Divinity School 2012–2013

Areas and Courses of Study

The courses listed on the following pages are expected to be offered by Yale Divinity School in 2012–2013. The letter “a” following the course number denotes the fall term, and the letter “b” following the course number denotes the spring term. Normally, courses numbered in the 500s carry Area I credit, with those in the 600s carrying Area II credit, those in the 700s carrying Area III credit, those in the 800s carrying Area IV credit, and those in the 900s carrying Area V credit. Courses with a four-digit number are generally eligible for elective credit only. Unless otherwise noted, all courses are for three hours of credit each term. Courses with the designation REL are offered by YDS. Those with an RLST designation are offered by the Department of Religious Studies of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

In addition to the curricular offerings specified below, students may arrange special reading courses with individual faculty members (see Reading Courses in chapter on Other Curricular Considerations). Courses on special topics of interest to a group of students may also be planned and approved for credit, to run for a period of weeks or for an entire term. Students are encouraged by the faculty to take courses in other schools and departments of the University. (See also Interdepartmental Studies in chapter on Other Curricular Considerations.) In each case, prior consent must be received from the instructor. For a complete listing of the offerings, consult the bulletins of the Graduate School and the professional schools and Yale College Programs of Study. Additional work is normally required in undergraduate courses presented for YDS credit.

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Area I: Biblical Studies

This area is concerned with the interpretation of the Christian Scriptures in the broadest sense, including the study of the classical biblical languages (Hebrew and Greek), the content of the Old and New Testaments, critical methods of interpretation, biblical history, cultural and historical milieu of the Bible, and the theological and pastoral implications of the text.

• 1. Introductory courses are offered in the critical study of the Old and New Testaments; except for the language courses, all courses in Area I have these foundation courses (or their equivalent) as prerequisites.
• 2. Language courses are offered at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels.
• 3. Three types of exegesis courses are offered: those based on the English text; those based on the original text and requiring a working knowledge of the biblical language; and advanced exegesis seminars that require at least an intermediate knowledge of the biblical language. Exegesis courses of each type are offered each term on selected books or topics from the Old and New Testaments. It is possible, therefore, during the course of one’s program, to engage in detailed exegesis of representative sections of the biblical text.
• 4. Thematic courses are offered on a wide range of theological and historical issues raised by the Scriptures. These include courses on the cultural and historical milieu of the Bible.
• 5. Advanced seminars are designed for YDS students with the requisite background and qualifications, and for doctoral students. Permission to enroll in these seminars must be received from the individual instructor.
• 6. Area I is also concerned with examining the implications of the Scriptures for the contemporary church. In addition to doing this in courses offered specifically in Area I, members of the faculty in Area I join with other faculty members in offering courses dealing with the use of the Bible in Christian ministry.

YDS offers intensive courses in elementary Biblical Hebrew and elementary New Testament Greek for six weeks during the summer. Such work earns six hours of academic credit and prepares the student for the course in exegesis. Summer work will satisfy most denominational language requirements.

Critical Introductions

REL 500a, Old Testament Interpretation This course introduces students to critical study of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Students become familiar with the content of those biblical books and learn about a variety of critical approaches for analyzing and appreciating the historical contexts, literary artistry, and rhetorical power of these texts. Joel S. Baden

REL 500b, Old Testament Interpretation A continuation of REL 500a. An introduction to the contents of the Old Testament, with a focus on the Prophets and Writings. John J. Collins

REL 501a, New Testament Interpretation The first term of a two-term lecture course that introduces students to the critical study of the New Testament through extensive readings, training in exegesis, and seminar discussions. The fall term is devoted to a study of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The course is recommended for those without previous training in New Testament studies. Adela Yarbro Collins

REL 501b, New Testament Interpretation A continuation of REL 501a. The spring term is devoted to a study of the Pauline letters, other epistolary and homiletic literature of the New Testament, and the Book of Revelation. Adela Yarbro Collins

Biblical Languages

REL 3604a and b, Elementary Biblical Hebrew A rigorous two-term course designed to familiarize students with the basic principles of Biblical Hebrew grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. The primary goals are to read biblical prose texts with confidence, use a standard academic dictionary, and develop a deep appreciation for the stylistic features unique to the Hebrew text. Eric D. Reymond

REL 3605a and b, Elementary New Testament Greek A two-term introduction to the language of the New Testament intended for those with little or no knowledge of Koiné Greek. Concentration in the first term is on elementary grammar and syntax, and a basic working vocabulary. The second term is devoted primarily to rapid reading of the Johannine literature and to developing a working knowledge of the critical apparatus and indexes of the Greek New Testament for use in exegesis and interpretation. Elizabeth Davidson

REL 518a, Intermediate Koine Greek This course focuses on translating and analyzing the syntax of a variety of New Testament texts and other early Christian literature. In addition to preparing translations for recitation and class discussion, assignments include readings on New Testament Greek syntax, consultation of reference tools (Greek lexica, advanced grammars, and exegetical dictionaries), and vocabulary building. The course provides essential preparation for Greek exegesis courses. Judith M. Gundry

REL 574a and b, Intermediate Biblical Hebrew This two-term course focuses on the reading of biblical texts but also offers a review of the elementary grammar of Biblical Hebrew and the introduction of more complicated grammatical concerns. The first term focuses on prose texts and reviews the morphology of verbs and nouns as well as basic components of Hebrew syntax; the second introduces the student to Biblical Hebrew poetry while continuing the study and review of Hebrew morphology and syntax. In addition, the form and function of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) is introduced. Eric D. Reymond

REL 576a, Advanced Biblical Hebrew: Prose Topics in the grammatical and syntactical analysis of Biblical Hebrew prose. Joel S. Baden

REL 577b, Advanced Biblical Hebrew: Poetry This course examines topics in the grammatical, structural, and syntactical analysis of Biblical Hebrew poetry. Joel S. Baden

Exegesis Based on the Original Language

REL 569a, Hebrew Exegesis: Genesis This course provides an opportunity for a close reading of major portions of the Hebrew text of the Book of Genesis and allows students to develop interpretive skills based on the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament. It focuses on the literary structure of the text as well as theological meaning and possible impact on contemporary communities of faith. Robert R. Wilson

REL 585a, Greek Exegesis: Luke This course focuses on the Greek text of Luke with respect to its historical, literary, and theological qualities, paying attention to its relations to Matthew, Mark, and Acts; its use of the Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures; and its cultural contexts. Adela Yarbro Collins

REL 588b, Greek Exegesis: Galatians The course is a detailed study of the Greek text of Galatians. It considers some of the major scholarly attempts to construe Paul’s letter, in particular his arguments about the Law. It also devotes extensive consideration to what Jews and Christians from the ancient world said about some of the topics Galatians addresses (e.g., the nature of conversion to Judaism, ethnicity, and election). Judith M. Gundry

Graduate Seminars in Biblical and Cognate Studies

REL 541b, Literary Criticism of the Hebrew Scriptures Lively and productive tensions have been generated within biblical studies concerning the strengths and vulnerabilities of contemporary literary analysis and the challenges that such analysis has posed to the historical-critical paradigm. This course assesses the classic contributions of Robert Alter and Meir Sternberg to literary criticism of the Hebrew Scriptures. We engage a variety of topics in literary criticism, including developments in genre criticism under influence of the work of Mikhail Bakhtin; diverse construals of authorial intention and reader agency; critical analysis of aspects of plot, narratorial voice, characterization, and operations of metaphor and irony; and the theorizing of intertextuality in light of the work of Julia Kristeva. Carolyn J. Sharp

REL 593b, Pseudepigraphy Required for doctoral students in New Testament and History of Ancient Christianity. We examine and discuss the range of current opinion on the production and reception of pseudepigraphical works in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Jewish texts, the New Testament, other early Christian literature, and selected Hellenistic and Roman texts. Adela Yarbro Collins

RLST 801a, Hebrew Bible Seminar: Problems in the Book of Kings This course allows students to develop interpretive skills on the basis of the original texts by engaging in a close reading of the beginning (1 Kings 1–12) and end (2 Kings 24–25) of the Book of Kings in the context of parallel passages in Hebrew and in Greek. Robert R. Wilson

RLST 805a, History and Methods of Old Testament Scholarship Reading and critical evaluation of major classic works in the history of Old Testament studies from Wellhausen to the present. Prerequisite: working knowledge of biblical Hebrew; reading knowledge of German helpful but not required. John J. Collins, Joel S. Baden

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Area II: Theological Studies

The work of this area includes analysis of the development, thought, and institutional life of the Christian community in various periods and contexts, and training in the substance and forms of theological positions and argumentation.

• 1. The comprehensive purpose of the courses designated Theological Studies is to foster an understanding of the classical theological tradition of Christianity, acquaint the students with contemporary theological thought, and develop the skills necessary to engage effectively in critical analysis and constructive argument.
• 2. Christian Ethics as a discipline gives attention to the moral strand within Christian belief by offering opportunities for systematic study of foundational aspects of the moral life, formulation of constructive proposals regarding ethical issues, and rigorous thinking regarding action guidance.
• 3. Liturgical Studies is intended to foster a serious and scholarly engagement with the origins and historical evolution of inherited patterns of worship, and to prepare the students to lead the worship of contemporary Christian communities with competence and sensitivity.
• 4. The Denominational Courses are offered primarily, although not exclusively, for the constituencies of particular denominations. Distributional credit in Area II will be granted for only one denominational course.

Theological Studies

REL 607b, Theology of Vatican II This course explores the principal theological themes of the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), especially the ecclesiology of the People of God, the role of bishops, the ministry and mission of the laity, ecumenical relations, religious pluralism, the opening to the world, and the role of the Church in cultural, economic, and political issues. Paul Lakeland

REL 616a, Introduction to East Asian Christianity This course introduces students to some of the key thinkers and themes in twentieth-century theology in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. It considers the critical role of the state and church-state relations in each of these societies in the formation of twentieth-century theologies, and it surveys different theological movements within the countries (such as “homeland theology” in Taiwan, Minjung and feminist theologies in Korea, etc.). The course encourages the development of a critical response to the challenges that these theologies raise for both non-Asians and Asians. Contextualization and inculturation debates in each of these societies are covered, as well as regional responses to Christianity. Chloë F. Starr

REL 619a, Anglican Theology and History II: ECUSA and the Anglican Communion As a sequel to REL 618a, Anglican History and Theology I, this course is focused on the theology, history, and polity of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the development of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Particular attention is paid to recent developments in the Communion and their theological implications for Anglican ecclesiology. Joseph H. Britton

REL 620a, History of Christian Theology to 451 An introduction to Christian theology and practice from the close of the New Testament to the Council of Chalcedon in the East and St. Augustine in the West, and beyond. This course takes an integrative approach to early Christian understandings and experiences of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, and the Church, by studying these topics in connection with canon formation, biblical interpretation, theological anthropology, worship, spirituality, ethics, and social life. It includes a prophetic ministry module for those who wish to engage in a special ministry project alongside the regular course work. No previous experience is required; however, students do best to begin the course with a basic knowledge of the story of Christ: familiarity with Luke-Acts or Matthew or John, plus Romans, is recommended. Christopher A. Beeley

REL 626a, Systematic Theology I The purpose of the course is to explore the nature and the systematic interconnections between issues and doctrines that are central to the Christian faith and life. Kathryn E. Tanner, Linn Marie Tonstad

REL 626b, Systematic Theology II A continuation of REL 626a. Christology, Christian life, ecclesiology, and eschatology are the major topics covered during the spring term. Kathryn E. Tanner, Linn Marie Tonstad

REL 628a, Introduction to Medieval Latin An introduction to Latin syntax and grammar, with special emphasis on classical forms as the point of departure for later Latin syntax. The entire system of Latin grammar is covered during the term. No previous knowledge of Latin is necessary. Junius Johnson

REL 634a, Theology and Ecology This course examines theological responses to environmental problems and interprets major tensions in the relation of Christianity and ecology. Readings include stewardship, environmental justice, creation spirituality, and ecofeminist strategies, developed in Catholic (including magisterial and liberationist), Protestant (including evangelical and anabaptist), and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The course thus develops an overview of the major theological questions in Christianity’s changing relationship to its ecological context. Willis Jenkins

REL 645a, Asian American Theology This course examines the development of Asian American theologies and some of their key themes: migration, intercultural theology, autobiographical narratives, and political activism. We look at marginality and inter-generational conflicts, at Asian American biblical hermeneutics, and at questions such as why the American Roman Catholic church is trying to foster more Anglo-Saxon-Teutonic religious practices among U.S. Filipinos, or why Korean Buddhists might attend church when in America. All students undertake a fieldwork project of their own choosing on an aspect of Asian American Christianity. This course is not just for students of Asian heritage: the topics and methodologies are relevant to anyone studying theology in contemporary society. Chloë F. Starr

REL 663b, Political Theology An exploration of Christian political theology and of the relationship between the authority of the church and civil authority from the mid-twentieth century to the present. This course examines the continuing legacy of natural law approaches, competing Augustinian political theologies, and liberation and postcolonial theologies’ contribution to shifting attention away from the authority of the nation-state to the agency of the oppressed and marginalized. How does our own post-Christian and post-secular moment open up new possibilities for Christian politics beyond either accepting the privatization of faith and the subordination of the church or denouncing modernity and the secular? Authors include Luke Bretherton, M. Shawn Copeland, Stanley Hauerwas, Jacques Maritain, J.B. Metz, John Milbank, Reinhold Niebuhr, Oliver O’Donovan, Kwok Pui-Lan, Carl Schmitt, Jeffrey Stout, Charles Taylor, and John Howard Yoder. Jennifer A. Herdt

REL 667b, Survey of Medieval Latin Literature An examination of Medieval Latin syntax through primary texts. The course is designed to provide an introduction to the major genres of Medieval Latin writing and to build the skills necessary to carry out independent research on primary texts. Junius Johnson

REL 687a, English Reformation Liturgical Traditions and the Evolution of the Books of Common Prayer This course falls into two sections. The first covers the period 1500–1789 and is concerned with the development and theologies of the Reformation liturgical traditions in England and Scotland. The second is concerned with the specifically Anglican tradition, with the impact of the Tractarian and Liturgical Movements to the present. It compares the 1978 Book of Common Prayer and Enriching Our Worship with the 2006 Book of Common Worship of the Church of South India, and the Divine Liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church, which is in communion with the Anglican Church.

REL 694b, Seminar in the Theology of Paul Tillich This course provides an opportunity for a close reading and discussion of Paul Tillich’s three-volume Systematic Theology. David H. Kelsey

Christian Ethics

REL 615a, Introduction to Christian Ethics I: Perennial Positions This course is the first of two that together are intended to establish a foundation for the academic study of Christian ethics. It investigates classical Christian conceptions of the possibility, method, and purposes of ethics. Authors include Plato, Kant, Kierkegaard, Adams, Barth, Butler, Macquarrie, Yoder, Augustine, Thomas, Luther, Calvin, and Gustafson. The class aims to examine enduring Christian understandings of the relationship of religion to ethics, the nature of moral obligation, and the goals that constitute the good life. It endeavors to display the elegance, power, perils, and consequences of the views we consider, and to stimulate reflection on both the relationships between these views and the significance of the differences. In so doing, the class seeks to present and cultivate facility with fundamental ethical concepts and to provide a systematic framework to aid analysis of, and contribution to, Christian ethical thought. Frederick V. Simmons

REL 615b, Introduction to Christian Ethics II: Contemporary Trajectories This course is the second of two that together are intended to establish a foundation for the academic study of Christian ethics. It explores prominent contemporary Christian approaches to society and human emancipation before examining three areas of notable creativity in current Christian ethics—virtue theory, evangelical ethics, and engagements with the modern life sciences. Authors include Rauschenbusch, Pope Leo XIII, the Second Vatican Council, the World Synod of Catholic Bishops, Reinhold Niebuhr, Hauerwas, Harrison, Moreno, Cone, Cannon, Kotva, Sider, and Pope. Frederick V. Simmons

REL 624a and b, Social Justice: Christian Ethics in Community Engagement This yearlong class interprets dimensions of social justice alongside a supervised internship in some practice of community engagement. By considering theological and theoretical ideas of justice in the context of a social-service apprenticeship, this class aims to develop critical reflection on strategies of community engagement and to cultivate practical moral reasoning that meets the concrete reality of everyday injustices. Integrating social ethics and supervised ministry, the class helps students oriented toward social ministries to shape their professional identity. Students must enroll in 3 hours of practicum each term. If taken both terms, students receive 9 credit hours (6 hours practicum and 3 hours area II/V ethics). Lucinda A. Huffaker, Willis Jenkins, Kyle W. Pedersen

REL 659b, Ethics and Human Nature This course examines historical and contemporary Christian estimates of human moral capacities and their diminishment, illustrated by differing Christian evaluations of warfare and violence. We begin with Augustine’s and Reinhold Niebuhr’s positions on these matters, and then we consider evangelical (Shuster), liberal (Farley), and eco-feminist (McFague) responses to this legacy. We conclude by investigating how these proposals inform differing Christian conceptions of the propensity, permissibility, and obligation to resort to coercion, violence, and warfare. Frederick V. Simmons

REL 671a, The Ethics of Saint Augustine This course investigates central facets of Augustine’s ethical thought, examining both the theological framework that grounds and guides it, and the Christian normative commitments that suffuse it. The seminar is organized thematically, relies exclusively upon Augustine’s writings, and ranges extensively throughout his corpus. Frederick V. Simmons

Liturgical Studies

REL 673b, Cuthbert, Bede, and their Theological, Musical, and Liturgical Legacy: The Christian Witness of Durham Cathedral and York Minster This intensive team-taught interdisciplinary study course includes a visit to Durham and York to learn about and experience not only the past treasures of these two centers of Christian witness but also the present worship, music, and life of the Cathedral and Minster. The course introduces students to the history of Christianity in the northeast of England and particularly in the place of Durham Cathedral from the time of Cuthbert to the present work of the Cathedral Chapter, including the hymns composed by YDS graduate Canon Rosalind Brown. Bryan D. Spinks, Robin Leaver

REL 682a, Foundations of Christian Worship The core course in Liturgical Studies. The course focuses on theological and historical approaches to the study of Christian worship, while also giving appropriate attention to pastoral, cultural, and contemporary issues. The first part of the course seeks to familiarize students with the basic elements of communal, public prayer in the Christian tradition (such as its roots in Hebrew Scripture, its Trinitarian basis and direction, its ways of figuring time and space, its use of language, scripture, music, the arts, etc.). The second part of the course provides an outline of historical developments, from biblical roots to the present. In addition, select class sessions focus on important questions such as the relationship between gendered lives and liturgical celebration, and between liturgy and ethical commitments such as earthcare. This gateway course to the Program in Liturgical Studies should be taken prior to other liturgy courses offered at Yale. The course is especially recommended for all students preparing for ordination and/or other responsibilities in worship leadership; it is also an essential course for all students interested in graduate work in liturgical studies. Teresa Berger, Maggi E. Dawn

REL 695a, Daily Prayer: Liturgical Developments, Theological Principles, Contemporary Practices This seminar proposes for scholarly inquiry the rhythms, texts, materials, and practices of daily prayer that have developed in the Christian tradition. The course is organized around three foci: first, we attend to questions of historical development (aided by a look at some of the key studies that have appeared on the subject in recent years). Second, we analyze basic theological convictions and material sources that have shaped practices of daily prayer. Third, we turn our attention to the contemporary context (and also take note of forms of daily prayer and devotion in Christian communities that do not have authoritative fixed patterns). Our own times witness intriguing disjunctions when it comes to daily prayer, and this seminar addresses questions of how cultural context and especially contemporary material culture shape the practice of daily prayer and devotion. Teresa Berger

Denominational Courses

REL 3792a, REL 3793a, and REL 3794b, Colloquium on Ministry Formation/Anglican This yearlong colloquium series focuses on the theme of leadership formation. In the fall term, first-year students examine the complex array of skills and intelligences required to develop “the pastoral imagination,” and third-year students engage in a workshop on liturgical celebration (second-year students do not take a colloquium in the fall). In the spring term, all three classes meet together for a revolving series on the theory and practice of leadership; organizational behavior; and leading change. These one-half credit colloquia are required of all Berkeley Divinity School students wishing to qualify for the Diploma in Anglican Studies. Joseph H. Britton

REL 3795, Colloquium on Ministry Formation/Lutheran The one-half credit Lutheran Colloquium is offered each fall and spring term. The fall colloquium is intended for Lutheran students entering Yale Divinity School. It focuses on issues relating to call, vocation, ministry, and ordination. It is intended to help incoming students discern the sort of ministry to which they might be called. In the spring the colloquium focuses on the practice of ministry in the Lutheran tradition. Topics vary from year to year, reflecting the interests and expertise of the visiting professor leading the colloquium. Its primary focus is on students considering ordination in the ELCA, but it is open to all.

REL 609a, Theology of Lutheran Confessions Through lectures, assigned readings, and class discussion, this course examines the Book of Concord of 1580 and certain other documents that served as sources for the Book of Concord. The objectives of the course are twofold: to develop a knowledge and understanding of the Lutheran Confessions in their original context and to gain an appreciation of the contemporary importance and influence of these Confessions for Christianity in the twenty-first century. William G. Rusch

REL 691a, Ecclesiology, Ministry, and Polity Lectures on comparative ecclesiology, doctrines of the ministry, and patterns of church polity in Western Christianity. Sections are arranged to enable students to study the history, doctrine, worship, and polity of their own denominations: Baptist, Presbyterian, and United Church of Christ. (Sections on A.M.E. Zion, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, United Methodist, and Unitarian Universalist polities are offered in alternate years.)

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Area III: Historical Studies

The intent of Historical Studies is to foster and demand serious consideration by students of the essential historical substance of Christian faith and tradition. Two aspects of inquiry merge in this area of the curriculum: (1) the development of analytic capacities for the understanding of religious thought and practice in their cultural context, and (2) special studies in the cultural context itself that are deemed essential to competent ministry. Work in this area includes social and cultural analysis often focusing on issues that arise at the intersection of established disciplines. Area III thus includes subjects falling outside the domain of explicitly Christian thought.

REL 700a, Transitional Moments in Western Christian History I This course introduces students to the historical study of Christianity by focusing on key moments from the emergence of the first churches to the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Themes include the formation of the canon, martyrdom, early Christian society, monasticism, the crusades, heresy, Luther’s protest, religious wars, and Catholic renewal. In lectures and sections, students examine a range of written and visual materials to discern patterns and diversities of religious experience. Bruce Gordon

REL 700b, Transitional Moments in Western Christian History II: American Religious History This course introduces students to the historical study of religion in the United States by examining key topics and episodes from the colonial period to the present. Offered as the second half of a two-part series in the history of Western Christianity, the course focuses on the United States as the context in which most Yale Divinity School students will do their work. The moments addressed in the course do not represent an exhaustive history of religion (or even of Christianity) in America, but they do provide a meaningful introduction to significant issues in that history and to the historical methods used to interpret them. Clarence E. Hardy III

REL 703a, Methods and Sources of Religious History The purpose of this course is to introduce students to historiography and essential research skills and to engage with historians of religion. Students read several diverse works that raise key questions about the historical study of religion, including Grafton’s What was History?, Zemon Davis’s Women on the Margins, and Berkhofer’s Fashioning History. Students write a short review of a historiographical book from a list provided by the instructors. The second part of the course focuses on skills training. Students work in their chosen area of interest. Bruce Gordon, Clarence E. Hardy III

REL 704b, Religion “Beyond the Veil”: Approaches to the Study of Black Religion in the United States This course explores the emergence of the modern study of black religion in the United States from its inception in the early decades of the twentieth century, through its institutionalization in the U.S. academy with the rise of black theology, and its continued evolution in contemporary times. The course focuses especially on pioneers in the field like W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, and Carter Woodson, and considers the rise of competing methodologies for the study of black religious cultures, which range from the historical, sociological, and anthropological and extend to the theological and literary. Special attention is given to the ways racial and religious identities have shaped and confounded scholarly efforts to interpret black religion over time even as they provided a platform for interrogating the meaning of race, nation, and the possibilities of political commitment in America. Clarence E. Hardy III

REL 705a, Race and Religion in American History This course identifies race as a central problematic in the religious history of the Americas, placing the United States in comparative hemispheric perspective in order to explore the changing and intersecting formations of racial and religious identities. We also explore the ways other categories of analysis—especially class, gender, and nation—both illumine and complicate the relationship of race and religion. Tisa J. Wenger

REL 718a, Religion in the American West This course investigates the histories of religious encounter and the formation of diverse religious identities in the American West, placing them in broader contexts of Atlantic World, Pacific World, hemispheric, and national histories. The West has played multiple roles in the nation’s imagination: a place to be conquered and controlled, a place for new beginnings (religious or otherwise), a place of perils and of opportunities. Over the course of the term we ponder the religious dimensions of each of these constructed meanings and examine their very real impact on the people and landscapes of the West. Tisa J. Wenger

REL 734b, Reformation Europe This class examines the turbulent course of the Reformation in German lands from Martin Luther’s protest until the Peace of Augsburg. The focus is on selected themes such as crucial theological issues, the nature of imperial religious politics, the development of local religious cultures in their urban and rural contexts, the radicalization of the Reformation, the emergence of theologies of political resistance, and the respective roles of print and oral media. Carlos Eire

REL 738b, Life and Thought of Jonathan Edwards This course is designed to offer students an opportunity for intensive reading in, and reflection upon, the significance of early America’s premier philosophical theologian through an examination of the writings of the Puritans, as represented primarily by Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards. Harry S. Stout, Kenneth P. Minkema

REL 740a, Martin King, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement With special emphasis on the speeches and public work of Martin King, this course considers how black religious culture, practices, and institutions helped to shape the black freedom movement of the 1950s and ’60s. We explore other figures, including Fannie Lou Hamer, James Baldwin, and Malcolm X, and consider how they shaped and challenged the role of Afro-Protestant culture in determining the moral language and political strategies associated with the civil rights movement. Throughout the course we also consider how the civil rights movement has been interpreted and how artists, activists, historians, and theologians have made use of this past in service of their own political, religious, and ideological aims. Clarence E. Hardy III

HIST 387a, West African Islam Lamin Sanneh

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Area IV: Ministerial Studies

The biblical and theological heritage of Christianity finds focus in engagement with persons and structures of the church and culture. The revelations of the Bible and theology, by their very nature, require ever-renewed lodging and expression in the ongoing life of both the church and the world. The church and the world, by their natures, require ever-renewed rooting and direction in the Christian heritage. It is a lifetime vocation to learn to discern and guide the processes of this reciprocal engagement. Area IV aspires to find guidelines and impetus for this vocation. All courses in Area IV presuppose some personal experience with the occasions of ministry. Although some Area IV courses have no prerequisites and are appropriate for entering students, students normally will wait until their second year to begin their preaching courses.

Pastoral Theology and Care

REL 807a or b, Introduction to Pastoral Theology and Care This course surveys the pastoral-theological literature that advances a “communal contextual” model of ministry. This model stresses the importance of paying attention to the historical, personal, and social contexts of pastoral care social locations, such as race, gender, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, and disability. The spirituality, self-care, and ethical accountability of religious leaders are stressed. The course is designed to foster skills in listening, communicating, caring, and teaching in diverse contexts of ministry as well as practice in pastoral-theological reflection. Teaching methods include lectures, discussion, film, case studies, student-led teaching events, small-group work, and role-playing. Mary Clark Moschella

REL 829b, Pastoral Leadership and Church Administration The course explores the practical aspects of ministry, with attention to denominational and congregational characteristics. Based on their own theological reflection, students explore approaches to various tasks of leadership and administration: planning and visioning, boards and committees, budgets, buildings and property, stewardship, time management, legal issues, church conflict, personnel management. Drawing on a variety of resources, including readings, case studies, personal experiences, and shared discussion, the course is intended to help students develop or refine their own concepts of leadership and administration to be applied in their future parishes. Martha C. Highsmith

REL 843a, Professional Seminar: Theology and Practice of Church Music In this one-credit professional seminar, ministers- and musicians-in-training consider models for shared ministry involving musicians and pastors. Using theological and musical principles outlined in class, students gain the skill and understanding needed for a sound liturgical ministry. The course is specifically designed for both musicians and theology students, helping them learn how to work together in ways that are professionally respectful and mutually enriching. Martin D. Jean, Thomas H. Troeger

REL 851b, Edward P. Wimberly: African American Pastoral Theologian This course serves as an extended introduction to the thought of Edward P. Wimberly, an influential pastoral theologian grounded in the Black Church Wesleyan tradition in the United States. This course explores the cultural and intellectual resources that continue to shape Wimberly’s work in contemporary society. The course assumes a comprehensive approach to Wimberly’s life, thought, and work, considering the role of the Black Church and the American Pastoral Counseling movement in fueling his thought. Students review his work, listen to lectures, and read articles to critically engage the trajectories of Wimberly’s contribution to the field of African American pastoral theology. The goal of the course is to discern the historical significance of Wimberly’s work for pastoral care and counseling. Elizabeth J. Walker

REL 860a, Feminist and Womanist Perspectives on Pastoral Theology and Care This seminar covers a range of feminist and womanist perspectives in pastoral theology, including third-world liberationist and postcolonial views. The course analyzes the role of social location in theology, popular culture, and pastoral practice. The material, embodied needs of diverse women are kept in focus as the class reflects upon and constructs life-giving pastoral theologies and pastoral practices. Creative expression is encouraged in presentations and projects. Mary Clark Moschella

REL 876b, Psychopathology and Pastoral Care This course brings together current medical expertise in psychopathology and substance abuse with pastoral theology and care practices. The basics of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM IV) are introduced, including the history, etiology, epidemiology, symptoms, and treatments for the major psychiatric illnesses. Films and memoirs are employed to convey an experiential understanding of the symptoms and suffering as they might present in congregations. Pastoral theological reflection and care for persons and families afflicted with these conditions are covered. Mary Clark Moschella

Preaching Ministry

REL 812a or b, Principles and Practice of Preaching This required introductory course in the theology, history, and practice of preaching is the prerequisite for all other courses in preaching. Special attention is given to biblical exposition, the congregational context, the appropriate use of experience, the development of a homiletical imagination, and engaging all the preacher’s gifts for communication. The course includes plenary presentations and small group preaching sections for which students prepare and deliver sermons. Leonora Tubbs Tisdale, Thomas H. Troeger

REL 868a, Prophetic Preaching At the heart of the witness of Hebrew and Christian Scriptures is a prophetic Word of God that preachers are called to interpret and proclaim with honesty, integrity, and compassion. In this course participants have an opportunity to explore the nature of prophetic preaching in the midst of church, nation, and world, and to reflect upon the tensions and challenges presented when the prophet is also a pastor. They explore strategies for faithful prophetic witness in the pulpit and enhance their own skills as preachers of God’s two-edged Word. Through readings, class discussion, and the preaching and critique of sermons, students wrestle with how best to “speak truth in love” from the pulpit in ways that are faithful, relevant, and transformative for local faith communities. Leonora Tubbs Tisdale

REL 870b, Women’s Ways of Preaching In this course students explore a variety of issues related to women and preaching as they are also encouraged to discover, explore, and enhance their own unique voices in the pulpit. Topics include the history of women as preachers, women and the creative process, authority in the pulpit, biblical and theological interpretation for preaching, sermon topics of special concern for women, and speech communication in the pulpit. Participants are exposed to the sermons of diverse women preachers and have the opportunity to preach two sermons in class. Leonora Tubbs Tisdale

REL 873b, Theologies of Preaching In recent decades, homileticians have increasingly turned from a focus on methods of preaching to a concern for the purposes of preaching. Why and what do we preach? How do we theologically understand the act of preaching? How is preaching something in which the gathered congregation participates? What is the interrelationship of the gospel and culture in preaching? How are our answers to these perennial questions shifting in a postmodern ethos? The course considers a number of recent works that provide a wide range of answers to these questions. Drawing upon the theological/homiletical principles that they encounter in their reading, students write brief essays, create and deliver sermons, and then critically analyze the theological character of their proclamation, seeing if it is congruent with their articulated theology of preaching. Thomas H. Troeger

Educational Ministry

REL 811a, Models and Methods of College and University Chaplaincy This course explores various approaches to college and university chaplaincy found in the United States in the twenty-first century. Drawing on a historical framework for the role of chaplaincy in the college setting from the middle of the twentieth century—when secularism became a heavier influence—and exploring the issues that confront the vocation in a pluralistic twenty-first century, the course provides an overview of strategies needed to offer a creative, current, and engaging chaplaincy in higher education. Through a series of lectures, open discussions, site visits, short chaplaincy narratives, and guest speakers, the class encounters numerous perspectives and approaches to ministry in higher education. Sharon M. K. Kugler

REL 848b, Leadership Ministry in Schools This course seeks to prepare students of all denominations for leadership positions in schools: school heads, administrators, chaplains, teachers of religion, and counselors. It begins with a consideration of “where young people are” today. Teaching about religion in secular schools—public and private—is briefly considered. Then the course turns its attention to schools with some sort of religious orientation. After studying the heritage and tradition of such schools, we consider the issues involved in leading them today. The roles of school head, chaplain (lay or ordained), and the religion teacher are considered. The difficulties and delights of educational ministry and leadership are identified and discussed. Many aspects of school life are explored, including the pedagogical, pastoral, and liturgical. Naturally, issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality are raised by readings, case studies, role-plays, simulations, and visiting practitioners. Through required field trips, the course considers the problems and opportunities involved in inner-city schools and parish day schools. F. Washington Jarvis

REL 875a, Advanced Topics in Leadership Ministry in Schools and Colleges Yale is the first divinity school to offer courses in school and college ministries at the master’s level. The academic field is, in many ways, an “emerging” one. This seminar is designed to allow students to pursue—in depth—themes raised in the introductory courses. Topics considered depend to some degree on student interest but normally include most of the following: the history of religious study and formation in schools; analysis of “where students are” today; the variety of religious schools (i.e., schools with some religious affiliation or orientation) with a variety of purposes; built-in institutional problems in religious schools; inner-city religious schools; the varieties of worship in religious schools; religious curriculum in schools; the varieties and models of college and university ministries. Issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality normally arise in connection with most of these topics and with the case studies undertaken. F. Washington Jarvis

Spirituality and Ministry

REL 835a, Meditation: East and West The seminar, just as easily named Christian Contemplative Practice, explores in a practical and theoretical manner the Christian tradition’s rich heritage of prayer complemented by selected meditation practices from Eastern religions. A unit on Buddhism within its own worldview is also included. The purpose of the course is to provide an understanding of classical and contemporary treatments of Christian prayer, as well as guided experiments with a variety of prayer modes for those who wish to enrich their own prayer lives or who are engaged in teaching prayer or facilitating the prayer of others in ministry. Janet K. Ruffing

REL 838a, John of the Cross: A Guide for Difficult Times Students explore John of the Cross’s mystical teaching on the dark nights and the development of contemplative prayer, including mystical transformation or divinization through the process of prayer and life experiences. This exploration entails a close reading of the “Spiritual Canticle,” the Living Flame of Love, the Ascent of Mount Carmel, and the Dark Night of the Soul. We not only interpret these texts within the sixteenth-century framework of John of the Cross, but also consider key contemporary applications of this teaching in relation to what some are interpreting as social experiences of dark night and impasse, and the way personal and social pain in our lives contributes to our interior transformation through participation in God. Janet K. Ruffing

REL 840b, Contemporary Christian Spirituality This course critically reflects on developments in Christian spirituality in the last forty-five years, including the vocations and role of laity, feminism, the development of the social teaching of the churches, the new cosmology, the rise of postmodernism, new understandings of spiritual practices, and multiculturalism. It provides a theoretical framework for developing one’s own spirituality in the light of these developments and an understanding of practices that support spiritual growth. Topics include definitions of spirituality, asceticism, vocational choices and commitments (including lifestyle, ministry, and work), Christian discipleship, prayer/meditation, compassion and solidarity, and sexuality and spirituality. Janet K. Ruffing

REL 841b, Women Mystics This course looks at women mystics in their historical context and in relation to a variety of critical perspectives on their mystical experience and teachings, including theologies, bodily knowing, teachings, contribution to feminism, and resistance. Students explore the contributions of a sampling of women from various lifestyles and centuries, reading them not only in their historical context but also in relation to our own times. While this course is on women mystics, it is not a course exclusively for women. Mystics to be studied include Gertrude the Great, Hadewijch of Brabant, Teresa of Avila, and Dorothee Soelle. Janet K. Ruffing

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Area V: Comparative and Cultural Studies

Courses in this area are grouped as follows: Comparative Studies: The exploration of non-Christian traditions with special emphasis upon comparative religious questions. Philosophy of Religion: The study of conceptual issues that bear upon method in theology and ethics, the philosophical clarification of religious concepts and categories, and the examination of philosophical worldviews that are alternatives to traditional Christian perspectives. Religion and the Arts: Studies concerning the nature of human imagination in visual, literary, and musical forms that have shaped the religious life and its cultural expression, both within and outside the Christian church. The inquiry is normally undertaken within the context of ministry. Study of Society: The employment of normative and social-scientific tools to comprehend and bring under ethical and theological scrutiny societal institutions (including religious ones) and ideational patterns.

Comparative Studies

REL 914a, Christian-Muslim Dialogue and Understanding Lamin Sanneh

REL 916b, World Christianity Lamin Sanneh

REL 919b, African Religions Lamin Sanneh

Philosophy of Religion

REL 907a, Theological Aesthetics This course looks at classic and contemporary readings of aesthetics and the philosophy of art as they relate to theology. The aim of this course is to understand better what the beautiful and the sublime have to do with our relation to God. John E. Hare

REL 909b, Rationality and Christian Belief The course aims to provide an in-depth introduction to contemporary debates in religious epistemology. It facilitates critical engagement with cutting-edge philosophical work, deepens students’ understanding of how theology and philosophy mutually inform one another, and provides students with opportunities to practice and improve in their philosophical thinking and writing. John Pittard

REL 921a, Does God Exist? The course introduces students to several classical and contemporary statements of arguments for and against God’s existence and to the principal ways these arguments have been contested and defended. Topics include ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments; arguments from miracles; and the problems of evil and divine hiddenness. John Pittard

REL 922b, Theological Predication and Divine Attributes The seminar acquaints students with important debates concerning the nature of God and the nature of theological language. John Pittard

REL 976a, Kant’s Philosophy of Religion This course looks at Kant’s writing in the philosophy of religion from the Critique of Pure Reason to The Conflict of the Faculties. John E. Hare

Religion and the Arts

REL 911b, Music, Ritual, and Religion in Haiti and its Diaspora This course examines Haiti’s sonic and spiritual landscapes, paying particular attention to the intersections of musical practice, religious experience, and various forms of spiritual and political power. A recurring theme is the role of music in shaping ritual, negotiating cultural identities, and sustaining transnational linkages between Haiti and the United States. Highlighting the migration of sound and ritual practice to and from the Caribbean region, we carefully consider the extent to which music, ritual, and religious practice in Haiti constitute forms of resistance in the face of sociopolitical and natural hardships. Melvin Butler

REL 912b, Music in American Religion This course introduces students to the role of music in a variety of American religious traditions and explores generally the links between spiritual experience and musical expression. Students leave the course with an enhanced understanding of American religious history, the varieties of religious experience, and the development of American vernacular music. The course is also designed to strengthen students’ skills in critical listening and introduce them to a variety of methods for analyzing the interplay between religious belief and musical practice. David Stowe

REL 928b, Sacred Places, Modern Places: Architecture, Identity, and Faith in Britain, 1851–1951 This course concentrates on a 100-year period in British history in order to pose and debate broad, challenging questions regarding the built environment, modernity, society, and faith. This course will be especially relevant to those whose research interests intersect with art history, architectural history, architectural design, hermeneutics, religious studies, theologies of sacred space, historiography, material and visual cultures, and histories of modern Europe. Its emphasis on style, aesthetics, embodiment, and sensory perception may offer broader appeal beyond its specific period and geographical span, and its method may enable refreshing cross-disciplinary dialogue. Ayla Lepine

REL 942a, The Cult of Saints in Early Christianity and the Middle Ages For all its reputed (and professed) disdain of the corporeal and earthly, Christianity lavished considerable attention and wealth on the material dimension of sainthood and the “holy” during its formative periods in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Already in the second century, Christian communities accorded special status to a select few “friends of God,” primarily martyrs put to death during Roman persecutions. Subsequently the public and private veneration of saints and their earthly remains proliferated, intensified, and became an intrinsic aspect of Christian spirituality and life in both East and West until the Reformation. In doing so, it gradually developed a theology to accommodate everything from fingers of saints to controversial and miracle-working images. This course investigates the theology, origins, and development of the cult of saints in early Christianity and the Middle Ages with special attention to its material manifestations. We combine the examination of thematic issues, such as pilgrimage and the use and function of reliquaries (both portable and architectural), with a focus on such specific cases as the evolution of the cult of the Virgin Mary. Vasileios Marinis

REL 945a, From House Churches to Medieval Cathedrals: Christian Art and Architecture from the Third Century to the End of Gothic This course examines the art associated with or related to Christianity from its origins to the end of Gothic. It analyzes major artistic monuments and movements in a variety of regions, paying particular attention to how art shapes, and is shaped by, the social and historical circumstances of the period and culture. The class considers art in diverse media, focusing on painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts. It includes trips to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Vasileios Marinis

REL 947b, Visual Fluencies: Material Arts and Western Visual Cultures of Religion, 1300–2006 This course examines the art, artifacts, and architecture of Western Europe and the United States from the early Renaissance to the present. The course offers an introductory survey of a selection of major artistic monuments and their visual cultural variations and invites students to understand and interpret these monuments in relation to religious practice and thought in historical and visual contexts. Sally M. Promey

REL 950a and b, Dante’s Journey to God This course on the Divine Comedy is a reading of the entire text in light of what it purports to be—a journey toward the vision of God. Such an approach does not mean dissolving the narrative in allegory or ignoring literary considerations in favor of theology: it means taking full account of the poem as a path with a divine destination, as a theological poem. Special interest is paid to how Dante transforms his pagan as well as Christian sources, how deeply he assimilates the Bible and its interpretative traditions, and how boldly he attempts to establish his own text as a sacred poem. Peter S. Hawkins

REL 961b, Psalms in Literature and Music This course is a study of the richness and power of the Psalter through an examination of a few key Psalms (e.g., 23, 51, 130, and 150) as literary and theological works that have had a long history in Jewish and Christian worship. We look at these scriptural texts as inspiration for a wide variety of poetic and musical compositions and artistic flowering. Students explore the relationship between scripture and art, especially in music and literature. What happens to the biblical text over time and as it is interpreted in different media? Musical works include settings by Johann Sebastian Bach, Leonard Bernstein, and Orlando di Lasso, and poetry includes works by Philip and Mary Sidney, Christopher Smart, Gerard Manley Hopkins, John Berryman & Anne Sexton, Jacqueline Osherow, Brooks Haxton, and Brad Davis. Peter S. Hawkins, Markus Rathey

REL 967a, Religion and Performance of Space This interdisciplinary seminar explores categories, interpretations, and strategic articulations of space in a range of religious traditions. In conversation with the work of theorists of space, such as Henri Lefebvre, Michel de Certeau, and Jonathan Z. Smith, the seminar examines spatial practices of religion in the United States during the modern era, including the conception, construction, and enactment of religious spaces. The course is structured around theoretical issues, including (historical) deployments of secularity as a framing mechanism, ideas about space and place, and relations between property and spirituality. Margaret Olin, Sally M. Promey

REL 981b, Visual Controversies: Religion and the Politics of Vision This interdisciplinary seminar explores the destruction, censorship, and suppression of pictures and objects, as these acts have been motivated by religious convictions and practices, in medieval Europe and the United States from colonization to the present. The course focuses most specifically on the emergence of Christian art and architecture in dialogue (or competition) with Greco-Roman religions and Islam, and on variations of Protestant Christianity. It also directs attention to case studies within Byzantine Orthodoxy, American Judaism, Islam, and Catholicism and looks to comparative situations and episodes of contention elsewhere in the world. Vasileios Marinis, Sally M. Promey

Study of Society

REL 905b, Resources for the Study of Religion Designed to help the student develop skills for identifying, retrieving, and evaluating the literature or information required for research in religious studies and/or the practice of ministry. Information about the form, function, content, and organization of specific bibliographic and reference sources in religious studies and related disciplines (with an emphasis on the Christian tradition) is set in the broader context of the history of scholarship, publishing, and libraries. Suzanne Estelle-Holmer, Paul F. Stuehrenberg

REL 931b, American Environmental History and Values This course provides an overview of major figures, ideas, and institutions in American environmentalism. The course explores the development of environmental awareness in America as distinct historical strands with diverse ethical concerns. The course begins with an examination of Native American perspectives on land and biodiversity and then focuses on writings from Thoreau and Emerson to explore early American voices in the discourse on “nature.” Readings from Pinchot, Muir, and Leopold have been selected to investigate the emergence of conservation and forest management. The beginnings of urban and park planning are considered in relation to these positions on the management of nature. Students survey the environmental movements from the 1960s onward in readings from the social sciences and humanities. The course explores the major debates in environmental ethics and the broader reach for global ethics. Writings celebrating biodiversity are examined along with the emergence of conservation biology as an example of engaged environmental scholarship. New efforts to widen the interdisciplinary approaches toward environmental issues are introduced in investigating world religions and ecology as well as cosmology and ecology. Mary Evelyn Tucker, John Grim

REL 943a, Religion, Empowerment, and the Role of Women in Nationalist Movements in the Middle East and North Africa Nationalism forms the basis of the oldest and most popular narrative used to analyze the relationship between gender, modernization, and the state in the Middle East over time. The course examines and analyzes the intersections of gender, power, and religion in Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Algeria, Morocco, and other countries through a comparative approach that considers each in its own cultural, religious, and sociopolitical context. The course explores as well the current nationalist uprising in the Middle East region and the role of gender in the call of political reforms. Analysis of the conceptualization of “feminism in Islam” can elaborate the differences between the concepts and objectives involved in the nationalist liberation women’s movements in Middle East societies and the feminist movements of the West. Sallama Shaker

REL 974a, Good News to the Poor? Theories and Practices of Evangelism This course provides a roundtable exploration of representative pre-Christendom, Christendom, and post-Christendom understanding of evangelism across a range of cultural contexts and ecclesiastical orientations, with special attention to contemporary global Christian perceptions of the what, the why, the how, the whether, and the so what of evangelism. Jonathan J. Bonk

REL 975b, Faith and Globalization This course explores a set of issues concerning the public role of religious faiths in the context of globalization. Course meetings familiarize students with the phenomena of globalization and contemporary religious faiths, explore the question of religious exclusivism in the context of a pluralistic world, and examine particular instances of social, economic, and political meeting points of faiths and public life in the world today. Miroslav Volf, Philip S. Gorski

REL 985a Religion, Globalization, Arab Awakening This seminar explores the Islamic world in the midst of an extreme makeover—political, social, and cultural—when religious and cultural diversity in the societies in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf region seem to be moving to a different rhythm in the face of local and global challenges. The course examines root causes, ideologies, and the various Islamic schools that have impacted the Arab Awakening by studying Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya. The course explores and analyzes the intermingling factors and the impact of secular versus Islamic moderate and more traditional narratives on possible future scenarios that will determine the type of governments in the region in view of the digital revolution and social media. The course explores the Turkish model, the Malaysian model, and the Indonesian model to examine pluralism in Islam and concepts of good governance. Sallama Shaker

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Additional Courses Offered

Area I

• Advanced Hebrew Poetry: Job
• Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions
• Apocalypticism: Ancient and Modern
• Approaches to Old Testament Ethics
• Biblical Theology: Walter Brueggemann and His Critics
• The Book of Ben Sira
• The Book of Daniel and Related Literature
• Character and Community in the Biblical Short Story: Jonah, Ruth, Esther
• The Composition of the Pentateuch
• Corinthian Correspondence
• Crafting Early Christian Identities
• English Exegesis: Amos and Hosea
• English Exegesis: Philippians
• English Exegesis: Revelation
• English Exegesis: Romans
• English Exegesis of Matthew
• Feminist Interpretation: A Narratological Approach to 1 and 2 Samuel
• Feminist Interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures
• Gender in Early Christianity
• Gender, Sex, and Power in the Books of Ruth and Esther
• Gospel of John and Parting of Ways
• Greek Exegesis: Acts of the Apostles
• Greek Exegesis: Mark
• Greek Exegesis: Matthew
• Greek Exegesis: Romans
• Greek Exegesis: 2nd Peter and Jude
• Hebrew Bible Seminar: Problems in the Book of Deuteronomy
• Hebrew Bible Seminar: Problems in the Book of Isaiah
• Hebrew Exegesis: Book of Judges
• Hebrew Exegesis: Jeremiah
• Hebrew Exegesis: Korahite Psalms
• Hebrew Exegesis: Leviticus
• Hebrew Exegesis: Psalms
• Hebrew Exegesis: The Book of Micah
• Hebrew Exegesis, Genesis: Women
• Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews
• Hellenistic Jewish Literature
• Historical Grammar of Biblical Hebrew
• Historical Jesus
• History and Methods of the Discipline of New Testament Studies
• History of Biblical Interpretation
• History of First-Century Palestine
• Irony and Meaning in the Hebrew Bible
• Jesus’ Death as a Saving Event
• Judaism in the Persian Period
• Living with Difficult Texts
• Martyrs and Martyrdom
• The Messiah: The Development of a Biblical Idea
• New Testament Apocrypha
• Patristic Greek
• Paul and the Spirit
• Prophecy in a Time of Crisis
• Race, Tribe, and Hue: The Politics of Race and Ethnicity in New Testament Interpretation
• Reading Joshua
• Readings in Hellenistic Judaism
• The Rise of Monotheism in Ancient Israel
• Scripture and Social Ethics
• The Sectarian Movement of the Dead Sea Scrolls
• Tradition and Ideology in the Book of Jeremiah
• What are Biblical Values?

Area II

• African American Moral and Social Thought
• African American Religious Strategies
• Anglican Theology and History I: Great Britain
• Augustine
• Black Religion in the Public Square
• Bonhoeffer and King
• Catholic Liturgy: Between Dogma and Devotion
• Christian Ethics and Social Problems
• Christian Marriage
• Christian Theology of “Other Religions”
• Christianity and Social Power
• The Churches of the East
• Contemporary Cosmology and Christian Ethics
• Contemporary German Theology
• Contemporary Theological Anthropology
• The Conversational Theology of Rowan Williams
• The Cosmic Christ: Philosophical Theology of St. Bonaventure
• Credo: Faith Prayed and Sung
• Desire and the Formation of Faith
• Environmental Theologies
• Eucharistic Prayers and Theology
• Foundational Texts in African American Theology
• Gender and Liturgical History
• God in Modern Thought
• History and Doctrine of United Methodism
• Imago Dei and Human Dignity
• In the Face of Death: Worship, Music, Art
• Liturgical Theology
• Love and Justice
• Lutheran Ethics in a Comparative Context
• Martin Luther: Life and Work
• Medieval Christology and Atonement Theory
• Medieval Theology
• Metaphors of Evil
• Music and Theology in the Sixteenth Century
• Music in Medieval Britain
• Natural Law and Christian Ethics
• Patristic Christology
• Patristic Trinitarian Theology
• Practicing Jesus: Christology and the Christian Life
• Praying What We Believe: Theology and Worship
• Process Thought
• Readings in Schleiermacher
• Reel Presence: Liturgy and Film
• Theological Ethics
• Theological Themes in the Reformed Creeds and Confessions
• Theologies of Militarization
• Theology of Athanasius
• The Theology of Plato and Aristotle
• Virtue and Hypocrisy: Moral Thought
• Worship and War
• The Worship Mall

Area III

• Buxtehude
• Chinese Protestant Christianity, 1800–2010
• Christian Spirituality in the Age of Reform
• Death and the Dead
• Finding Spirituality in Modern America
• German Reformation, 1517–1555
• Interpreting Medieval Religion
• Introduction to Transatlantic Post-Reformation Studies: Sources of Early American History
• Late Beethoven
• Music, Liturgy, and Historiography in Medieval England
• Pietism and the Origins of Evangelicalism
• Readings in American Christianity, 1870–1940
• Readings in Reformation History, Calvin, and Calvinism
• Religion in American Society, 1550–1870
• Religions and Societies in Colonized North America
• Religious Freedom in U.S. History
• Sacred Music in the Western Christian Tradition
• Sin, Penance, and Forgiveness in Early Modern Europe

Area IV

• Advanced Skills for Pastoral Care and Counseling
• Baptisms, Weddings, and Funerals
• Christian Education in the African American Experience
• Congregational Song as Resource for Preaching
• Contextual Preaching
• Creativity and the Congregation
• Discernment of Spirits through Selected Mystics
• Ethnography for Transformation
• Family Systems and Pastoral Care
• Introduction to Christian Religious Education
• Ministry and the Disinherited
• Musical Skills and Vocal Development for Parish Ministry
• Narrative Therapy: Resources for Pastoral Care
• The New Homiletic: Innovative Methods of Proclamation
• Pastoral Care and Addiction
• Pastoral Care: Death, Dying, and Bereavement
• Pastoral Care in Communities of Displacement
• The Roundtable Pulpit
• Spirituality and Religious Education
• Spirituality of Presence in the Pulpit
• Teaching the Bible in the Congregation
• Text, Memory, and Performance
• Wellsprings of Joy in the Ministry and in Life

Area V

• American Indian Religions and Ecology
• American Religious Thought and the Democratic Ideal
• The Art and Architecture of Conversion and Evangelism
• Art, Architecture, and Ritual in Early Christianity and the Middle Ages
• Biomedical Ethics in Theological Perspective
• Chinese and Japanese Christian Literature
• Christian Art and Architecture: Thirteenth–Twenty-First Century
• Christian Social Ethics
• Communicative Ethics in a Multicultural Democracy
• Covenant, Federalism, and Public Ethics
• David: Sweet Singer of Israel
• Divine Command Theory
• Environmental Ethics in Theory and Practice
• Ethics and Ecology in the Practice of Biodiversity Conservation
• Ethics and the Economy
• Gender, Religion, and Globalization: Practices, Texts, and Contexts
• Genesis: Scripture, Interpretation, Literature
• Global Ethics
• Global Ethics and Sustainable Development
• Hegel’s Philosophy of Religion
• Indigenous Religions and Ecology
• James Baldwin as Religious Writer and Social Critic
• Jewish Space
• Kierkegaard’s Philosophy of Religion
• Late-Medieval English Drama
• Material Sensations: Sense and Contention in Material Religious Practice
• Milton
• Philosophy of Religion
• Political Economy of Misery
• Religion, Middle East Politics, and Conflict Resolution
• Religious Lyric in Britain
• Religious Themes in Contemporary Fiction: Short Story
• Ritual, Hermeneutics, and Performance Art
• Spiritual Autobiography
• What’s in a Text?: Charles Long’s Significations
• What’s in a Text?: Huntington
• Witnessing, Remembrance, Commemoration
• Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Religion
• World Religion and Ecology: Asian Religions

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