.

Fall 2015/Pasadena

TC560

Dyrness

TC560: THEOLOGY AND CULTURE SEMINAR (4 Units: 160 hours). William A. Dyrness and Kutter Callaway.

DESCRIPTION: This is a CATS doctoral seminar, open to a limited number of master’s level students by permission of the instructor. This seminar is designed to encourage students to develop an intentional and critical methodology for interpreting and engaging cultural products (i.e. literary texts, films, music, etc.). In the broadest sense the course is designed to develop cultural literacy from a Christian perspective. The approach will be, first of all, to focus on particular cultural “texts” and develop strategies of reading and interpretation that are informed by biblical and theological perspectives.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will (1) be familiar with some of the major theological perspectives on culture; (2) develop their own theological and critical framework; and (3) employ this framework in interpreting and engaging theological texts and trends.

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: 2,750 total pages required.

Boersma, Hans. Heavenly Participation: The Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry. Eerdmans, 2011. ISBN: 978-0802865427, Pub. Price $24.00 [225 pp.].

Dyrness, William. Poetic Theology: God and the Poetics of Everyday Life. Eerdmans, 2011. ISBN: 978-0802865786, Pub. Price $26.00 [95 pp. assigned].

Hunter, James Davison. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Responsibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. Oxford, 2010. ISBN: 978-0199730803, Pub. Price $27.95 [250 pp.].

Jennings, Willie. The Christian Imagination. Yale, 2011. ISBN: 978-0300171365, Pub. Price $27.50 [250 pp.].

Lanier, Jaron. You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto. Vintage, 2011. ISBN 978-0307389978, Pub. Price $15.00 [250 pp.].

Ricoeur, Paul. Time and Narrative. Chicago University Press, 1985. Vol I. ISBN: 978-0226713328, Pub. Price $29.00 [280 pp.].

Schrader, Paul. Transcendental Style in Film. Da Capo, 1972. ISBN: 978-0306803352, Pub. Price $15.00 [250 pp.].

Smith, James K. A.. Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works. Baker, 2013. ISBN: 978-0801035784

Pub. Price $22.99 [250 pp.].

Stassen, Glen H., D. M. Yeager, and John Howard Yoder. Authentic Transformation: A New Vision of Christ and Culture. Abingdon, 1996. ISBN: 978-0687022731, Pub. Price $28.00 [250 pp.].

Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Harvard University Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0674026766, Pub. Price $46.00 [250 pp.].

Thiong’o, Ngugi wa. The River Between. Oxford, 1965. ISBN: 978-0435905484, Pub. Price $15.95 [250 pp.].

Course Reader.

RECOMMENDED READING: Recommended reading will be listed in the syllabus.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: Grading will be based on:

1. 1,750 total pages of required reading [88 hours].

2. Three class presentations (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [16 hours; Includes 10 DLA hours as preparation for in-class presentation].

3. A major paper based on presentations in class and rewritten on the basis of discussion in class [18-20 pp.]. (90%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, #2, #3]. [26 hours].

4. 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: Methods core for PhD students in Theology and Culture. Elective for master’s students.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.