Schedule of Courses

Spring 2004 Classes
for the Certificate in Sexuality and Religion

Constructive Theology and LGBT Experience II — STFT-2896 (1.5)
Online Course — Instructor: Jay E. Johnson

This is an online continuation of Constructive Theology and LGBT Experience I, offered during the January Intersession term. Further consideration of the intersections of sexuality, sexual desire, spirituality, and religious experience offers constructive contributions from LGBT people to Christian Theology. Course is designed for Certificate in Sexuality & Religion students.

Prerequisite: Constructive Theology and LGBT Experience I; Faculty written permission required.

Homosexuality & Christianity II — HS-3577 (1.5)
Online Course — Instructor: Bernard Schlager

This is an online continuation of Homosexuality & Christianity II, offered during the January Intersession term. Historical survey of attitudes toward homosexuality from early Christianity to present day. Reading and research work. Course is designed for Certificate in Sexuality & Religion students.

Prerequisite: Homosexuality & Christianity I; Faculty written permission required.

Teaching the Bible and Sexuality — BSED-3120 (3.0)
Tuesdays, 6:00pm to 9:00pm — Instructor: Mary A. Tolbert

This workshop-style course will help students develop plans and expertise for teaching Bible studies or workshops within their own faith communities on issues related to the Bible and sexual orientation/gender identity/sexual ethics. The course will not only outline the particular issues and questions that need to be addressed in such contexts but also discuss the elements of good teaching and the process of course planning and layout.

Students will be given the opportunity to practice some of their learning in front of the class for evaluation and feedback. Requirements include oral presentations, critical review papers, and a completed course plan for presenting the material in a particular setting.

Prerequisite: OT 1115 or its equivalent; OR NT 1016 or its equivalent; 15 max enrollment — PSR:6.

Ethical Issues in Queer Studies — CERS 2850 (1.5; no prerequisites)
Online Course — Instructor: Mary E. Hunt

This online course will focus on the various ethical issues that emerge in queer studies in religion. It will include, but not be limited to, the problems of heterosexism and homohatred, the economics of queer life, and racism and sexism as they relate to queer issues. Specific attention will be paid to the challenges to gender categories occasioned by transgender persons, the range of sexual ethics abroad in queer communities, and the sources used to develop ethical analysis from various religious perspectives.

Students will engage in reading, research, discussion, and projects on queer ethical issues. A research paper will demonstrate proficiency. Students from the GTU schools and beyond are welcome to enroll.

Computer novices are welcome. Basic computer and Internet skills are required, mainly for research and reading online, as well as for regular communication via Blackboard with the professor and other students.

Among the issues we will discuss are the following:

1. How does taking seriously transgender people change the foundations of much religious LGBTQ activism?
2. What can we say about sexual ethics when gender roles are so fluid?
3. How does feminism inform the new conversations taking place among queer people of faith?
4. Can we make any normative ethical claims in the sexual arena once heterosexism is de-centered?
5. What is "good sex" and how do we encourage its proliferation in an unjust society?
6. How can religious LGBTQ people be useful in the larger LGBTQ community with regard to sexual ethics?

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