Content

This unit offers students the opportunity to draw together the various elements of their masters award and to articulate their insights on the Church’s faith and its implications for ministry in contemporary settings. Students work with a faculty mentor as well as engage in seminar conversations to identify a topic and thesis as the basis for their research. Students complete a substantial research-based project that integrates key aspects of biblical studies and systematic theology, or ministry studies, in the Lutheran tradition.

Unit code: XP9005L

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Capstone

Unit discipline: Capstone Other P

Proposing College: Australian Lutheran College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Apply advanced knowledge of sources, terms and concepts required in theology and its related disciplines

2.

Employ research principles and methods, including analytical and communication skills applicable to theology and its related disciplines, evidence an appropriate level of sophistication

3.

Demonstrate advanced skills of interpretation and critical reflection on a range of theological and related disciplines, with awareness of implications and applications to historical and contemporary issues and contexts, in order to generate and evaluate ideas for professional practice and further learning

4.

Articulate and communicate knowledge and insights in theology and its related disciplines to specialist and non-specialist audiences

5.

Plan and execute a substantial integrative project, drawing on advanced skills in research, writing and presentation

Unit sequence

Course relationship: A capstone unit in postgraduate theology and ministry course

Prerequisites: Only permitted in the final two semesters of the course

Pedagogy

The key teaching role is akin to supervision. Weekly meetings for first four weeks, then mentored student supervision to negotiate a topic which satisfies the learning outcomes, followed by self-paced research and writing. It is anticipated that the student will meet or in some way interact with a supervisor for an average of an hour per week (calculated on the basis of 12 teaching weeks). Approved variation from normative Unit Policy 4.3.3 (36 hours engagement and 164 hours study).

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bloomquist, Karen L., and John R. Stumme, eds. The promise of Lutheran ethics. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1998.
  • Braaten, Carl E. Principles of Lutheran Theology. 2nd ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
  • Havea, Jione, ed. *Theological and Hermeneutical Explorations from Australia : Horizons of Contextuality.*Decolonizing Theology. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books/ Fortress Academic, 2021.
  • Kääriäinen Jukka Antero. Mission Shaped by Promise : Lutheran Missiology Confronts the Challenge of Religious Pluralism. Dissertation, Pickwick Publications, 2012.
  • Root, Andrew. The pastor in a secular age: ministry to people who no longer need a God. Ada, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2019.
  • Senkbeil, Harold L. The care of souls: cultivating a pastor’s heart. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019.
  • Stjerna, Kirsi, and Brooks Schramm, eds. Spirituality: towards a 21st century Lutheran understanding. Rev. ed. Minneapolis, MN: Lutheran University Press, 2004.
  • Stone, Howard W., and James O. Duke. How to Think Theologically. Third Edition. 1517 Media, 2013.
  • Wengert, Timothy. A formula for parish practice: using the Formula of Concord in congregations. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006.
  • Yaghjian, L. Writing theology well: a rhetoric for theological and biblical writers. 2nd ed. New York: Continuum, 2015.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Annotated Bibliography

A series of critical reviews which covers the scholarly scope of the proposed research

2000 25.0
Skeleton Argument

A detailed outline of the proposed final paper, including the key arguments

1000 10.0
Report 5000 65.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 12 Apr, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-04-12 15:51:58 +1000