Foundations for Pastoral Practice (DP8001Y)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

This unit explores concepts of developmental theory and selected theological works linking pastoral theory and pastoral practice. It introduces some theories of psychosocial development across the lifespan, and explores how we reach an under-standing of the self within personal, familial, social and cultural contexts.

Unit code: DP8001Y

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Pastoral Theology and Ministry Studies

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

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Learning outcomes

1.

Demonstrate an understanding of some selected approaches to human development.
2.

Compare and contrast some theological and psychological positions on human develop-ment and a theology of the self.
3.

Analyse some key notions of the self within different social and cultural contexts.
4.

Critically examine the place of human development theory and a theological under-standing of the self, within pastoral practice.
5.

Formulate a pastoral practice strategy that links human developmental, and theological understandings of the self.
6.

Critically evaluate how these linked understandings can apply in complex and challenging pastoral situations.

Pedagogy

Face to Face or online: lecture format

Indicative Bibliography

Foundations for Pastoral Practice

set texts recommended for purchase = *

  • Balswick, Jack O., Pamela Ebstein King and Kevin S. Reimer. The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in Theological Perspective. Illinois: IVP, 2005. *
  • Doehring, Carrie. The Practice of Pastoral Care: A Postmodern approach (Revised and expanded edition). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014.
  • Harter, Susan. Construction of the Self: Developmental and Sociocultural Foundations. New York: Guilford Publications, 2012.
  • Hermans, Hubert J. M. and Giancarlo Dimaggio. The Dialogical Self in Psychotherapy. New York: Routledge, 2016.
  • Hoffnung, Michele, Hoffnung, Robert, Seifert, Kelvin L., Burton Smith, Roseanne, Hine, Alison, Ward, Lynn, Pausé, Cat, Yates, Karen, and Swabey, Karen.
  • Lifespan Development: A Chronological Approach*. 3rd Australasian Edition. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons Australia, 2016.
  • Lerner, Richard M. Concepts and Theories of Human Development. 4th ed. New York: Routledge, 2018.
  • Loder, James E. The Logic of the Spirit: Human Development in Theological Perspective. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998.
  • Patton, John. Pastoral Care: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005. *
  • Williams, Rowan. Being Human: Bodies, Minds, Persons. London: SPCK, 2018.
  • Welker, Michael, ed. The Depth of the Human Person: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 2014.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Assessment Task 1: An essay evaluating a human development theory.

 1500 20.0
Essay

Assessment Task 2: An essay critically examining a cultural understanding of the self.

1500 30.0
Essay

Assessment Task 3: An essay that critically investigates human development theory and theological under-standing on the self in relation to pastoral practice.

3000 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 23 Sep, 2020

Unit record last updated: 2021-06-07 08:43:51 +1000