Winter 2020/Fuller Live

Pasadena & Houston

ST510

Bantu

ST510: INTRODUCTION TO BLACK THEOLOGY (4 Units: 160 hours). Vince L. Bantu

DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to introduce students to the field of Black Theology with a keen interest in the role of blackness in theological discourse. The course will provide a survey of the concept of blackness among African and African-descended people across the history of the Christian faith. The differences and similarities of black women and black men across historical and geographical context will be given special consideration. Special emphasis will be placed upon the global diversity and Pan-African commonality of Black people in the various theological constructions of blackness across the Christian tradition.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: The primary objectives of this course are for students to (1) embrace a biblical theology of Blackness; (2) deepen understanding of and commitment to Black communities ; (3) gain an introduction to the diverse approaches to Black theology across Christian traditions (4) appreciate the nuances of Black theology as represented from the perspectives of black women and black men across a variety of historical and cultural circumstances; and (5) become further equipped in serving Black communities through Gospel-based ministry.

RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES: Addresses MDiv PLO4 and MAT/MATM PLO2 “ Students will have demonstrated capacities for historically informed theological and ethical reflection,” and MAICS Area of Interest Class PLO4 “Students will have demonstrated capacities to pursue vocations that engage the mission of God globally.”

COURSE FORMAT: This course meets on four Saturdays [January 18 and February 8, 2020 in Houston and January 25 and February 22, 2020 in Pasadena] for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.When the professor is not physically present on a particular campus, students at that campus will participate via live, interactive audio/video link in the classroom.

REQUIRED READING: ca. 1,100 pages required.

Beckford, Robert. Jesus Is Dread: Black Theology and Black Culture in Britain (Darton, Longman & Todd, 1998). ISBN: 978-1610975131, Pub. Price: $27.00 [pp.102-164, 63 pages].

Bradley, Anthony B. Liberating Black Theology: The Bible and the Black Experience in America (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2010). ISBN: 978-1433511479, Pub. Price: $19.99. [pp. 121-192, 72 pages].

Byron, Gay. Symbolic Blackness and Ethnic Difference in Early Christian Literature (New York, NY: Routledge, 2002). ISBN: 978-0415243698, Pub. Price: $44.95. [pp. 1-32; 139-178, 73 pages].

Cone, James H. God of the Oppressed (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1997). ISBN: 978-1570751585, Pub. Price: $24.00. [pp. 77-178, 102 pages].

Cruz, Samuel. Masked Africanisms: Puerto Rican Pentecostalism (Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2005). ISBN: 978-0757521812, Pub. Price $65.00. [pp. 44-92, 49 pages].

Erksine, Noel Leo. Plantation Church: How African American Religion Was Born in Caribbean Slavery (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014). ISBN: 978-0195369137, Pub. Price: $29.95. [pp. 32-119, 88 pages].

Oduyoye, Mercy Amba. Introducing African Women's Theology (Pilgrim Press, The/United Church Press 2001). ISBN: 978-0829814231, Pub. Price: $17.00 [pp. 22-77, 56 pages].

Sadler, Rodney Steven Jr. Can A Cushite Change His Skin? An Examination of Race, Ethnicity, and Othering in the Hebrew Bible (New York, NY: T&T Clark, 2005). ISBN: 978-0567027658, Pub. Price: $ 57.95. [1-20; 59-121; 146-152, 91 pages].

Williams, Delores S. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993). ISBN: 978-1626980389, Pub. Price: $26.00. [pp. 15-31; 54-74; 127-207, 119 pages].

Available on Canvas (388 pages):

Allen, Richard. The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen (Scotts Valley,

CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015). [pp. 13-19, 7 pages].

Boesak, Allan A. Black and Reformed: Apartheid, Liberation, and the Calvinist Tradition (Eugene, OR:

Wipf & Stock, 1984), [pp. 1-19, 20 pages].

Copeland, M. Shawn. "Theology at the Crossroads: A Meditation on the Blues," in Uncommon

Faithfulness: The Black Catholic Experience, ed. M. Shawn Copeland, LaReine-Marie Mosely &

Albert J. Raboteau, 97-107 (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009). [11 pages].

de Lima Silva, Silvia Regina. "Black Latin American Theology: A New Way to Sense, to Feel, and to Speak of God," in Black Faith and Public Talk: Critical Essays on James H. Cone's Black Theology and Black Power, ed. Dwight N. Hopkins, 190-204 (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007). [15 pages].

Dube, Musa W. "Decolonizing White Western Readings of Matthew 15:21-28," in Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation of the Bible (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2000). [pp. 157-196, 40 pages].

Durkin, Hannah. "Finding Last Middle Passage Survivor Sally 'Redoshi' Smith on the Page and Screen," in Slavery and Abolition (2019): 1-28. [29 pages].

Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavo Vassa, the African, Written by Himself (Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014). [pp. 189-206, 18 pages].

Galawdewos, The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros, ed. Wendy Laura Belcher & Michael Kleiner (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2015). [pp. 115-133, 19 pages].

Grant, Jacquelyn. White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus: Feminist Christology and Womanist Response. (The American Academy of Religion, 1989). [pp. 195-230, 36 pages].

Jennings, Willie James. The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2011). [pp 119-140, 22 pages].

Kebra Nagast, ed. E.A. Wallis Budge (Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014). [pp. 125-148, 24 pages].

Malgorzata Martens-Czarnecka. "Wall Paintings Discovered in Dongola in the 2004 Season," In Polish Archaeology In the Mediterranean 16 (2005): 273-284. [12 pages].

Mbiti, John S. African Religions and Philosophy, 2nd Ed. (Oxford: Heinemann Publishers, 1989). [pp. 223-236, 14 pages].

Roberts, J. Deotis. Liberation and Reconciliation: A Black Theology, 2nd Ed. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005). [pp. 1-21, 22 pages].

Sancho, Ignatius. Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African (London: J. Nichols, 1784). [pp. 15-32, 18 pages].

Shenoute of Atripe, As We Began to Preach, in Selected Discourses of Shenoute the Great: Community, Theology, and Social Conflict in Late Antique Egypt, ed. David Brakke & Andrew Crislip, 183-192 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015). [10 pages].

Swan, Laura. The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2001). [pp. 32-52, 21 pages].

Thornton, John K. "The Correspondence of the Kongo Kings, 1614-35: Problems of Internal Written Evidence on a Central African Kingdom," in Paideuma 33 (1987): 407-421. [15 pages].

__________________. The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1706 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). [pp. 105-128, 24 pages].

Wheatley, Phyllis. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (New York, NY: Cosmo Classics, 2005). [pp. 26-36, 11 pages].

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

1. Reading (30%): Students will read approximately 1,100 pages of reading which will be discussed in class meetings. This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4. [55 hours].
2. Participation (20%): Attendance at the scheduled class meetings and active participation in class discussions and directed-learning activities will be required. This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4. [30 hours].
3. Sankofa Paper (10%): Students will prepare a 5-page paper focusing on the historical development of the concept of Blackness and its theological articulation in Christian history. This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes 1 and 2. [15 hours].
4. Congregational Visit - DLA (15%): Students will choose a predominately Black congregation to visit and will conduct an interview with one of the church leaders focusing on the church's theological understanding of Blackness. Results will be reported in a 3-page paper. This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes 2 and 4. [15 hours, including 10 hours of DLAs].
5. Haymanot Paper (10%): Students will prepare a 5-page paper exploring various strands of contemporary Black theology and assessing their viability for the ministry of the Black Church. This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes 2 and 3. [15 hours].
6. Group Project - Signature Assignment (15%): Students will prepare a group project focusing on a biblical theology of Blackness. The projects will explore the Scriptures' view of Blackness and groups will share their reflections with the class through oral and/or artistic presentations. This assignment is related to Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4. [30 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH4 or the C5 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MAT Programs.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.