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 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 TT 731: Theology & World Religions
  As students, scholars, spiritual seekers and religious leaders we live in a modern world manifesting many forms of diversity. One key form of this diversity is religious pluralism. We become more and more aware that that, for instance, all the historical religions of the world now comprise the spiritual mosaic of spiritual life in North America. This course provides an overview of the historical development of the world's religions in order to better understand the current spiritual pluralism of North America. While the history of world religions does not explain everything that is happening in the lives of modern religious people, informed understanding of these religions is still essential for anyone who seeks to dialogue in a meaningful fashion with a person of another faith tradition. The course will focus on both the emic (inner dimensions) and etic (outer dimensions) of the historical and spiritual development of the world's religions. We will stress the differences as well as the similar features of the religions. We will also ask genuine theological questions because we live, work, communicate and minister in diverse religious communities of faith. (Requires TF 701/TF 702 as prerequisite.) (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 732: History of Christian Theology in Philosophical Perspective
  In its nearly two-millennium long history, Christian theology has been shaped by its dynamic engagements with (and in) various traditions of philosophical reflection. In this course, students will examine how four such traditions--Platonic, Aristotelian, Kantian/Phenomenological, and Marxist/Critical--have influenced (and been influenced by) theological questions, concepts, and modes of discourse. Thinkers from ancient, medieval, Reformation, modern, and postmodern periods will be studied, with emphasis on historical and social settings. (Requires TF 701/TF 702 as prerequisite.) (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 733: Constructive Theology
  This course introduces students to the major themes of Christian theology with the aim of providing them with a framework for effective and faithful theological reflection. Beginning with revelation and ending with eschatology, we follow a familiar progression in the study of systematic theology, examining modern and postmodern theological perspectives on God, creation, human nature, sin, Christology, ecclesiology and other doctrinal loci. The methodological approach is constructive, in that emphasis is placed on helping students integrate central issues of faith in response to contemporary issues. (Requires TF 701/TF 702 as prerequisite.) (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 806: Theology and Literature
  This course explores the theological relevance of literature through an examination of contemporary fiction and examines the benefits and limitations of writing theology in the form of fiction. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 811: Mysticism & Philosophy: Jewish and Islamic Perspectives
  Thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on dynamics of religious experience. Readings from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Biblical interpretation, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain. (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 813: Religion and Science
  This course examines the relationship between religion and science (R&S) through three main lenses. The first is historical: it surveys antique, medieval, and modern developments in the interaction between R&S in the West. The second is methodological: it focuses on ways of construing the R&S relation today, with an emphasis on dialogue and integration approaches. The third is applied: it concentrates on a specific issue in current R&S research. The course is open to all graduate students. No background in science is necessary. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 816: Atheisms and Theologies
  The general aim of this course is learn about varieties of atheism-older "classic atheism," so- called "new atheism" of recent years, and theologically inspired forms of atheism-and to understand the various theological responses to atheism. Questions of particular importance are: (1) How strong are traditional and new atheistic arguments? (2) Where does or should theology stand in relation to the arguments of atheism? (3) What are the origins of modern atheism? (4) Should postmodern mystical theologies and iconoclastic anti-anthropomorphic theologies that reject a determinate divine being be considered atheistic? If so how does this sort of atheism relate to other types? The class is intended for advanced masters students and doctoral candidates interested in con-temporary theology and its conceptual roots in older theological debates. Meets with STH TT 956. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 819: Institute for Philosophy and Religion
  This course, taught in the fall, runs in tandem with the annual program of the Institute for Philosophy and Religion (www.bu.edu/ipr) and affords students the opportunity for in-depth exploration of the issues and texts related to each year's series. (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 825: John Wesley's Theology Today
  The theology of John Wesley, though projected from an historical past, is a living and dynamic force in contemporary theology. This course examines the primary doctrinal, methodological, and practical commitments of John Wesley's theology as developed in his sermons, hymns, writings, and life-praxis. The course also explores contemporary trends in Methodism and in Wesleyan theology more generally as they attempt to respond to the present theological situation and to the future prospects of a Christian faith lived out in the twenty-first century. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 826: Political Theology
  Recent developments across a variety of disciplines have led to deep and widespread interest in "political theology" -- a diverse range of approaches to interrogating, (re)imagining, and (de)constructing the intersection of politics, religion, and theology, present and past. Scholars have argued that dominant paradigms of sovereignty, the secular, modernity, and liberalism are themselves secularized, corrupted, or otherwise transformed versions of Jewish and Christian theology. Others contend that modern political practices and paradigms represent not the legacy of early modern secularization but the trail of an early modern reinjection of theology in political and social theory. Others still find in the practices of contemporary communities lived political theologies that subvert existing power structures and cast doubt on common conceptions of contemporary political life and possibilities. This course examines these competing developments, readings, and proposals; their interactions; and the contested histories, theories, and values that underwrite them. Considering political theology as both a historical and contemporary phenomenon and engaging a range of perspectives and figures, the course also considers relations and interactions between political theology and other approaches to questions of "religion and politics." (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 829: Thomas Aquinas
  Thomas Aquinas is one of the most important figures in the history and development of Western philosophy and Christian theology. On nearly everything he writes about -- from virtue to the sacraments, metaphysics of identity to the incarnation, war to soteriology -- he has something interesting, important, and illuminating to say. And whether one agrees with his particular conclusions or not, it is difficult to engage his work without growing as a thinker and reader. This doctoral seminar constitutes an extended engagement with Thomas's thought, primarily through attention to his Summa theologiae. Engagement with secondary sources will be sparing so as to keep our focus on the text itself. We will be reading with an eye to understanding Thomas both on his own terms and as a resource for contemporary work in philosophy, theology, and religious studies. The course's focus this year is on Thomas's ethics (especially his conceptions of virtue, habit, and human action); the relations between his ethics and his overarching theological and intellectual project; and the ongoing philosophical and theological interest of these dimensions of his thought. The course is suitable both for advanced Aquinas students as well as those new to his thought. (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 831: Brains, Bodies & Religions
  This seminar is about religion and embodiment -- in detail. We begin with an introduction to the major religion-relevant themes of both critical social theory and the evolutionary cognitive neuroscience, which are often taken to be opposed ways of seeing human life--we will investigate this claim of incompatibility throughout the seminar. We then continue by working through research articles on a variety of fascinating and vital topics related to brains, bodies, and religions, first focusing on evolution of religion and subsequently on sex, gender, and race. Through reading these research articles, class presentations, writing a paper, and seminar discussions, seminar participants will learn about the evolutionary and cultural origins of religion and morality, the interplay of virtually species-wide cognitive- emotional tendencies and flexible cultural creativity in cultures and religions, the exploitation of the human cognitive-emotional system in economic practices, religion and violence, the embodied and socially constructed qualities of religious beliefs and practices, the neurological and cultural aspects of religious ritual and spiritual experience, and the interplay of biology and culture in human sexuality and sexual identity, race and racism, aesthetics and morality. Bodies matter, and bodies matter for religion --on those points critical social theory and the evolutionary cognitive neuroscience are in agreement. (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 832: Paul Tillich
  Centered on one of the major theological works of the twentieth century, the Systematic Theology, this course is designed to assist students to contextualize, interpret, and analyze the thought of Paul Tillich and to assess its significance for contemporary theology. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 833: Religion and Science
  This course examines the relationship between religion and science (R&S) through three main lenses. The first is historical: it surveys antique, medieval, and modern developments in the interaction between R&S in the West. The second is methodological: it focuses on ways of construing the R&S relation today, with an emphasis on dialogue and integration approaches. The third is applied: it concentrates on a specific issue in current R&S research--namely, God, evolution, and suffering in nature (sometimes called the "problem of natural evil"). The course is open to all graduate students. No background in science is necessary. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 842: Lab Placement
  This is a course for students in a variety of Boston University School of Theology and Division of Religious and Theological Studies degree programs who are registered for laboratory placements. It is not available to students at other schools in the Boston Theological Institute. (Cluster 2)
• STH TT 843: Theology and the Environment
  This course introduces you to the field of ecotheology. Through reading, writing, and discussion, you will bring environmental science into conversation with Christian scripture and tradition in order to explore how current environmental issues and theology mutually inform one another. We will examine perspectives on creation, theological anthropology, sin, soteriology, christology, and other doctrinal themes. By the end of this course, you will be able to connect these doctrines to current ecological knowledge and environmental action. (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 849: Queer Theology
  This course examines the emergence of queer theology as it has been derived from queer theory and LGBTQ social justice activists. It will acquaint students with the history of the term "queer", its challenges, its reappropriation and the impact queer theology is having on the Christian faith and practices. We will especially investigate how "queering" may contribute to theology as academic discipline, church practice and as an instrument of social justice. This course will privilege an intersectional analysis. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 861: Varieties of Religious Naturalisms
  The aim of this seminar is to learn about varieties of religious naturalism and how they have been, and can be, incorporated into philosophical and theological reflection. The seminar will read a variety of works in contemporary religious naturalism, from twentieth-century classics to current contributions, and from theoretical analyses of the meaning of naturalism to surveys attempting to map out the territory of plausible viewpoints. We will also track the close relationship between religious naturalism and both ecologically-rooted forms of spirituality and nature-centered forms of mysticism. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1)
• STH TT 862: Theologies of Liberation
  Theologies of liberation originated in the mid-twentieth century and have continued in various forms and contexts on into the twenty-first century. This course examines some of the classic texts in Latin American, Asian, Hispanic, Black, Womanist, Queer, and Feminist liberation theology and aims at an understanding of their sources, methods, hermeneutic, and primary themes. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)

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