Winter 2010/Pasadena
ET538
Kelly
ET538: POLITICS AND POLICY: HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
Timothy A. Kelly.
DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to help students grow as Christian
ethicists by applying theological understanding to the issues of the day in a
practical manner. Students will learn about the structures of society at the
local community level, how to engage those structures from a theological basis,
and how to impact them positively as a person of faith. The course will include
visits to Pasadena City Council, Pasadena Unified School District Board of
Education, Pasadena Police Headquarters, and/or Pasadena Star-News
offices. In each case, current issues and public policy will be the focus
(e.g., promoting affordable housing, helping at-risk youth and decreasing gang
violence, improving secondary public education, promoting community dialogue
via opinion editorials). Guest lecturers may include Pasadena Mayor Bill
Bogaard, Pasadena School Board Superintendent Edwin Diaz, Pasadena Police Chief
Barney Melekian, Pasadena Star-News Editor Larry Wilson, Fuller
President Richard Mouw, and Fuller Professor of Christian Ethics Glen
Stassen.
SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: As professional ministers or therapists, as
concerned citizens who seek to be good neighbors, students must be aware of and
critically engage ecclesial, societal, and global issues from Christian
theological perspectives and demonstrate the ability to make informed choices
toward positive change.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will (1) grow in their ability to reason ethically,
(2) ground that reasoning in biblical faith, and (3) apply that reasoning
effectively to current local issues.
COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet weekly for three-hour sessions. Students are
required to
- attend all classes and actively participate in class discussions;
- attend all class meetings off campus with various community leaders, and
participate in dialogue;
- keep a journal on response to class readings and experiences, and turn it
in together with a critical/constructive reflection essay;
- participate in a class project in which they will learn how local
governments and communities create improvement in one of the following four
areas: (1) encouraging development of affordable housing in Pasadena; (2)
improving public secondary education; (3) helping at-risk youth thrive and
avoid gang involvement; (4) offering editorial comment to advance community
dialogue.
REQUIRED READING:
- De La Torre, M.A. Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins.
New York: Orbis, 2004. (280 pgs)
- Lipman-Blumen, J. Connective Leadership: Managing in a Changing
World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. (405 pgs)
- Sider, R.J. & Knippers, D. Toward an Evangelical Public Policy.
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005. (380 pgs)
- Stassen, G. Living the Sermon on the Mount: A Practical Hope for Grace
and Deliverance. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. (220 pgs)
- Reading packet to include Catholic articles and/or encyclicals on current
issues; selection of Kelly's OpEds and articles on current issues; Stassen's
article "Where is Niebuhr When We Need Him?"
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Avlon, J. P. Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change
American Politics. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004.
- De Pree, M. Leadership is an Art. New York: Doubleday, 2004.
- Mott, S. C. Biblical Ethics and Social Change. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1982.
- Niebuhr, R. The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness. New
York: Charles Scribners, 1946.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: A journal and critical/constructive reflection
essay (40%); an interactive, community-oriented class project (graded half
& half for group/individual work) in one of the four areas listed above
(50%); active participation in class activities and dialogue (10%).
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.
This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (11/09)