Summer 2017/New York City
TC517
Johnson
TC517: THEOLOGICAL METHOD FOR WORSHIP AND THE ARTS (4 Units: 160 Hours). Todd E. Johnson.
DESCRIPTION: This course introduces the students to a methodology that will undergird their theological study of Christian worship, along with narrative, performing, and plastic arts. Student will then be given opportunities to apply this method at whatever level they are proficient to various arts and/or Christian worship. Beginning with Augustine’s philosophy of language and learning as introduced and developed in De Magistro and De Doctrina Christiana, and his assertion that all we have to communicate with are signs, words, and gestures, this course will explore methods of exegeting signs and gestures to supplement the exegesis of words. This course has three elements: course readings and lectures, experiential learning through “field trips” to museums, theatres, interviews with artists, etc., and class discussions and group and individual projects. In particular this course will focus on the art of New York City from Andy Warhol to today, exploring its impact on subsequent art in New York, North American and the world in the past 50 years.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: A student successfully completing this course will be able to: (1) articulate the application of Augustine’s theory of communication to worship and the arts; (2) describe in general terms the history and theology of the arts in relation to the Christian faith; (3) describe in general terms the history and theology of Christian worship in relation to the arts; (4) apply the hermeneutic model of interpretation to worship and the arts in a cursory way; (5) complete an in-depth application of this hermeneutic model to one particular artistic expression or element of Christian worship.
COURSE FORMAT: This is a hybrid course, meaning that it is a ten-week course with nine weeks of online instruction and one week of classroom instruction in New York City during week 4 of the quarter. The week of classroom instruction will include twenty-one hours of class time, as well as 12 hours of experiencing the art and architecture of Gotham. Classroom and online instruction will include lecture and discussion, together with interviews and field experiences, and synthetic conversations, for a total of 40 instructional hours. REGISTRATION NOTE: Students are not permitted to register for a class that meets during the same period as a non-campus immersion class unless they obtain faculty approval. If the faculty grants permission to miss class meeting(s) in order to attend the immersion class, it is the student's responsibility to be familiar with that faculty's attendance policy, including any penalties that would result from the planned absence. Students must work with their advisor to register in such cases.
REQUIRED READING: 1,250 total pages required.
Course Reader (on eReserves) 140pp.
Fujimora, Makoto. Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life. IVP, 2017. ISBN: 978-0830845033, Pub. Price $17.00 [85 pp. assigned].
Garcia-Rivera, Alejandro. A Wounded Innocence: Sketches for a Theology of Art. Liturgical Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0814651124, Pub. Price $14.95 [120 pp. assigned].
Jacobson, Eric. Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith. Brazos Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-1587430572, Pub. Price $22.00 [90 pp. assigned.]
Johnson, Todd and Dale Savidge. Performing the Sacred. Baker Academic, 2009. ISBN: 978-0801029523, Pub. Price $22.00. [80 pp. assigned]
Levy, Sandra. Imagination and the Journey of Faith. Eerdmans, 2008. ISBN: 978-0802863010, Pub. Price $18.00 [90 pp. assigned].
Muir, Edward. Ritual in Early Modern Europe. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN: 978-0521602402, Pub. Price $39.99 [190 pp. assigned].
Smith, Patti. Just Kids. Ecco, 2010. ISBN: 978-0060936228, Pub. Price $16.00 [275 pp. assigned].
Wilder, Thornton. Our Town: A Play in Three Acts. Harper Perennial, 2003. ISBN: 978-0060512637, Pub. Price $14.99 (OR any unabridged version) [180 pp.].
REQUIRED LISTENING: Velvet Underground and Nico. Polydor/Umgd. 48 minutes.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
Completion of readings and audio assignment as reported on the provided self-evaluation form. (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-5] [79 hours].
Two short posts (no more than 500 words) and responses (no more than 200 words) to classmates as outlined in the syllabus. (16%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-4] [6 hours].
Three 500-750 word essays integrating course content with your experiences of worship and art and responses (no more than 250 words) to classmates as outlined in the syllabus. (39%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-4] [12 hours].
A final project (2,000-2,500 words) approved by the professor in which the student demonstrates his or her knowledge of the methods introduced in the class by applying them to a specific art form or forms, an element of Christian worship, or both. (35%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #5] [30 hours].
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the TH5 or C2 requirement in the 120 MDiv program. Option to meet the C2 requirement in the 80 MATM Program (Fall 2015). Option to count in the Theology and Arts emphasis, Worship and Music Ministry emphasis, and Worship, Theology and the Arts emphasis.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.