Course Descriptions: Religion, Culture, and Personality
Area A: Biblical and Historical Studies
Area B: Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics
Area D: Ministry in Church and Society
AREA C: RELIGION, CULTURE & PERSONALITY
Chairman Schlauch
Professors N. Ammerman, Berger, Chung
Associate Professors Bohn (retired/part-time), Schlauch
Assistant Professors Burns, Tucker
Research Assistant Professor McCorkle
Lecturer J. Ammerman
DisciplineDesignators for Area C
TR/TS Sociology of Religion
TY Counseling Psychology and Religion and Psychology of Religion
TZ Research and Methods
STH TR 802 The Sociology of Religion
This course introduces the basic ideas and methods with which sociologists analyze the relationship between religion and society. It explores what it means to think about religious language, symbols, communities, and practices as social phenomena and examines the social processes at work in congregations and denominations, new religious movements and conversion, religious communal identity and ethnic conflict. N. Ammerman.STH TR 812 Women’s Leadership in Religious Organizations
Although women constitute the majority of the participants in religious bodies, they are least represented among the leadership of religious organizations. Some sociologists of religion have noted that as religious groups become more established, they become increasingly more patriarchal. Moreover, evidence suggests this phenomenon to be true even of groups founded by women themselves. By examining the social and cultural factors that have hindered and supported women’s access to leadership in religious organizations, the course will investigate whether or not patriarchal religious institutions are inevitable. In particular, it will consider how patriarchy pervades institutions despite their desire to resist its influences. Assignments will include an in-class midterm, a mid-semester project where students will interview a woman in leadership, and a final exam. Tucker.STH TR 860 Social Science Perspectives on the Church and the World
The work of ministry takes place in the context of human institutions and must engage the cultures and challenges of a dynamic and changing world. This course invites students to pay attention to the social forces at work in the world, to understand the organizations that structure our lives, and to hear the cultural stories that shape how we understand our faith. Class assignments allow students to practice the skills of pastoral observation and learn to identify the social and cultural dynamics within which ministry is done. N. Ammerman. MDiv Core Requirement.STH TR 940 Advanced Seminar in Religion and Social Change
This seminar examines the relationship between religious ideas and practices and the world of micro and macro social change. It gives attention to both the conservative and radical potential within religion, as well as to the structures that either limit or facilitate the exercise of religious power. It covers both major theoretical perspectives and relevant research literature, with focused attention on a variety of historical and contemporary cases. N. Ammerman.STH TR 964 Seminar in Social Theory: The Religious Person
This seminar will explore a variety of theoretical perspectives on the social formation of modern persons, asking how those insights inform an understanding of individual and collective religious identity. Students will also participate in field research focused on the intersection of religious and social identities. N. Ammerman.STH TY 704 Introduction to Pastoral Care and Counseling
This course introduces a method of pastoral care as practical theology. Students will learn to assess the experiences of loss, violence, and addiction reflected in pastoral care conversations. They will use theological, psychological, and cultural studies to reflect upon these issues of loss or violence, and develop theologically based strategies of care and justice. Students must be registered for STH TC 801 concurrently. Staff. MDiv Core Requirement.STH TY 803/903 Psychology of Religion
Examining methodological questions and issues in the psychological interpretation of religious matters by considering what is meant by “religion” and what is involved in interpreting “religion” psychologically. Schlauch.STH TY 804/904 Contemporary Trends in the Psychology of Religion
Staff.STH TY 806/906 Theories of Human Development
This course is an introduction to human development, including aspects of cognitive, psychosocial, and faith development. The goal is to achieve an understanding of the human developmental process and how that process integrates the growth of faith and the life of the community. Methodology includes shared and individual readings, broader lectures by the professor and guests, and use of case materials, including attention to our own developmental processes. Bohn.STH TY 807/907 Social Identity and Social Oppression
This course will explore aspects of social identity, such as gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and so on, and how they interact to afford or deny social privilege. Drawing upon multicultural counseling psychology, we will deepen self awareness of our own prejudices, acquire knowledge about particular cultures, and develop skills for counseling those different from ourselves. We will initially focus on racism, using cultural studies and counseling psychology as well as perspectives on evil to understand this form of social oppression. Bohn.STH TY 809 Personality Theory for Pastoral Relationships I
Review of the psychodynamic theories of personality structure and development. Formulation of a pastoral perspective of personality theory and application to case material from pastoral experience. Schlauch.STH TY 810 Personality Theory for Pastoral Relationships II
Major post-Freudian theories of personality; special reference to the minister’s task in pastoral counseling, pastoral care, and other interpersonal relationships with parishioners. Continues but does not presuppose STH TY 809. Schlauch.STH TY 811/911 Object Relations and the Study of Religion
Achieving familiarity with and fluency in a series of psychoanalytic theories of personality/character, development, relationships, motivation, health, and pathology, as a context in which to practice psychoanalytic interpretations of religious matters. Schlauch.STH TY 826/926 Psychodynamics of Marriage and Family
This is an introductory course that includes a comprehensive overview of the field of family systems and family therapy. This course will serve as an introduction to the theory and techniques of couples and family therapy. An attempt will be made to integrate theory and practice through the assignments, class activities, and personal and professional self-reflection. Specific components of the course include: historical understandings of the development of family systems and family therapy, class assignments to assist students in developing their own model to guide them in entering various systems, becoming familiar with how various theorists have entered systems with interventions, and helping class participants to reflect on their own personal and professional identity as clinicians who will be asked to enter a wide variety of systems/families either to assess, evaluate, or intervene. The first component will be covered through weekly reading assignments. The second and third components will be addressed through class lectures and in-class applications (case material, group exercises, analyses of movies, analyses of counseling scenarios). The final component will be addressed through reaction papers, family of origin paper, and the final integrative term paper. Gross.STH TY 830 Pastoral Care and the Community
Psychological and religious analysis of developmental crises of life. Theoretical models in different religious traditions and cultural contexts. Particular attention to the relation between faith and healing. Staff.STH TY 853 The Minister and Selected Contemporary Human Crises
Key crises, such as dying and death; oppression and abuse; sexual dilemma and disease; and the personal, professional, and spiritual crises of clergy are explored. The role, identity, and experiences of the minister in relating such crises are addressed. Not open to first-year MDiv students. Staff.STH TY 854 Pastoral Theology and Psychology
Practical theologians, pastoral theologians, and pastoral psychologists focus on different subject matters, use different methods, and address different audiences. Nonetheless, they share a common purpose: to diagnose, accurately and in-depth, concrete problems of the human condition (e.g., suffering, evil) and, correspondingly, to construct effective ways of addressing those problems (i.e., forms of intervention, strategies of care). This is a reading course that examines contributions of theologians, practical theologians, pastoral theologians, and pastoral psychologists, and provides a context in which students may investigate research problems that are especially relevant to their respective communities and traditions, as well as their particular vocational objectives (e.g., parish ministry, chaplaincy, pastoral care, seminary teaching). Schlauch.STH TY 864/964 Personality Theory, Counseling Psychology, and Religion
Formulating a model of self that takes into account matters of religion, faith, and spirituality; acknowledges the influence of culture, race, ethnicity, class, and gender; and coordinates the contributions of various traditions of inquiry. Schlauch.STH TY 946 Ethics and Professional Development
Learning objectives for this course include awareness, knowledge, and skills related to the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct; supervision; consultation; program planning and evaluation; prevention as a social justice strategy for counseling psychologists. This course is intended for CPAR doctoral students; permission of instructor required. Staff.STH TY 948 Psychotherapy, Counseling Psychology, and Religion
Addressing two questions: how can one formulate a coherent approach to the theory and practice of psychotherapy that critically takes into account matters of religion, faith, spirituality, belief, and theology in a substantial and authentic way, and how can one articulate the vision of healing (change) at the heart of that theory and practice of psychotherapy? Schlauch.STH TY 956 Near History of Psychology and Counseling Psychology
This course is for doctoral students in the Counseling Psychology and Religion program. We will study the last 125 years of psychology as a science and the history of counseling psychology. Staff.STH TY 997/998 Counseling Psychology and Religion Research Seminar I and II
This year-long seminar focuses on theoretical and practical issues of research in counseling psychology and religion. Different models of research will be examined (correlational, experimental, naturalistic, case study, qualitative), the strengths and limitations of various research methodologies, and the distinctive challenges of conducting research in the religious domain. The class will move through the life cycle of research, from generating a research idea to operationalizing variables, implementing the design, and so on. No credit may be given for a half year. Staff. (2 cr each semester)STH TZ 800 Research in the Theological Disciplines
An introduction to advanced research methodologies related to the study of theology and religion. Topics include the social construction of knowledge, documentary evidence, the impact of social factors on the creation of knowledge, critical assessment of information sources, bibliographic method, intellectual property, and advanced information discovery tools and methods. Half course. Pass/Fail. J. Ammerman. ThD Requirement.STH TZ 802/803 Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion
A study of methodological issues in the following approaches to the study of religion: faith, practice, and criticism; understanding “alien” cultures, religions and the arts, theology, religious ethics, pastoral psychology, and comparative religions. Half course, continues in spring as STH TZ 803. Seligman.STH TZ 954 Proseminar in Liturgical Bibliography
Familiarizes students in the field of liturgics with the basic literature of that field mainly from the past century and in the English-speaking world on an ecumenical basis. Explores various methodologies for the study of liturgy—historical, theological, descriptive, textual, and normative. Staff.
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22 October 2009
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