Summer 2019/Online
MD556
Ryan
MD556: ORPHAN CARE APPROACHES: A SPECTRUM OF RESPONSES FOR CHILDREN OUTSIDE OF PARENTAL CARE (4 Units: 162 hours). Sheryl J. Ryan.
DESCRIPTION: In response to children separated from parental care, Christians frequently become involved with children’s homes and adoption. Virtually every church in the United States supports an orphanage or children's home somewhere, and adoption ministries are growing. The limitations of orphanages as a child welfare model and difficulties with transnational, transracial adoption have been clearly demonstrated. This class offers a safe yet intellectually rigorous environment for Christians to engage with diverse experiences and perspectives about responses to children outside of parental care. Students will examine theoretical and cultural approaches, as well as biblical understandings related to care for separated children. Through readings, assignments, and online interactions, students will learn about various models on the spectrum of care to include: prevention, reunification, kin care, foster care, community based care, forms of adoption, and residential care.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to: (1) critically articulate the potential strengths and difficulties of different models of care for children who have been separated from their primary caregivers, either temporarily or permanently; (2) critically articulate challenges associated with race and childhood as dimensions of social power that impact approaches to working with children and families; (3) describe the relationship between responsibility toward children outside of parental care and roles of the church; and (4) engage in tactful, constructive critique of current initiatives working with children separated from their primary caregivers that engenders the development of professional relationships.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.
REQUIRED READING: 1,000 total number of pages required.
Books
Bowie, Fiona, ed. Cross-Cultural Approaches to Adoption. Routledge, 2004. ISBN: 0-415-30351-6, Pub. Price $51.15. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [50 pp. assigned].
Corbett, Steve and Brian Fikkert. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself. Moody Publishers, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-8024-5705-9, Pub. Price $13.59. Available in hard copy from the Fuller Library, and from Google Play for $7.06. [150 pages assigned].
Emerson, Michael and Christian Smith. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, 2000. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-514707-0, Pub. Price $17.12. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [100 pages assigned].
Perry, Samuel. Growing God’s Family: The Global Orphan Care Movement and the Limits of Evangelical Activism. New York University Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-4798-0305-7, Pub. Price $30.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [200 pages assigned].
Rah, Soong Chan. The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity. InterVarsity Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-8308-3360-3, Pub. Price $13.92. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [100 pp. assigned].
Zelizer, Viviana. Pricing the Priceless Child: The Changing Social Value of Children. Princeton University Press, 1994. ISBN: 0-691-03459-1, Pub. Price $34.94. Available in hard copy from the Fuller Library [50 pages assigned].
Course eReader
An additional 350 pages of reading material, to include journal articles available through the Fuller online library resources and electronically available public reports, is assigned. Details are provided on the course syllabus.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the C5 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MATM Programs (Fall 2015). Option to meet requirement for the Children at Risk emphasis.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.