Winter 2017/Pasadena
TC864/564
Dyrness
TC864/564: A THEOLOGY OF BEAUTY (4 Units: 200 hours; 6 Units: 360 hours). William Dyrness.
DESCRIPTION: This is a 6-unit doctoral seminar, also offered at the 500-level as a 4-unit course open to a limited number of master’s level students by special permission. Ideas of beauty were in eclipse for much of the 20th century, but have received renewed attention recently. In this course students will explore historical, philosophical, biblical, theological and cultural understandings of beauty with the goal of understanding the role of beauty in theology and the Christian life.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: That students (1) practice a close reading of primary sources in order to articulate and analyze the various arguments; (2) understand a spectrum of theological and cultural traditions relating to a theology of beauty and be able to locate their cultural, historical, biblical, and philosophical rootage; (3) be able to assess critically and imaginatively the central issues and options present when developing a constructive theology of beauty so as to see its role in worship and the Christian life.
COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three-hour sessions 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.
REQUIRED READING: updated 12/08/16
Aristotle. Poetics. Dover, 1997, or any edition. ISBN: 978-0486295770, Pub. Price: $2.25. [64 pages]
Carnes, Natalie. Beauty: A Theological Engagement with Gregory of Nyssa. Cascade: 2014. ISBN: 978-1625645845, Pub. Price: $34.00. [282 pages]
Danto, Arthur. The Abuse of Beauty. Carcus, 2003. ISBN: 978-0812695403, Pub. Price: $24.95. [191 pages]
Eco, Umberto. Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages. Yale University Press, 1986. ISBN: 978-2912282675, Pub. Price: $12.95. [144 pages]
Evdokimov, Paul. The Art of the Icon: A Theology of Beauty, Oakwood, 2012. ISBN: 978-0961854546, Pub. Price: $19.02. [353 pages]. Available as ebook, or used (on Amazon).
González-Andrieu, Cecilia. Bridge to Wonder: Art as a Gospel of Beauty. Baylor, 2012. ISBN: 978-1602583511, Pub. Price: $29.95. [250 pages]
Lane, Belden. Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformation Spirituality, Oxford, 2011. ISBN: 978-0199755080, Pub. Price: $33.95. [328 pages]
Milbank, John, et. al Theological Perspectives on Art and Beauty, Trinity, 2003. ISBN: 978-1563384141, Pub. Price: $32.95 [98 pages]
Sorett, Josef. Spirit in the Dark: A Religious History of Racial Aesthetics. Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-0199844937, Pub. Price $34.95.
Urs von Balthasar, Hans. The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics. Vol. I. Ignatius Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0898702477, Pub. Price: $44.95. [666 pages]
Taylor, David. For the Beauty of the Church, Baker, 2010. ISBN: 978-0801071911, Pub. Price: $15.99. [208 pages]
Voss Roberts, Michelle. Taste of the Divine: Hindu and Christian Theologies of Emotion, Fordham, 2014. ISBN: 978-0823257393, Pub. Price: $28.00. [296 pages]
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Art in Action: Toward a Christian Aesthetic. Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN: 978-0802818164, Pub. Price: $26.00. [250 pages]
RECOMMENDED READING (further recommended reading on the syllabus):
Brown, Frank Burch. Religious Aesthetics. Princeton University Press, 1989. ISBN: 978-0691024721, Pub. Price: $52.00. [ISBN 0-691-02472 ;].
Hart, David Bentley. The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth. Eerdmans, 2003. ISBN: 978-0802812544, Pub. Price: $42.00.
Scarry, Elaine. On Beauty and Being Just. Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN: 978-0691089591, Pub. Price: $19.95.
Seerveld, Calvin. Rainbows for the Fallen World. Radix, 1980. ISBN: 978-0919071001, Pub. Price: $30.30.
Sherry, Patrick. Spirit and Beauty: An Introduction to Theological Aesthetics. Clarendon, 2002. 2nd Ed. ISBN: 978-0334028659, Pub. Price: $35.00.
Treier, T., J. M. Husbands & R. Lundin, eds. The Beauty of God: Theology & the Arts. IVP Academic, 2007. ISBN: 978-0830828432, Pub. Price: $25.00.
Viladesau, Richard. Theological Aesthetics: God in Imagination, Beauty, and Art. Oxford, 1999. ISBN: 978-0199959761, Pub. Price: $31.95.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
3,000 total pages of required reading for 800-level; 2,000 total pages for 500-level. [This is related to learning outcome #1]. [200 hours/135 hours].
Three class presentations (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [40 hours. Includes 10 DLA hours as preparation for in-class presentation].
A major paper based on presentations in class and rewritten on the basis of discussion in class [25-30 pp./18-20 for masters students]. (90%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [90 hours/40 hours].
Participation in class discussion will be a secondary factor in the final grade, especially as evidence of having done the reading. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, #2, #3].
PREREQUISITES: For master’s level students: permission of the instructor.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH5 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Option to meet requirement in the Theology and the Arts emphasis; the Worship and Music Ministry emphasis; and the Worship, Theology and the Arts emphasis.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.