Courses

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

• STH TS 828: The Theology and Ethics of African Peoples
  Assuming the truth of Aristotle's claim that ethics is the study of moral character the quality of which depends on the communal context in which it is formed, this course will explore writings pertaining to the ethical thought of African peoples living under various conditions of oppression. Those conditions will include slavery, racial segregation and disfranchisement in the United States; colonialism in Africa and the Caribbean; racial apartheid in South Africa. Special attention will be given to the ethical development of women who were oppressed both within and without those cultural contexts. In short, students will discover how men and women formed moral communities and became moral beings by creating various forms of resistance to oppression.
• STH TS 829: Christian Ecological Ethics and Political Issues
  This course will introduce students to the character and dimensions of the ecological crisis and will; to help them reflect theologically and ethically on ecological problems, to develop or enhance their particular faith tradition's theoretical and practical engagement with ecological issues, gain knowledge of the intersection of ecology and economics, and political and public policy implications of this relationship, and to formulate public policy possibilities and practical projects to address and seek to solve ecological problems.
• STH TS 837: Comparative Religious Ethics
  Philosophical and religious perspectives in the meaning of the good life and the good society. Comparative study of social ethics in Christianity and other world religions with particular attention to one or two selected contemporary issues, such as the erosion of community, economic problems, humanity's relationship to the environment, and human rights. Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TS 840: Seminar in Religion and Social Change
  An exploration of the relationship between religion and social change, including the problems of modernization and globalization. Particular attention to the ways in which religion either supports the status quo or promotes social change, involving such problems as fundamentalist and utopian movements in the worldwide and contemporary setting.
• STH TS 845: Christian Social Ethics
  Comparative study of historical and contemporary Christian approaches to the nature, sources, methods, and concepts of ethics in diverse contexts. The course is in two parts: an historical overview of the development of Christian social ethics from biblical times to the twenty-first century; an in-depth exploration of approaches to specific contemporary social issues including war and peace, ecology, economic justice, and equality. Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TS 848: Global Pentacostalism
  The last 50 years have seen the explosion of Pentecostal-Charismatic type churches in the world, becoming not only the fastest growing segment of Christianity, but also the vanguard of the global Christian movement. This is a basic course on the theology, ethics, and history of the worldwide Pentecostal-Charismatic renewal movements. It offers a historical-descriptive approach of the movements in various countries, theological analyses of their doctrines and beliefs, a sociological investigation of their religious techniques, and an ethical study of their social actions and political spiritualities. Students will learn how Pentecostal-Charismatic movements are transforming themselves to be a major positive force for social justice in this- worldly realm. Drawing on readings from religious studies, theology, politics, sociology, and anthropology, this course seeks to transcend disciplinary boundaries to enable students to better understand Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, their recent histories, and their potentials for renewal of Christianity across denominational lines and across the Catholic- Protestant divide. Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TS 854: The Boston University Ethical Tradition
  This seminar is designed to orient participants to the BU tradition in theology and ethics that has its roots in the 19th century. We will consider the Boston Personalists beginning with Borden Parker Bowne, John Wesley Edward Bowen, and especially the work of Edgar S. Brightman, as well as the later Personalists -- Albert C. Knudson and Francis McConnell. We will also explore the works of Georgia Harkness, L. Harold DeWolf, Peter Bertocci, and in particular, Walter Muelder (and the Moral Law tradition). There is an emphasis on Howard Thurman and his impact on BU, as well as the influence of the BU ethical tradition on the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. We will also consider the ethics of contemporary exponents of the BU ethical tradition. Throughout the seminar, there is consideration given to the philosophical and theological roots of the BU ethical tradition as well as its social, economic, and political applications. This tradition is based on the belief in a personal God who cares about people, and made each person in the divine image-endowed with inherent value, worth and dignity. This is a central message of the BU ethical tradition, and in the seminar, we will look at is foundations as well as its evolution, and also why that tradition historically was attractive to Black graduate students in theology and social ethics.
• STH TS 862: Global Ethics in Cultural Contexts
  An in-depth study of distinctive approaches to economic, ethnic, gender and political justice in diverse regions: North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Israel/Palestine. Liberation theology perspectives - African American, Feminist, Womanist, Mujerista, Latin American, Native American, Asian, African, Jewish and Palestinian - will provide bases for developing transcultural social ethics.
• STH TS 863: Ethical Leadership and African American Moral Traditions
  This seminar is designed to acquaint students with major figures, movements, and issues in black American religious, social, cultural and ethical traditions. The seminar, which focuses heavily on leadership emerging from 19th and 20th century black culture, examines African American leadership from a narrative perspective, utilizing primary and secondary source materials; explores theoretical and practical elements of leadership in specific historical contexts; evaluates competencies traditionally associated with African American leadership practices; and offers a forum for practical engagement with contemporary problems associated with African American life and culture. (Clusters 1 and 3)
• STH TS 867: Christianity and Ecology in Community Contexts
  A study of Christian and Native American spiritual insights related to ecological perspectives, principles, and practices. Student classroom sessions, research, and analysis will be complemented by field work: engagement with members of faith traditions and environmental organizations in the Boston area. Writings of theologians and ecologists, statements from individual denominations and ecumenical associations, teachings of native elders, and the relationship of the proposed Earth Charter to religious teachings and current ecological issues will be discussed. Economics, ethics, and ecology will be integrated with the evolving School of Theology Green Vision statement, its implementation on campus, and its engagement in projects with community organizations and faith communities off-campus.
• STH TS 877: The Principles and Practices of Restorative Justice
  A study of the fundamental principles and practices of restorative justice as applicable to church and society. The course explores the needs and roles of key stakeholders (victims, offenders, communities, justice systems), outlines the basic principles and values of restorative justice, introduces some of the primary models of practice, and identifies challenges to restorative justice and strategies to respond to them. The course is organized around the issue of crime and harm within a western legal context, but attention is given to applications in other contexts. Of particular interest is the contribution of traditional or indigenous approaches to justice as well as applications in post-conflict situations. (Clusters 2 and 3)
• STH TS 889: Sacred Earth: Indigenous Peoples' Ecological Traditions
  A study of indigenous peoples' traditional teachings about the relationship of spirituality, ecology, and community well-being. A particular focus will be the words and works of representative twentieth-century writers and spiritual leaders, and include the life and teachings of Lakota elder Black Elk; Muskogee elder Phillip Deere; Wanapum elder David Sohappy; and Dakota scholar and activist Vine Deloria, Jr.
• STH TS 894: Being Church in the 21st Century: Congregational Clinic
  This course is a teaching-learning laboratory, rooted in Boston University School of Theology's Religion and Conflict Transformation Program, and focused on collaborative teaching and learning in areas of congregational change, conflict, wholeness and healing in the twenty-first century. Rooted in theological and biblical foundations, this course will have a particular emphasis on a relational understanding of congregations, sacraments as core to shalom and reconciliation, the nature of community and naming and dealing with issues of power and authority. This course expects mutual sharing and learning among the various participants.
• STH TS 896: Religion, Economics, and the Common Good
  A study of the relationship between religion, economics, and societal well-being, particularly as explored in the presentation and critique of a "Protestant ethic." The subsequent integration of political, economic, sociological, and religious insights will provide a foundation for the formulation of community- based and community-oriented social institutions.
• STH TS 897: Ethics and Public Policy
  The purpose of this course is to help students gain knowledge of and appreciation for the theological, ethical, and socio-analytic dimensions of public policy and how to integrate those elements in their descriptive and prescriptive analyses of specific social problems. (Clusters 2 and 3)
• STH TS 899: The Continuing Relevance of Aristotle's Ethics and Politics
  This seminar will undertake a close reading and a critical inquiry into Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Politics in order to discern how his thought can be a helpful resource for the study and practice of ethics and politics in our day.
• STH TS 903: Models of Community
  TBA
• STH TS 925: Advanced Ecological Ethics
  An in-depth study of cross-disciplinary, cross-religious, and cross-cultural approaches to ecological issues, oriented toward understanding diverse issues in breadth and depth; and a collaborative, creative development of ecological ethical concepts and principles proposed to inform and be integrated into human consciousness and communities, and implemented in community projects.
• STH TS 926: Conflict Transformation for Ministry
  This course is a response to the experience of destructive conflict in the church and in the world, as well as the experience of religion as a source of conflict. More importantly, it is a response to the call to every Christian to be a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18) and a peacebuilder. (Matt. 5:9). This course will introduce students to the theology, theory and practice of faith-based conflict transformation, preparing students to become religious leaders equipped with fundamental tools and skills for engaging conflict and transforming conflict in a way that advances God's goal of shalom, a culture of justpeace.
• STH TS 929: Christian Ecological Ethics and Political Issues
  This course will introduce students to the character and dimensions of the ecological crisis and will; to help them reflect theologically and ethically on ecological problems, to develop or enhance their particular faith tradition's theoretical and practical engagement with ecological issues, gain knowledge of the intersection of ecology and economics, and political and public policy implications of this relationship, and to formulate public policy possibilities and practical projects to address and seek to solve ecological problems.

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