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 TT 873: Space, Place, and Change
  This course investigates the significance of space and place for contemporary religious communities and examines how religious leaders navigate changing landscapes. Case studies of religious leadership responding to municipal developments (urban/rural development), shifting natural landscapes (climate change, natural disasters), built environment needs (building renovations or expansions), and the spatial impacts of social and political life in the US (migration, accessibility, inclusion) will be examined. Primary attention will be given to religious landscapes in the North America. Students will reflect theologically on practices of religious leadership, hospitality, justice, and the formation and location of sacred space. The course culminates with a practical research project that requires students to apply learnings to their own context.
• STH TT 876: God, Good, and the Good Life
  This course explores the relations among God, good, and the good life as they have been conceived by a number of important and influential contemporary moral philosophers and religious ethicists -- theists and non-theists alike. In so doing, the course examines various ways of mapping the relations between philosophy and theology or faith and reason, while also casting doubt on efforts to neatly separate the two. The course especially attends to ways in which believers and nonbelievers alike have imagined the difference God makes (or fails to make) when it comes to ethics, considered both as an intellectual discipline and as way of being in the world. It considers too the ways these figures have inherited and transformed some of the most important pre-modern philosophical and religious traditions in their own efforts to do ethics in today's world. (Cluster 1)
• STH TT 898: Theology and Trauma
  This course aims to bring the recent studies in the interdisciplinary study of trauma to bear on the field of theology. What unique challenges does the phenomenon of trauma pose to contemporary theology? The first part of the course explores recent studies in trauma, focusing on three areas of research: 1) neurobiology of trauma, 2) clinical/therapeutic studies, and 3) literary approaches to trauma. The second part of the course examines theological engagements with issues of radical suffering. The third part brings together the insights from the first two and focuses on the question of what it means to witness theologically to individual, societal, and global trauma. We will look at issues and contexts such as the criminal justice system, war, poverty, and racism. In this final part, students will be working towards constructive theological engagements with issues of trauma through interaction with a variety of mediums: art, literature, spiritual practices, and film. The course is not a counseling course. It aims to provide rich theological reflection around issues of suffering, violence, and trauma, both individual and global. (Requires TF 701/702 or equivalent) (Clusters 1 and 2)
• STH TT 926: 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."
• STH TT 929: 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.
• STH TT 932: 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.
• STH TT 940: Ecclesiology
  This course asks the question, ?What is the church?? in dialogue with Christian theological figures and schools representing Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian traditions. While one of the aims of this course is that students be conversant with those voices, it ultimately aims at the student's ability to articulate the ecclesiology of his or her own community and to bring that to bear on the contemporary situation and particular problems of Christian practice in church and society. Meets with TJ940.
• STH TT 956: 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 816.
• STH TT 998: Theology and Trauma
  This course aims to bring the recent studies in the interdisciplinary study of trauma to bear on the field of theology. What unique challenges does the phenomenon of trauma pose to contemporary theology? The first part of the course explores recent studies in trauma, focusing on three areas of research: 1) neurobiology of trauma, 2) clinical/therapeutic studies, and 3) literary approaches to trauma. The second part of the course examines theological engagements with issues of radical suffering. The third part brings together the insights from the first two and focuses on the question of what it means to witness theologically to individual, societal, and global trauma. We will look at issues and contexts such as the criminal justice system, war, poverty, and racism. In this final part, students will be working towards constructive theological engagements with issues of trauma through interaction with a variety of mediums: art, literature, spiritual practices, and film. The course is not a counseling course. It aims to provide rich theological reflection around issues of suffering, violence, and trauma, both individual and global.
• STH TY 704: Spiritual Care
  Spiritual care is the art of ministry, chaplaincy, and counseling as it relates to the theological, psychological, and sociocultural needs of individuals and communities of faith. This course introduces various theories, methods, and practices of spiritual care and cognate disciplines for students to interpret and examine individuals and their communities as they are shaped by their own communal and sociocultural contexts. Students will have an opportunity to explore some of the personal, interpersonal, and communal issues that spiritual caregivers encounter as they engage in the work of care within congregations, hospitals, schools, the military, workplaces, and faith-based agencies. Furthermore, because of its deep commitment to social justice, spiritual care pays close attention to how social advantages and disadvantages contribute to unjust policies and systems that produce injustices based on class, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or other aspects of one's social identity. (Cluster 3)
• STH TY 803: The 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. (Cluster 2)
• STH TY 806: Theories of Human Development
  The goal of this course 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. We will use a series of theoretical readings, broader lectures by the professor, and selected autobiographies to apply theory. As our experiences provide excellent laboratory data, there will be various opportunities to examine our own life processes as a way of seeing theory in action. Course Objectives: By the end of the class, students should: - know the primary developmental theories, including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, social learning, faith development and be able to identity of variety of lesser used theories - be able to critique developmental theories using the insights of feminist theory, studies in racism and sexual identity, and the reality of globalization - be able to apply theory to case material - discuss the relationship of human development and community context. (Clusters 2 and 3)
• STH TY 811: 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. (Cluster 2)
• STH TY 826: Couple and Family Dynamics
  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 assignments, class activities, and personal and professional self-reflection. Students will have the opportunity to reflect upon how they might actually use course content professionally in their respective disciplines. (Clusters 2 and 3)
• STH TY 833: Reading Lives: Story, Autobiography, and Identity
  The course offers an in-depth study of narrative theories from a broad range of fields encompassing disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Students will be introduced to integrative concepts from narrative psychology, narrative therapy, literary studies, narrative (virtue) ethics, narrative gerontology, and narrative medicine to understand the importance of human stories, beliefs, values, and meanings. For the past thirty years, pastoral theologians and spiritual caregivers have engaged narrative theories to understand human identity and experience by listening to and examining stories of individuals and communities. More recently in narrative approaches to spiritual care, scholars and practitioners in religion engage the insights of critical theory to deconstruct harmful narratives and find ways to create more life-giving narratives, especially for individuals and communities from historically marginalized contexts. By exploring the history, theories, and methods of narrative spiritual care, students will be able to think deeply and broadly about its ramifications in ministry and life. (Cluster 2 & 3)
• STH TY 842: Pastoral Psychology of Healing
  Every person, in her or his personal relationships and professional activities, is guided by a complex, often tacit, theory of healing, comprised of judgments about illness/suffering (what's wrong?); health/well-being (what's possible? what's ideal?); the trajectory from one to the other (how do we get there?); and factors that enhance as well as inhibit movement along that trajectory (what should we do?). Examining and comparing a range of theories of healing--in psychology, medicine, Christian traditions, world religions, and non-Western cultures--equips us critically to reflect upon, amend, if not reconstruct our respective theories of healing. (Clusters 2 and 3)
• STH TY 860: Introduction to Chaplaincy
  Organized around three competencies (interpersonal, organizational, and meaning- making), this focuses on the unique dimensions of what it means to provide spiritual care in public settings. The course provides opportunities for students: 1) to identify strengths they bring to the work; 2) explore various sectors of chaplaincy; 3) interact with working chaplains; and 4) engage historical, contemporary, and future-forecasting research on spiritual care in North America. The course is highly recommended for students pursuing chaplaincy, those discerning vocation in this area, and working chaplains eager for further study. The course also welcomes those who are not pursuing chaplaincy as a vocation and interested in the practice of spiritual care in public spaces. (Cluster 1 & 2)
• STH TY 903: The 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.
• STH TY 904: Spiritual Care and Social Justice
  
• STH TY 906: Human Development
  Human Development Course Description: The goal of this course 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. We will use a series of theoretical readings, broader lectures by the professor, and selected autobiographies to apply theory. As our experiences provide excellent laboratory data, there will be various opportunities to examine our own life processes as a way of seeing theory in action. Course Objectives: By the end of the class, students should: - know the primary developmental theories, including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, social learning, faith development and be able to identity of variety of lesser used theories - be able to critique developmental theories using the insights of feminist theory, studies in racism and sexual identity, and the reality of globalization - be able to apply theory to case material - discuss the relationship of human development and community context