Fall 2007/Pasadena
NS563
Sechrest
NS563: RACE AND CHRISTIAN IDENTITY IN PAUL. Love Sechrest.
DESCRIPTION: This course develops a biblically-based, theological approach to
identity by exploring the relationship between racial identity, ethnic
identity, and Christian identity. Lectures and discussions about selected NT
passages and secondary literature about identity help students understand the
biblical worldview, Greco-Roman thought, and modern and postmodern trends on
the subject of racial and ethnic identity. Students will be exposed to several
biblical, theological, and theoretical approaches that will be used to
construct a uniquely Christian posture about race issues in society.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: The student will be able to (1) understand the background
and historical development of race and ethnicity in early Christianity; (2)
gain an appreciation for the complexities of modern discussions about identity;
(3) understand how race impacts the development of the church in the United
States; and (4) develop biblical resources for constructing a Christian ethics
of racial identity.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Christians need to develop a biblically based,
historically and contextually sensitive understanding of the intersection of
ethno-racial identity and Christian commitment in order to meet the challenges
of multiculturalism in the contemporary church.
COURSE FORMAT: The course will meet weekly for three-hour sessions.
REQUIRED READING: Selected chapters from the following books:
- Boyarin, Daniel. A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of
Identity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
- Braxton, Brad. No Longer Slaves: Galatians and African American
Experience. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002.
- Goldenberg, David M. The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
2003.
- Isaac, Benjamin. The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity.
Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2004.
- COURSE PACK that includes readings from the following:
- Brodkin, Karen. How Jews Became White Folks and What
That Says about Race in America. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press,
2000.
- Buell, Denise Kimber. "The Politics of Interpretation: The Rhetoric of Race
and Ethnicity in Paul." JBL 123, no. 2 (2004): 235-51.
- Foskett, Mary K. "The Accidents of Being and the Politics of Identity:
Biblical Images of Adoption and Asian Adoptees in America." Semeia 90-91
(2002): 135-44.
- Snowden, Frank M. Before Color Prejudice: The Ancient View of
Blacks. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1983.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Very short typewritten responses to course readings (10%).
- One longer formal oral or written response to selected readings per class
guidelines (25%).
- Five-page exegesis paper (25%).
- Term paper (10-15 pp.) on some pertinent ethical dilemma raised by the
course (40%).
PREREQUISITES: NS501 or equivalent.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in New Testament
Theology (NTT).
FINAL EXAMINATION: No.
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (7/07)