Philosophy and Systematic Theology

• 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) (Fulfills Theology II requirement)
• 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 807: Christian Eschatology in Post-Apocalyptic Times
  This course explores the Christian eschatological imagination through engagements with pre-modern and contemporary texts dealing with the theological category of the future. Students will be encouraged to reflect how visions of the future inform particular (and often ambiguous) social and political dispositions and sensibilities. The course will further offer resources for constructive readings of Christian eschatology and invite students to develop creative appropriations of the vocabulary of Christian eschatology. Course will include an overview of biblical, Patristic, and medieval sources as a basis from which the vocabulary of Christian eschatology was constructed. It then moves to contemporary sources and a section on contemporary fiction dealing with the post-apocalyptic imagination.
• STH TT 811: Mysticism & Philosophy: Jewish and Islamic Perspectives
  A thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on the dynamics of religious experience. Readings will be drawn from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• STH TT 813: Religion and Science
  This course examines the foundations of the field of Religion and Science (R&S) and ways of construing the R&S relation today. It then applies this examination to specific issues 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) (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 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 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. We first introduce some prominent works of queer theory and ask what the implications of them on queer theology might be. We then consider how queer theology might contribute to some persistent debates in Christian theology: eros and agape, dissent and sainthood, grief and ritual, as well as utopic eschatology. Finally, we will explore how queer experiments in living might help us rethink fundamental moral categories such as kinship, vulnerability, play, fidelity, bodily change, and sexual knowledge.
• 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 862: Theologies of Liberation
  Liberation theology has been one of the most influential theological movements in contemporary Christian theology. This course surveys some of its main tenets, texts, and practices. We pay particular attention to the development of liberation theologies in light of the experience of oppressed communities and how these experiences shape their theological imagination. In addition to covering some of the pillar texts in the tradition, the course will investigate several developments in liberating theologies: womanism, mujerista theology, queer theology, postcolonial theologies, and ecotheologies.