Summer 2017/Pasadena

ET522

Bacote

ET522: CHRISTIAN ETHICAL TRADITIONS: AFRICAN-AMERICAN, EVANGELICAL, AND EMERGENT (4 units: 165 hours). Vincent E. Bacote.

DESCRIPTION: Do you know your ethical tradition? How have various Christian traditions understood what it means to practice the faith in the face of political and moral challenges and responsibilities? This course will examine parts of the Christian ethical landscape, with a particular focus on African-American traditions, some of the denominations that reside under the “evangelical” umbrella (e.g., Anabaptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecostal), and seek to discover the ethical framework associated with emergent church conversation. This course presents students with the opportunity to identify their ethical tradition and a generous understanding of other perspectives.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) to interact critically and sympathetically with a range of Christian ethical traditions, including variations in gender, race/ethnicity and/or age/generation; (2) to seriously consider the importance and necessity of Christian engagement in society; (3) to begin the development of one’s own approach to Christian ethics by carefully identifying with one or more traditions; (4) to begin developing an approach to ministry that recovers or creates ways of shaping Christian life as a practical application of Christian ethics.

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 during week seven of the quarter. The week of classroom instruction will include five hours daily of lecture and discussion. Classroom and online instruction will include lecture and discussion for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: Approx. 1,500 pages required.

Gibbs, Eddie, and Ryan K. Bolger. Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. Baker Academic, 2005. ISBN: 978-0801027154, Pub. Price $28.00 [352 pp. assigned].

Heltzel, Peter Goodwin. Jesus and Justice: Evangelicals, Race & American Politics. Yale University, 2009. ISBN: 978-0300124330, Pub. Price $45.00 [288 pp. assigned].

Sanders, Cheryl J. Empowerment Ethics for a Liberated People: A Path to African American Social Transformation. Fortress, 1995. ISBN: 978-0800629175, Pub. Price $17.00 [152 pp. assigned].

Stassen, Glen, and David Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. 2nd ed. Eerdmans, 2016. ISBN: 978-0802874214, Pub. Price $40.00 [400 pp. assigned].

Course Reader. Readings include Stanley J. Grenz, The Moral Quest; Traci West, Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter; Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the NT; Mark Yarhouse, Homosexuality and the Christian and Understanding Gender Dysphoria; and selected articles.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: Class Time: 25 hours.

1. Approximately 1,500 pages of required reading. [75 hours].

2. Online interaction, including weekly forum participation, viewing/listening to weekly media resources (lectures/panels/film excerpts). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1, 2, and 3]. [15 hours].

3. Students will write a 500-word analysis and critique of Jesus and Justice (25%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-2]. [5 hours].

4. A midterm exam (25%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 1-2]. [5 hours].

5. Prepare a class presentation. This will be a group project. This will help reveal your developing thought about the core questions of the course and provide an opportunity for feedback from the professor and fellow students as each student writes their research/position paper (15%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 3-4]. [10 hours-DLA].

6. 3,000 word research/position paper. The final term paper is the signature assignment for ET522. This scholarly paper has to engage at least two different Christian ethical perspectives on the same ethical issue or variable, e.g. human dignity, justice, power, in light of a student’s own particular cultural context (35%) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes 3-4]. [30 hours].

Total Expected Workload: 165 hours.

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the C5 requirement in the 120 MDiv and 80 MATM Programs (Fall 2015). Fulfills the TH5 or TH6 requirements in the 120 MDiv Program (Fall 2016). Fulfills the TH6 requirement in the 80 MAT and 80 MATM Programs (Fall 2016). Option to meet the C4 or TH5 requirements in the 120 MDiv Program (Fall 2014). Option to meet the C4 requirement in the 80 MATM and 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015). Meets ETH in the 144 MDiv Program. Requirement in Christian Ethics emphasis and African American Church Studies emphasis.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.