Gender and Sexuality: A practical-theological frame (DP9032W)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

This unit aims to equip students to develop meaningful discussions on gender and sexuality. Students will develop the ability to navigate and dialogue with different viewpoints in a respectful and reflective manner. A variety of lenses will enable students to utilise reflective practice to analyse important social-ethical issues regarding gender and human sexuality. The application of reflective practice models will allow students to consider various approaches to questions and issued raised in discussions on gender and sexuality. Experiential lived-stories will be shared and heard, together with varied discussions on topics such as science and gender; the history of human sexuality; theological underpinnings of human sexuality; and church based responses to matters of sexuality and gender.

Unit code: DP9032W

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Pastoral Theology and Ministry Studies

Proposing College: Whitley College

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Utilise different lenses to map out various complexities of the gender and human sexuality discourse
2.

Identify various paradigms which function in the assessment of church practice on human identity
3.

Integrate various scientific findings concerning gender with theological perspectives
4.

Develop discourses on gender and sexuality informed by lived experiences of people

5.

Formulate an approach to social issues that integrates a range of reflective practices

Pedagogy

Discussion, Reflective practice, case study engagement

Indicative Bibliography

  • Coakley, S. God, Sexuality and the Self. An Essay ‘On the Trinity’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
  • Handasyde, Kerrie, Rebekah Pryor, and Cathryn McKinney (eds.). Contemporary Feminist Theologies: Power, Authority, Love. Gender, Theology and Spirituality. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 2021.
  • Isherwood, Lisa, and Dirk Von der Horst (eds.). Contemporary Theological Approaches to Sexuality. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2017.
  • Lehmiller, J.J. The Psychology of Human Sexuality. Oxford: Wiley & Blackwell, 2014.
  • Osmer, R.R. Practical Theology: An Introduction. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.
  • Pilcher, J., and I Whelehan (eds.). 50 Key Concepts in Gender Studies. London: Sage, 2004.
  • Richards, C., and J. Barker (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of the Psychology of Sexuality and Gender. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015.
  • Rippon, G. The Gendered Brain. The new neuroscience that shatters the myth of the female brain. London: Vintage, 2019.
  • Thatcher, A. Redeeming Gender. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
  • Thatcher, A. The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality and Gender. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
  • Tonstad, Linn Marie. Queer Theology: Beyond Apologetics. Cascade Companions 40. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2018.
  • West, Mona. “Coming Out and the Bible.” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 74.3 (2020): 265­–74.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Literature Survey - A critical reflection on selected literature 1500 20.0
Case Study - Investigation of selected issues 3000 40.0
Essay - Essay on a selected topic 3000 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 14 Sep, 2022

Unit record last updated: 2022-09-14 15:31:09 +1000