church and society today. (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 820: Spirituality in Historical Perspective
  An introduction to the historical study of Western Christian spiritual practices. The course exposes students to the historical-critical study of spiritual practices through careful examination of selected narratives of Western Christian spirituality, primary texts, and participatory observation. Participants will learn to analyze spiritual practices--such as reading, fasting, and prayer--by the twofold process of "abstracting/isolating" practices and "reading/interpreting" them in their historical context. While emphasis will be placed on the synchronic interpretation of practices, due attention will also be given to their development over time. Readings will include selected articles representative of current methodology in the field. Participants will gain a better understanding of continuity and change of spiritual practices in Western Christian traditions. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 821: History and Doctrine of United Methodism
  An exploration of Methodist origins, the Wesleys, the rise of Methodism in England, and the distinctive doctrines of Wesleyan theology. There is a particular focus on the development of the various United Methodist traditions in America and their impact on society. The course is designed to meet one of the requirements for membership in a UMC Annual Conference. (Free Elective Only)
• STH TH 825: The Medieval Church
  Social, personal, institutional, and theological aspects of Christianity in the West from the ninth century to the fourteenth. Topics include monasticism, the papacy, crusades, sacramental life, women's religious life, scholasticism and the universities, mysticism, preaching, and heresy. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 826: The Reformations
  Survey of social, personal, institutional, and theological aspects of reform and renewal in the late medieval and early modern periods, including Nominalism, Conciliarism, the papacy, Luther, the German and Swiss Reformations, Anabaptism and radical reformers, Calvin, the French Reformation, the English Reformation, Catholic Reform, Ignatius and Theresa, and the Council of Trent. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 827: American Church History
  The development of American Christianity as a social, intellectual, institutional, and cultural movement. The course includes visits to churches in Boston. COUNTS AS A MDIV CHURCH HISTORY II CORE REQUIREMENT. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TH 834: SEM CHR LOVE
  HIST BIB INTRPT
• STH TH 840: 16th Century Carmelites
  16TH C CARMELIT
• STH TH 847: Global Christianity
  The course is an overview of the changing status of global Christianity in the 20th and 21st centuries. It covers the whole world with lectures comparing the global context of 1910 and 2010, including each of the major Christian traditions. Each tradition (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, etc.) will be covered in-class by a scholar self-identifying with that tradition. The course takes a regional approach to analyze specific and local changes in Christianity and their connection to the global movement. This course additionally focuses on the history of Christian mission in relation to global Christianity and encourages students to self-theologize concerning their role and place within the world Christian movement. (Clusters 2 and 3)