GTU Courses of Interest

Concerns specific to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities intersect with a wide range of issues in religious and theological studies. In addition to the courses designed specifically to fulfill requirements for the Certificate in Sexuality and Religion (CSR), there are many other courses offered by the member schools of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) that deal with such intersecting concerns as race and ethnicity, feminism, cultural contextualization and religious history. (For a list of courses fulfilling requirements for the CSR, please go to the CSR Schedule of Courses page on this site.)

CLGS recommends in particular the following GTU courses offered in upcoming semesters. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but illustrative of the types of courses available at the GTU for dealing with the many overlapping and intersecting concerns in LGBT communities. In consultation with the CSR Coordinator, some of these courses may fulfill requirements for the CSR, but this must be decided on a case-by-case basis.

For more information on the following courses, consult the GTU website.

Fall 2004 Courses

History and Theology of the Modern Church — HSST-2189
Instructor: Jay Emerson Johnson

This survey course aims to acquaint students with the historical and theological dimensions of Western Christian churches in Europe, Britain, and North America from 1492 until the 1960s. The focus will be on how individuals, groups, ethnically diverse movements and churches have developed within and responded to particular cultural and historical contexts nd shape the setting in which we operate today. The course aims to emphasize the development of the Episcopal Church and the contributions of women, African American, Spanish-Speaking and Asian-American Christians. Four brief essays and a web page. [Previous courses in early, medieval, and reformation periods are recommended; 35 max enrollment; Auditors with permission of Faculty]

Women and Religious Institutions in the 19th and 20th Centuries — HS-2584
Instructor: A. Russell

A historical survey of the relationship of women to American religious institutions. This course will be structured around the following themes: the creation by women of "parallel" church structures; efforts by women to gain voting rights and elective offices in existing church structures; how women integrate religious pratice with social reform to create new solutions to societal problems; women's ordination. We will also examine how these themes change both women's relationships to church institutions as well as how change is effected within the institutions themselves through history. Format: Lecture/ Discussion/ Presentation of Research. Evaluation: attendance, participation in discussion, research paper.

Race, Racism and the UU Idea — HSRS-4035
Instructor: Sanyika

The first half of the course will examine the construct of race and the practices of racism as influenced by aspects of the religious paradigm of the Western Christian tradition. The second half of the course will be a case study examination of how the religious culture of Unitarian Universalism has responded to race and racism both historically and in the modern era. The Black Power struggle within Unitarian Universalism during the 1960's will provide a database for part of this examination. Models of progressive religious responses to race and racism will also be examined. [15 max enrollment; Auditors excluded] The course meets the first half of the semester from 9/7/04 to 10/19/04.

Black/Womanist Theology — ST-2462
Instructor: George Cummings

The purpose of this course is to examine the relationship between black theology and womanist theology in the context of the religious and cultural texts of the African-American experience and to investigate their respective contributions to the development of constructive contemporary theological statements. A class presentation and research paper will be required. [25 max enrollment. Auditors with permission of Faculty.]

Intersections: Black Women Novelists — STCE-2468
Instructors: Morris and Danner-McDonald

How have African American women writers, and the characters they develop, responded to injustice/s and oppression/s. This seminar explores the fiction of Alice Walker (The Color Purple and The Temple of my Familiar) and Toni Morrison (Beloved and Love) and considers the various, the overlapping, and sometimes contentious intersections of race, ethnicity, womanism and ecofeminism within the fields of ethics, theology, and postcoloniality. Format: Student-led ritual/s, presentations, discussion and lecture. Evaluation: Journal, final paper (relevant to your ministry or course theme) and presentation (may be poetic, visual, musical, dance/movement), depending on participants learning/teaching style, intro to theology; intro to theology; intro to feminist theology & ethics recommended. Co-taught by doctoral students, Bea Morris & Kerry Danner-McDonald, with a Newhall Award under the supervision of Prof. Rosemary Ruether. [15 max enrollment]

Feminist Theology in North America — STHS-4538
Instructor: Rosemary Ruether

This course focuses on current feminist theologies in North America including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Wiccan. [25 max enrollment]

Feminisms: Visions and Actions — RS-4588
Instructor: C. Fischer

This course offers a critical approach to the western movements of feminism, particulary as issues of theoretical, ethical, religious and political life have been shaped by certain actors in the United States over the past century and a half. Our readings and discussions will focus on realities of violence, leadership, caring and institutional change with special attention to how issues of racism and classism intersect with feminism. [15 max enrollment; Auditors excluded]

Spring 2005 Courses

Interpreting Sacred Texts — NTOT-1709
Instructors: Mary Tolbert and Jeffrey Kuan

This course, building upon the historical, socio-cultural, and religious background provided in the fall course OTNT-1708, will focus on various hermeneutical and exegetical readings of the biblical texts. Processes and differences in Canon will be stressed. Themes will be chosen to help focus the readings from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and other textual traditions, such as the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic literature. A non-Christian textual tradition may be utilized on occasion for interfaith comparisons. Discussion sections will focus on the different approaches to biblical interpretation and their applications. One 3-hour lecture + one 1.5 hour discussion section.

Feminist and Womanist Theologies — STCE-2999

In this course we will move beyond the presupposition that there is a universal woman by examining the differences between feminist and womanist theologies. By reading the works of Harriet Jacobs, Barbara Hilkert Andolsen, Mary Daly, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Katie G. Cannon, Delores Williams, and others, and by examining the figures of Hagar, Mary, and Sojourner Truth, we will move toward a new Christian theology of women as raced. Requirements include class participation, short weekly papers, a five-page midterm and a ten-page final paper.

Feminist Theologies in the Third World — STHS-4233
Instructor: Rosemary Ruether

This course will study emerging feminist theologies in Christianity in Latin America, Asia and Africa. [25 max enrollment; Faculty written permission required]

American Religion Today — RS-2725
Instructor: Bill McKinney

The Protestant, Catholic and Jewish groups that for generations understood themselves as defining the American "center" now find themselves challenged from the right by resurgent fundamentalisms and from the left by aggressive secularism. This course explores the cultural, demographic and theological reasons behind religious and social changes in the United States today and practical options for faith communities. It is especially useful for international students and others who are new to American religious life.

Religion and Cultural Analysis — RSCE-3178
Instructor: Jerome Baggett

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the complicated ways in which religious ideas and groups both shape and are shaped by broader cultural contexts. While undertaking this overall task, the course will attend to two more specific concerns. First, it will focus on various religious "families" (i.e. Catholicism, Mainline Protestantism and Evangelicalism, Judaism, the "Black Church," the New Age Movement, etc.) in order to gain a better understanding of them as well as of their unique internal cultures. Second, in investigating these "families," it will introduce and employ various theoretical perspectives vis-a-vis cultural analysis such that students can become better equipped to be more astute observers of religion as it is lived out in the United States and elsewhere. These theoretical perspectives will include: structural analysis (e.g. based upon race/ethnicity, class, gender, etc.); subcultural theory; rational choice theory; symbolic interactionism; and popular culture analysis. Format: lecture and discussion sessions. Requirements: class participation, short papers, and written final. This course meets the requirements of both a foundational and praxis course in the JSTB M.Div. curriculum. [20 max enrollment]

Sex and Sensibility — PS-4258
Instructor: Gary Pence

Theological and psycho-social exploration of human sexuality as intrinsic to the divine-human connection and as one of the great arenas for celebrating the Source of Life, with implications for our understandings of major religious teachings about God, human nature, sin, salvation, history, and eschatology. While sex is commonly affirmed as God's good creation, many religious people still learn to fear, despise, trivialize, and be ashamed of their bodies and sexual functions. This course will address the relationship of sex and religion, biblical and historical development of Christian views of sex, attitudes toward the body and sexual shame, alternative sexualities, sexual disorders, dysfunctions, and abuse. Development of personal sexual credo and strategies to foster wholesome embrace of sexuality as a core element of human identity. Lectures/discussion/small groups/movies. Readiness to use GTU Blackboard online required. [30 max enrollment; Auditors excluded]

Women, Faith and Identity through Narrative — ED-4260
Instructor: Mai-Anh Tran

This course is an invitation to an examination and analysis of the "narrative principle" in women's identity construction and formation of faith/spirituality, resourcing various forms of narrative accounts such as oral histories, autobiographies, and life history interviews, and attending particularly to diverse representations across race, ethnicity, age, class, and sexual orientation. Broad categories for analysis, through a narrative lens, include the intersection of gender, race, class, and political economy; gender roles and relations; the history and contexts of immigration (for ethnic minority women); and religion and spirituality, as expressed through women's self-narrations and through dominant discourses. Implications will be drawn for theological education and ministry. Seminar participation includes papers, presentations. [Previous course in ST and/or ED a plus]

Gay and Lesbian Spirituality in Christianity — SP-1915
Instructor: Richard Hardy

Lectures and discussion will focus on the reality of a Lesbian and Gay Christian Spirituality. We will determine similarities and differences between Human and Christian Spiritualities before looking at the experience of Gay Men and Lesbians as regards their spirituality and Christianity. Asking what empowers the gay Christian to affirm one's authenticity requires an examination of body-sexuality issues and spirituality; relationship and/or marriage; contexts of loss and marginalization; the nurturing of a gay Christian Spirituality and other elements which affirm the Lebian and Gay Man in an alternative spirituality. Some classes will be in seminar form. Readings and participation in discussion required. Evaluation based upon two brief papers and examination. [12 max enrollment.]

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