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 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: Augustine
  (Cluster 1)
• 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 847: Introduction to Ecological Justice
  This course introduces you to a variety of ecological justice issues through a combination of excursions, on-campus events, guest speakers, films, art exhibitions, and discussions. There will be 6 units total. You will be required to complete five units. Through this process, you will engage the theological, ethical, spiritual, and practical issues raised by a variety of ecological issues and by different responses to them. (cluster 2 &3)
• STH TT 848: Engaging Ecological Justice
  This course continues to expose you to a variety of ecological justice issues through a combination of excursions, on-campus events, guest speakers, films, art exhibitions, and discussions. There will be six units total. You will be required to attend four units. In addition to your attendance at these four units, you will plan and execute one of the units, including an event and discussion. Through this process, you will exercise your own ethical agency in the pursuit of ecological justice and develop your leadership skills. (Pre- requisite: STH TT847) (cluster 2 &3)
• STH TT 849: Queer Theology
  This course explores queer theology's potential to shape Christian thought and practice as a whole. Topics include eros and agape, sin and sexuality, pleasure and asceticism, dissent and sainthood, apophatic theology, trans* theology, queer sexual ethics, and queer spiritualties within and beyond Christianity. For fall 2022, a special focus will be on the meeting of AIDS with the present pandemic, asking what we might learn about loss, grief, ritual, and activism from collective queer life during AIDS. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 850: Performing Ecological Justice
  Pre-requisite: STH TT847 and STH TT848 (cluster 2 &3)
• STH TT 852: Theological Thinking for Everyday Life and Ministry
  This course aims to teach theological thinking by doing a lot of it. The class is designed to place the specific experiences of participants in conversation with each other and with the wisdom of the authors of the readings. The aim is to become more effective theological thinkers. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 3)
• 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: Theo Liberation
  This course description is currently under construction.
• STH TT 865: Christianity and Climate
  This course explores the relationship between climate change and many facets of Christianity--including theology, activism, public statements, ethical commitments, and worship practices. Through reading, writing, and discussion, we will explore how Christian communities engage (or avoid engaging) the pressing issue of climate change through various lenses (such as stewardship, justice, and dominion). We will examine factors that promote and inhibit such engagement. By the end of this course, you will be able to explain complex issues to laypersons, and to develop your own creative response to one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time. (Clusters 1)
• STH TT 866: Feminist and Womanist Theologies
  As one of the core courses in the theology sequence at BU School of Theology, this course introduces students to feminist and womanist approaches to the study of theology. It aims to provide students with a grounding in the major ideas and methodologies of feminist and womanist theologians. The first part of the course focuses on questions of method and provides students with grounding in the early history and development of feminist and womanist theologies. The second part focuses on important theoretical engagements that mark significant reassessments of notions of the body, sexuality, agency, and subjectivity within theological work. The third part highlights new trajectories and positions students' work within the ongoing conversation of feminist and womanist discourse. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2) (Fulfills Theology II Requirement)
• STH TT 871: Science Literacy and Scientific Boundary Questions
  This class is for anyone who needs to know about contemporary science and technology in order to speak responsibly about it as a journalist, a preacher, or a public intellectual. A spectacular audiovisual introduction to historic and recent scientific theories, this class will help you make sense of complex ideas and literature that can seem impenetrable to non-specialists. This class also identifies ethical, philosophical, and theological "boundary questions" in the science discussed, showing how such boundary questions inspired and influenced both religious thought and scientific research. Recommended for STH masters students, COM students work in religion or science journalism, STH PhD students in Theology and Science, and anyone working in philosophy, theology, or ethics requiring basic literacy in contemporary science. (Cluster 1 and 3)
• STH TT 872: Science Literacy and Scientific Boundary Questions
  This course introduces contemporary science to students with research and writing interests in the area of science, philosophy, and religion. It also treats scientific boundary questions, which are philosophical, ethical, and theological questions raised by science yet not answerable within science itself. This is more than a popular science course; it is the course to take when you are ready to go beyond popular science, and you are ready for integrative thinking that connects science, philosophy, history, ethics, and theology. TT872 lectures are on physics. TT871, on the biological sciences, can be taken independently of TT872 on physics. The mathematics required for the TT872 lectures on physics is taught through the whole year in a separate meeting. You should consult the instructor about your background and readiness to take TT871 or TT872 prior to registering. (Clusters 1 and 2)

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