Content

This unit provides the opportunity for theological engagement from a number of perspectives on a selected hot-button cultural, social, or political issue, for example: borders, science and religion, good and evil. It introduces the student to a range of methods (linguistic, hermeneutical, historical, feminist, systematic, philosophical, artistic, liturgical, intercultural) and shows how these contribute to debates underway in the contested public sphere.

Unit code: AR8000P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Religious Studies

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate the limits and strengths of interdisciplinary conversation

2.

Outline the range of methodological resources and perspectives basic to each theological discipline

3.

Evaluate how the theological disciplines marshal different authorities to approach the same question

4.

Identify theological resources which might assist when participating in contested public debates

5.

Demonstrate an awareness of the theological dimensions of a particular issue present in public discourse

Pedagogy

Face to Face: Lectures, Seminars, Tutorial

Indicative Bibliography

  • Andraos, Michel Elias. “Engaging Diversity in Teaching Religion and Theology: An Intercultural, De-Colonial Epistemic Perspective.” Teaching Theology & Religion 15, no. 1 (2012): 3–15.
  • Butkus, Russell A. and Steven A. Kolmes. “Theology in Ecological Perspective: An Interdisciplinary, Inquiry-Based Experiment.” Teaching Theology & Religion 11, no. 1 (2008): 42–53.
  • Canale, Fernando. “Interdisciplinary Method in Christian Theology? In Search of a Working Proposal.” Neue Zeitschrift für systematicsche Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 43, no. 3 (2001): 366–89.
  • Geffré, Claude and Werner G. Jeanrond, eds. Why Theology. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1994.
  • Ghiloni, Aaron J. “On Writing Interdisciplinary Theology.” Practical Theology 6, no. 1 (2013): 9–33.
  • Jagessar, Michael N. “Dis-Place Theologizing: Fragments of Intercultural Adventurous God-Talk.” Black Theology 13, no. 3 (2015): 258–72.
  • Jesse, Jennifer G. “Reflections of the Benefits and Risks of Interdisciplinary Study in Theology, Philosophy, and Literature.” American Journal of Theology & Philosophy 32, no. 1 (2011): 62–73.
  • Ortiz, Gaye. “Women, Theology, and Film: Approaching the Challenge of Interdisciplinary Teaching,” In Teaching Religion and Film, 165–73. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  • O’Callaghan, Phyllis. A Clashing of Symbols: Method and Meaning in Liberal Studies. Georgetown University Press, 1988.
  • Setyawan, Yusak Budi. “Education for Developing Interfaith and Intercultural Awareness: Toward Global Peace and Harmony.” Theologies and Cultures 9, no. 2 (2012): 45–58.
  • van den Toren, Benno. “Intercultural Theology as a Three-Way Conversation.” Exchange 44, no. 2 (2015): 123–43.
  • Walton, Heather. Literature and Theology: New Interdisciplinary Spaces. Routledge, 2011.
  • Webster, John B. Theological Theology: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered Before the University of Oxford on 27 October 1997. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

A 4000 word essay which takes the select issue and develops a multi-disciplinary response, considering the variety of methods and perspectives which might inform the question.

0 60.0
Portfolio

A portfolio which provides an overview of how one or more theological discipline approaches a select issue. This may consist of written reflections, including the identification of key ideas or methods, mind-maps, timelines, diagrams, bibliographies, or any other common method of capturing thoughts and setting them into relationship (2000 word equivalent)

0 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 19 Oct, 2017

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 09:36:02 +1100