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BTI Consortium | Last Updated November 14 - 9:00AM
Boston College Theology Department
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5007-01
Mahayana Buddhism: Thought and Practice
BTI Category
Semester
Buddhist Studies
SP24
This course explores Mahayana Buddhist thought, meditation practice, narrative, and ritual practice across Asia. We consider texts ancient and modern. After a basic introduction to Buddhism, we take up topics ranging from meditation, to compassion, nirvana, emptiness, Buddha nature, Zen, and Mahayana Buddhist ethics. Our focus is on fundamental theological questions: What are the causes of suffering? How can meditation and ethical practices illuminate sufferings causes, and put an end to them? What is the state of unconditioned awareness, freedom, and joy that lies beyond suffering? Most importantly, what does this all have to do with me? No background in Buddhism is required.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Vale
TR
3-4:15p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5357-01
Debating Religion: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Dialogue and Dispute
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP24
This course is a history of interreligious polemic, disputation, and dialogue among Jews, Christians, and Muslims from antiquity to modernity. The course not only highlights points of difference among the traditionsfrom abstruse theological doctrines, to competing interpretations of scriptural passages, to ad hominem attacks on religious founding figuresbut also the ways in which the practice of disputation played a formative role in the development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The course focuses specifically on interreligious debates and dialogues, both real and fictional, although we also consider broader polemical themes as expressed in treatises. Finally, the course considers epistemic shifts that allowed for the transition from interreligious disputation to interfaith dialogue in recent decades even as it highlights the lines of continuity between the two.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Decter
R
3-5:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5434-01
Comparative Mysticism
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP24
The area of mysticism or spirituality has been the focus of a heated debate among those who argue for the universality and the particularity of mystical experiences. In this course, we shall engage in this discussion by studying the writings of important mystics from various religious traditions.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Cornille
W
12-2:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5505-01
Sacraments and Art
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
SP24
Much of our artistic heritage was commissioned to embellish places of worship and to deepen understanding of the ceremonies celebrated there. These works of art offer often-ignored insights into Christian sacraments that complements more traditional theological approaches. This course seeks to deepen our appreciation of Christian sacraments by acknowledging painting, sculpture and architecture as a locus theologicus. Both historical and thematic in approach, it explores sacramentality, incarnation, iconoclasm, typology as well as selected themes from sacramental theology. The course will include off-site visits.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Bergin
W
12-2:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5564-01
Studies in Luke-Acts
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP24
A short introduction to Luke as historian and theologian will be followed by detailed studies of characterization, plot, thematic structure, point of view, closure, and rhetorical patterns in this most literary of all New Testament narratives.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Darr
T
12-2:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5574-02
Ethics, Religion, and International Politics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
An examination of the role of religion in international politics and of ethical approaches to international affairs. Special emphasis will be given to religion as a source of conflict, religious communities as transnational agents for justice, protection of human rights, and peace; the historical development and contemporary formulations of ethical norms for the use of force; and ethical and religious contributions to reconciliation and solidarity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wambui
R
3-3:50
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split - ADDITIONAL SECTION, Check with BC Registrar
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5574-04
Ethics, Religion, and International Politics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
An examination of the role of religion in international politics and of ethical approaches to international affairs. Special emphasis will be given to religion as a source of conflict, religious communities as transnational agents for justice, protection of human rights, and peace; the historical development and contemporary formulations of ethical norms for the use of force; and ethical and religious contributions to reconciliation and solidarity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wambui
TR
10:30-11:45AM
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split - ADDITIONAL SECTION, Check with BC Registrar
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5574-06
Ethics, Religion, and International Politics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
An examination of the role of religion in international politics and of ethical approaches to international affairs. Special emphasis will be given to religion as a source of conflict, religious communities as transnational agents for justice, protection of human rights, and peace; the historical development and contemporary formulations of ethical norms for the use of force; and ethical and religious contributions to reconciliation and solidarity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wambui
R
6-6:50p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split - ADDITIONAL SECTION, Check with BC Registrar
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7008-01
Early Christianity in its Jewish Context
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
The course surveys the Jewish context of early Christian literature and history through close analysis of primary texts. We begin with the origins of Jewish sectarianism in the second century BCE and study the development of various Jewish and Christian sects, concluding with Jewish and Christian groups in the second century CE. We will explore how closely related, and in many cases inseparable, Christian and Jewish identity were well into the second century CE.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Gillihan
F
1-3:20p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7016-01
Special Questions in Christology
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP24
This course explores theoretical problems in Christology, including the nature of the transition from the New Testament to Christological dogma, the ontological and psychological constitution of the incarnate Word, his human knowing, and his redemptive work, through selections from classic and contemporary authors.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wilkins
W
2-4:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7046-01
Early Christian Ascetical Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This course concerns various theologies of the ascetical life in Early Christianity. The course will begin by asking just what Christian asceticism is, both in distinction from the asceticism of Jewish and Hellenistic traditions, and on its own terms. The second unit of the course will pursue questions of how Christian ascetics speak, especially insofar as this is shaped by biblical narrative. Here we will treat cenobitic and eremetical traditions, and the theological import of monastic rules. The final unit will concern theologies of grace and union with God, with special interest in the tradition of divinization in Greek Christianity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Magree
T
4:30-6:50p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7048-01
Genealogies of Catholicism: The Problem of Franciscan Modernity
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
Famously, Heidegger accused nearly all western philosophy of ontotheology, the naming of God as Being and everything else as manifestations or participations in that metaphysical scheme, a manifestation of the human desire to grasp, to comprehend, and thus, in some measure, to manipulate and control reality as such, the ultimate extension of humantechne, our capacity to manipulate the world. Such a metaphysics, he averred, deprives Being of its deep mystery by claiming to know its nature as such, and thus to grasp it and make it useful. In the end, it is little more than a more refined and civilized dimension of the Nietzschean will to power. Ever since, scholars have sought the precise origins and development of this pernicious modernity. Also famously, so-called Radical Orthodox thinkers have sketched an influential genealogy of this modernity that extends through Suarez back to Scotus, and then hinted that behind Scotuss error may be even Bonaventure. In the preface to the second edition ofTheology and Social Theory, John Milbank traces this first step through to the Scotist leap and the modern tumble into the ontotheological slough, labeling this bad tradition Franciscan modernity. While this narrative has recently come in for trenchant criticism, it remains widely and resiliently prevalent. This seminar, accordingly, seeks to canvas the problem of Franciscan modernity, critically assessing the accuracy and utility of this genealogical narrative, beginning with its sources in the late Middle Ages and then surveying its modern proponents and detractors.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Coolman
R
10-12:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7518-01
Aquinas' Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
A study of Thomas Aquinas's Pars Secunda of the Summa Theologiae, including his writings on Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Keenan
T
2-4:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO8502-01
Mercy and Justice
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
This course explores the meaning of mercy, particularly in its relationship to justice. It examines four major topics: (1) mercy in its relationship to retributive justice, focusing on mercy or clemency in the case of criminal sentencing, as well as broader questions of retribution for wrongdoing, such as whether there can or should be criteria for the exercise of mercy, whether mercy can be exercised unjustly, and the relationship of forgiveness to mercy; (2) mercy in its relationship to distributive justice, focusing on the corporal works of mercy and issues such as the relationship of justice and private charity; (3) mercy in its relationship to social justice, or the social face of mercy; and (4) divine justice and mercy, focusing on the way theologians have attempted to reconcile God's mercy and God's justice. Readings for the course will be interdisciplinary, including philosophical, theological, and legal materials.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Kaveny
M
2-4:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5010-01
THE GREAT BOOKS OF ISLAM
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
This course surveys some of the literary classics of the Islamic tradition, works that could be counted among the great books of Islam. The texts chosen belong to a strain of Islamic civilization known asadab: classics that offer a variety of perspectives on what it means to be cultivated, learned, virtuous, wise, and pious. The course examines the place ofadabin Islam as a whole and in relation to Islams religious, ethical, and political outlooks. In particular, the question of religious humanism will return throughout the semester: what is the significance of the humanistic venture in Islam for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and how does this compare to secular notions of humanism? Students will do a close reading of some of the great books of Islam from different centuries and genres, including historical writing, political treatises, belles-lettres, epic poetry, mysticism, autobiography, and the modern novel.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Welle
TR
12-1:15p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5373-01
Patristic Greek II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP24
This two-semester course is designed for the student with no previous knowledge of ancient Greek to develop reading and translating skills in Patristic Greek language by mastering the fundamental principles of Greek grammar and syntax and acquiring a basic reading vocabulary. The student becomes familiar with the meaning of Greek words, their forms and structure, and their customary arrangement in sentences. A secondary goal of this course is to serve as a foundation for further studies in Patristic Greek.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Schatkin
W
12-2:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split - 2nd semester of series
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5492-01
Religion(s) and American Public Schools
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
This course examines a controversial but surprisingly unfamiliar topic: religion(s) in American public schools. The class has three objectives: (1) to understand the complex role religions have played in the development of American public schools and the political and educational philosophy that undergirds them; (2) To examine the principled philosophical and theological issues behind contemporary legal cases about religion and public education; and (3) To understand how constitutionally sound approaches to religion in schools can help to modulate or resolve the pedagogical and administrative issues that arise across the curriculum and within school culture.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Owens
T
3-5:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5559-01
Dante's 'Divine Comedy' in Translation
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
Conducted in English. Elective for Italian major or minor. An introduction to and critical reading of the "Divine Comedy" (in English translation), one of the world's greatest epic poems, produced by "the chief imagination of Christendom" (Yeats). Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise will be analyzed at its multiple levels of interpretation: literal and allegorical, theological, philosophical, political, and literary. Compendium of an entire epoch of European civilization, the "Comedy" will also be interrogated for its responses to the fundamental questions of human existence: God, the Cosmos, the Self, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, Suffering, and Happiness.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Costanzo
W
3-5:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5574-01
Ethics, Religion, and International Politics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
An examination of the role of religion in international politics and of ethical approaches to international affairs. Special emphasis will be given to religion as a source of conflict, religious communities as transnational agents for justice, protection of human rights, and peace; the historical development and contemporary formulations of ethical norms for the use of force; and ethical and religious contributions to reconciliation and solidarity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wambui
TR
1:30-2:45p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5574-03
Ethics, Religion, and International Politics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
An examination of the role of religion in international politics and of ethical approaches to international affairs. Special emphasis will be given to religion as a source of conflict, religious communities as transnational agents for justice, protection of human rights, and peace; the historical development and contemporary formulations of ethical norms for the use of force; and ethical and religious contributions to reconciliation and solidarity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wambui
R
4-4:50p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split - ADDITIONAL SECTION, Check with BC Registrar
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5574-05
Ethics, Religion, and International Politics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP24
An examination of the role of religion in international politics and of ethical approaches to international affairs. Special emphasis will be given to religion as a source of conflict, religious communities as transnational agents for justice, protection of human rights, and peace; the historical development and contemporary formulations of ethical norms for the use of force; and ethical and religious contributions to reconciliation and solidarity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wambui
R
5-5:50p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split - ADDITIONAL SECTION, Check with BC Registrar
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5794-01
Philosophy and the Church Fathers
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
Introduction to the major Church Fathers and Christian schools of antiquity and their varying engagement with philosophy. Elements of opposition and areas of harmony between Greek and Christian ideals.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Schatkin
M
3-5:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Grad/Undergrad split
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7009-01
Psalms and the Cult
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP24
The Book of Psalms, sometimes called Israel's "Songbook," engages the world of religious practice, or cult, in a variety of ways. This is true, also, of other biblical poetic compositions outside of the Psalms. The present course investigates the problem of Psalms and the Cult from a number of perspectives by posing a variety of questions. To what extent does Israel's poetry reflect or take for granted specific cultic practices? Are such practices individual or communal? Were they connected with expert oversight? How might Psalms have been used during cultic practice? Were they liturgical or performative texts? How might the relationship between psalms and prophecy inform the discussion? Students will formulate answers to these and other questions by close reading of a selection of Psalms in Hebrew, and by engagement with secondary literature and material culture evidence. Three semesters of Biblical Hebrew or equivalent.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Cooley
M
12-2:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Three semesters of Biblical Hebrew or equivalent. DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7021-01
Liberation Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP24
This seminar introduces students to classic and contemporary works in liberation theology that emerge from diverse historical contexts and address matters of universal concern. It examines the organic relationship between liberation theology and grassroots social movements confronting problems of extreme poverty, racism, sexual violence, and environmental devastation. It clarifies the liberative meaning of doctrinal traditions in areas such as trinitarian theology, Christology, pnematology, soteriology, and theological anthropology and explores various approaches to a spirituality of liberation. It engages prominent critiques of liberation theology and touches on recent innovations such as the decolonial turn.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Adkins
T
10-12:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7047-01
Marcion and the History of Early Christianity
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP24
This course offers an in-depth study of Marcion, one of the most significant heretics ofthe second century CE, and his impact upon and place within early Christianity. The first half of the course will focus on the portrayal of Marcion found in the writings of several of his most prominent opponents, including, e.g., Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Epiphanius, and Origen. The second half hones in on elements of Marcion's theology and texts, along with the proto-orthodox polemic against them, including topics such as Marcion's dualism, ecclesiology, Gospel, Apostolikon, points of contact with ancient philosophies, and "disciples."
Professor
Class Day & Time
Roth
M
2-4:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7050-01
Queer Theologies
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP24
This seminar will explore the narratives that emerged in theLbgtiq+ communitys protests in the streets demanding recognition of their identities and rights. These experiences gave way to political, theological and spiritual thinking that imagines the person and society in new ways. We will also address ecclesial challenges, focusing new horizons for spirituality, new forms of community and new theological narratives that emerge from gender exclusion as political and spiritual resistance, reshaping the human condition and the Christian identity from denied bodies.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Mendoza-Alvarez
T
4:30-6:50p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7855-01
Modern/Contemporary Islam in Context
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP24
A graduate-level in-depth overview of historically grounded modern and contemporary Islamic theological and legal thinking in both majority and minority contexts throughout the Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, with attention to: debates about the impact of colonialism, the Western Enlightenment, and the politics of resistance; political ideologies including secularism, nationalism, socialism/Marxism, democracy, authoritarianism, various forms of political Islam and the "Islamic" state, theologies of liberation, Salafism, and violence and extremism; Islamic law and justice; women, gender and sexuality; religious pluralism; science and medicine; and ethics and the environment.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Delong-Bas
M
3-5:30PM
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO8817-01
Christ in the New Testament
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP24
This seminar studies the diverse Christological patterns in the New Testament: Jesus as embodiment of Wisdom in sayings and hymns (John); as fulfillment of messianic hopes (Matthew); as crucified and resurrected redeemer (Paul), and as exalted in heaven (Rev). Both Jewish elements in these patterns and their reformulation in second and third century Christianity (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Valentinians and Origen) will be discussed. The final section of the seminar will discuss the use of these studies in Catholic systematics (Schillebeeckx, Gutierrez, Schussler-Fiorenza, Johnson and Benedict XVI).
Professor
Class Day & Time
Perkins
W
10-12:25p
Grading Option
L/PF/A
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
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