(3 semester hours)
Location: JRL 509
Office Location: 21 Peabody
Hall.
Email (preferred
method of communication): rouslane@uga.edu
Course Description:
The course will explore the relationship of theology to a wide spectrum of contemporary cultural issues in North America and worldwide. Our discussions will be organized under three major rubrics: 1) theological attempts to deal with the challenges of science and philosophy; 2) theological responses to socio-political issues, such as sexism, racism, classism, colonialism, pluralism, and environmental crisis; 3) issues in the ethics of the good life: human quest for meaning and fulfillment; 4) theological reflections on popular culture (film, music, advertisement, etc.)
In connection to the above, we
will pursue the following questions: What are some elements and characteristics
of contemporary culture that are vitally relevant to theology? What are the
nature and tasks of theology in relation to culture? How do theologians reshape their inherited religious
traditions in light of contemporary issues and challenges? How do they venture to influence
culture, to transform its problematic aspects? How does culture serve as the arena and medium for the human
search for meaning and ultimate fulfillment?
Undergraduate prerequisite: Junior or senior standing or permission of
department.
Expected Learning
Outcomes:
1. A more
adequate grasp of the categories of theology and culture and their complex interrelations.
2. A greater understanding of some important cultural
forces and issues confronting theologians today and their attempts to answer
those challenges
3. Increased ability for critical analysis and insightful
thinking.
4. Improved scholarly writing skills
5. Improved oral communication skills
6. Enhanced skills in collaborative learning
Students’ Own Objectives
(here you are
encouraged to formulate your own aims if different from the above). Make sure
to communicate these to the instructor, and, if appropriate, he will do his
best to help you meet your individual objectives):
Required Texts
I. Books
(available at the University Bookstore):
1) David
Ray Griffin, Two Great Truths: A New Synthesis of Scientific Naturalism and
Christian Faith (Louisville,
KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2004)
[TGT]
2)
Rebecca S. Chopp and Mark Lewis Taylor, eds. Reconstructing Christian
Theology (Minneapolis,
MN: Fortress Press, 1994). [RCT]
3) Hermann
Hesse, Siddhartha
(NY: Bantam Books, 1971) [S]
4) Craig Detweiler and Barry Taylor, A Matrix of Meanings:
Finding God in Popular Culture (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003) [MM]
II. Article (will be
delivered electronically):
Jennie S. Knight, “The Black Madonna, Mary Magdalene, and the
Goddess: Re-mythologizing the Divine Feminine in The Secret Life of Bees and The DaVinci Code”
III. Instructor’s notes (PowerPoint and Word documents) (posted
on listserv throughout the semester)
Always bring the assigned
readings to class (print out the electronic articles and instructor’s notes)!
Required technical base:
1) You should have access to
and have the ability to open and navigate Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
documents
2) You should have an
operational UGA e-mail account for the duration of this course. Keep your
e-mail storage space uncluttered so that you could receive Word and PowerPoint
documents from me without glitches.
The instructor will create the listserv from the e-mail addresses listed
on the enrollment sheet during the second week of classes.
Always bring the assigned
readings to class (print out the instructor’s notes)!
Course Requirements:
Note: if you are taking
this class as a 6000-level course or for Honors credit, you would need to do
extra work in addition to the requirements below. See instructor for details
I. Midterm Exam (40 points)
The
goal is to test your grasp of key concepts and issues. It will consist of
true-false, multiple-choice, short answer, fill-in-the-blank types of
questions. The exam is scheduled
for Monday, October 8.
II. Final Exam (40 points)
Same
as above, except it will cover topics or issues discussed in the second half of
the semester. Scheduled for the
week of finals (time TBA)
III.
Class participation and attendance (20 points total; 20% of the final grade): This
class is not lecture-only. Research shows that students learn best when they
engage in active learning.
Therefore your active involvement is important and will include the following three
components:
1. Attendance (10 points)
Occasionally,
I will pass around an attendance sheet (of that day and hour no one knows except
Dr. E!)
With
every missed class for any reason other than documented severe or infectious
illness, medical emergency or UGA-required athletic trips, you will lose 1 out
of your 15 participation points until all 10 points are used up. No exceptions.
Note, however, that you are entitled to 2 free absences per semester without
penalty, for whatever reason (yes, even if you decide to go see a movie or take
a nap).
Other reasons to attend: Poor attendance may affect your ability to write
quality exams, as the missed discussions and lectures can prevent you from
grasping the issues adequately.
Secondly, you will miss out on the invaluable experience of exploring
important human questions with your peers. Finally, good education always
involves “moments of transformative insight” – moments when you suddenly
realize the material’s relevance to you, or discover some new connection, or find an illuminating piece of
information, or have an “aha!” experience, or learn a new way of looking at
things. These moments are often stimulated by mutual interaction with other
students and the teacher. Therefore, your asking questions, responding to the
material in class, and participating in discussions are crucial for effective
learning.
2. Leading a small group discussion (5
points). Every student will lead/facilitate a discussion in a small
(5-6 students), informal learning group that will be formed occasionally during
class. The groups will be assigned specific tasks in relation to the course
material. Guidelines for small group discussions and responsibilities of the
facilitators will be provided. Note that this assignment will include a written
part: the leaders will be expected to submit a typed, 2- page, double-spaced
report about their group discussion due at the next class following the
discussion.
3.
Participation in a group project and presentation (5 pts).
Details TBA
IMPORTANT: All academic work
must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty." All
students are responsible to inform themselves about those standards before
performing any academic work. See
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/culture_honesty.htm
Grading Scale (100% =
100 pts)
92-100 A 90-91.9 A-
88-89.9 B+ 82-87.9 B 80-81.9 B-
78-79.9 C+ 72-77.9
C
70-71.9 C-
60-69.9 D
0-59.9 F
Consultation: I welcome the opportunity to talk with you about your
academic
interests, the course assignments, and your experience in this class during my
office hours or by appointment. Half-way through the semester, you also will
have a chance to suggest ways of making the course a more enriching experience
for you through an anonymous midterm course evaluation. This way, I will be able to make the needed
changes during the semester. Your suggestions and feedback are always welcome
and will be taken seriously
to the class by
the instructor may be necessary. Class
discussions can unexpectedly take us to greater depths and lengths and therefore
require more time than planned. For this reason I have opted against providing
a detailed reading schedule in the syllabus (we will deviate from it anyway),
except for the first two weeks. Prior to each class I will provide you with study questions
and specific page numbers for the readings. We will start with Griffin’s book. Although we won’t get to
our novel Siddhartha until after
the Midterm, I encourage you to start reading it early. For a list of topics, see course
description above. We will cover them in that order.
Aug 20 TGT preface; TGT 1-13 (up to second paragraph).
Aug 22 TGT 13-26.
Aug
24 Review
IMPORTANT DATES:
|
Drop/Add for undergraduate level courses (1000 – 5999) |
Aug. 16 – Aug. 21 |
Thursday-Tuesday |
|
|
|
|
|
Holiday(Labor Day) |
Sept. 4 |
Monday |
|
Midterm in this class |
Oct. 8 |
Wednesday |
|
Midpoint Withdrawal Deadline |
Oct. 12 |
Friday |
|
Fall Break |
Oct. 25 – 26 |
Thursday – Friday |
|
Holiday (Thanksgiving) |
Nov. 21-23 |
Wednesday – Friday |
|
Classes Resume |
Nov. 26 |
Monday |
|
Classes End |
Dec. 6 (note that this week we have classes on M,T,W) |
Thursday |
THE FINAL EXAM WILL TAKE
PLACE THE WEEK OF FINALS (TIME TBA)