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BTI Consortium | Last Updated November 17, 2025 - 3:00PM
Boston College Theology Department
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5020-01
Heschel as an Interreligious Thinker
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP26
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a prominent Jewish-American philosopher and activist who played a significant role in interreligious dialogue. This course explores the foundations of Heschels thought and activism through the lens of his interreligious approach. Who is Heschels God? What was the source of his opposition to racism? How did he interpret Jewish sources, and how did he relate to Zionism? We will examine how Heschels interreligious perspective weaves the core elements of his philosophy and activism. The course will highlight the contemporary relevance of Heschels thought in discussions on interfaith dialogue, social justice, and moral responsibility.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Bondi, Dror Simha
W
12:00-2:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Both Grad and Undergrad
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5104-01
Do Robots Have Souls?
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP26
Do robots have souls? Probably not. But this course thinks its a good question, and therefore explores our fundamental thinking of technology and the ways in which it overlaps with religious and philosophical thinking of animal, inanimate object, technical object, and human. The philosophic core is found in the work of Gilbert Simondon, Martin Heidegger, and Nishida Kitaro, focusing particularly on Simondons re-envisioning of the relationship between religion and technology through art and philosophy. After this core, we turn to art, movies, and novels, to explore transhumanism, posthumanism, the threat of AI, and the possibility of human and machine harmony.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Kruger, Matthew C
R
3:00-5:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Both Grad and Undergrad
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5361-01
Contemporary Ethics in Christianity and Islam
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP26
This course explores contemporary issues in Christianity and Islam through the lens of ethics. We will use textual, historical, social, cultural and gender analyses to examine and reflect on the sources and frameworks of ethics in both traditions and how they are applied to major themes today, including definitions of justice, treatment and understandings of the human person and body, representation in media and other imagery, environmental responsibility, water, food and energy source use and abuse, economic and financial models, just war theory, religious violence and extremism, conflict resolution, reconciliation and forgiveness, nonviolence, peacemaking, and cyberspace and artificial intelligence.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
DeLong-Bas, Natana J
MWF
10:00-10:50 AM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Both Grad and Undergrad
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5505-01
Sacraments and Art
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP26
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
Class Time
Bergin, William N
W
2:00-4:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Both Grad and Undergrad; The course will include off-site visits.
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7040-01
Theology, Ethics and Race
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP26
This seminar explores key themes at the intersections of theology, ethics and race, with a focus on the Christian tradition. It engages foundational figures and methods in Black theology and womanism, the history of Black Catholicism and the work of transnational Africana activism. It surveys the roots of structural racism and the logic and impact of thesin of white supremacy, including the complicity of Christian theology and practice.The course also analyzes contributions from Asian American, Latinx and Indigenous theologians and ethicists on questions of racial identity and trauma.Finally, thecourse invites consideration of the personal, social and institutional implications of its texts from theology and ethics.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Heyer, Kristin E
W
10:00 AM -12:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7064-01
Eco-Theology and Spirituality
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP26
Ecotheology brings concerns and insights from ecology into generative dialogue with theology. By its nature, ecotheology is interdisciplinary and oriented towards praxis. This class therefore incorporates engagement with Christian theology and doctrine, the empirical sciences, ethics, and other tools such as feminist and decolonial thought to understand the multifaceted causes of the current climate crisis and to inspire productive responses to it. As Pope Francis explains in his influential encyclicalsLaudato S(2015) andLaudete Deum(2023), the environmental crisis facing humanity is a spiritual and theological crisis as much as it is a social and scientific one, and so the church has a responsibility to address the spiritual and theological causes of environmental degradation in dialogue with other relevant disciplines. In light of this exhortation from Pope Francis, this class will also consider spiritual resources and contemplative practices as necessary elements in constructing imaginative and holistic ecological care.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Ulishney, Megan Carol
W
12:00-2:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7067-01
The Gospel of Matthew
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP26
This seminar provides an in-depth study of the Gospel of Matthew, primarily through engagement with two major, modern commentaries by W. D. Davies & Dale C. Allison (ICC) and Ulrich Luz (Hermeneia). The seminar emphasizes textual analysis and theological reflection with a focus upon developing critical skills in literary, historical, and theological interpretation. Among the key themes and debates considered are those surrounding Christology, eschatology, and Matthean ethics, and the course is designed to help students gain proficiency in both evaluating and developing source-critical, redactional, and exegetical arguments. Ability to work with the Greek text of Matthew is required.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Roth, Dieter T
M
2:00-4:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate; ability to work with the Greek text of Matthew is required.
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7657-01
God and Creation
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP26
This seminar will survey and critically assess several contemporary theologies of creation, particularly as they articulate the God-world relation. In addition to exploring how these theologies engage scripture, doctrine, and historical trends in philosophy and theology, the seminar will highlight such topics as creatio ex nihilo, divine action, divine passibility, divine self-communication, creaturely self-transcendence, freedom, relationality, and contingency. Figures for consideration include Jrgen Moltmann, Catherine Keller, Henri de Lubac, Karl Rahner, Elizabeth Johnson, John Haught, Herbert McCabe, and Sara Grant.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Robinette, Brian
M
3:00PM-5:20PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO8270-01
From Just War to Peacebuilding
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP26
The focus of this course will be contemporary theological ethics and just war, and the recent peacebuilding trajectory.We will consider the evolution of just war from Augustine through the early twenty-first century, the increasingly stringent interpretation of Catholic theorists over the past 60 years (since Vatican Council II), and the emergence of peacebuilding as a prominent Christian and interfaith approach to armed conflict,including perspectives from conflict zones and the global South. (Pacifism will be addressed but not a major focus.) Specific problems, such as the changing nature of war, noncombatant immunity,humanitarian intervention, and nuclear weaponswill be addressed.The effects of armed conflict on women and womens activism will provide an important gender lens. Case studiesfrom international contexts (e.g., Ukraine, Colombia, and Uganda) will be explored.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Cahill, Lisa
T
4:30-6:50 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5021-01
Queer Spiritualities
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP26
We are spiritual beings and sexual beings. Some of us are LGBTQIA+. This seminar explores intersections and collisions between sexualities and spiritualities of LGBTQIA+ persons.Open to undergraduates and graduates seeking to understand LGBQTIA+ spirituality in their lives or in relationships and pastoral work with LGBTQIA+ people. How do religious traditions create conflicts between LGBQTIA+ sexuality and spirituality? Happily, manyreligious figures overcome those conflicts showing that LGBQTIA+ persons bring special gifts to spiritual life, while some traditional spirituality also serves the LGBQTIA+ community. First-person accounts and guest speakers ground our spiritual, historical, and ethical readings in progressive and traditional Catholic, Episcopal, Protestant, and Orthodox thinkers and LGBQTIA+ leaders.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Weiss, James M
R
3:00-5:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Both Grad and Undergrad
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5360-01
Feelings about God
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP26
This seminar examines the role of emotions in religious experience through a comparison of Christian and Muslim approaches. How do believers engage their feelings in personal prayer, in liturgy, in reading texts, and in their interpersonal relationships? How do believers cultivate their emotional responses as an element of religious and moral growth? The semester begins and concludes with general discussions of affect theory and emotions, including aesthetics. Most sessions focus on premodern primary texts, especially mystical texts, and successive weeks concentrate on specific emotions: fear, hope, anger, love, etc. No prior study of Islam is required; THEO 1431 preferred.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Welle, Jason
M
2:00-4:20 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Both Grad and Undergrad
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO5434-01
Comparative Mysticism
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP26
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
Class Time
Cornille, Catherine M
W
2:00-4:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Both Grad and Undergrad
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7009-01
Psalms and the Cult
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP26
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
Class Time
Vanderhooft, David
T
3:30-5:55 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate; Three semesters of Biblical Hebrew or equivalent
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7048-01
Genealogies of Catholicism: The Problem of Franciscan Modernity
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP26
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
Class Time
Coolman, Boyd
R
10:00 AM - 12:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7066-01
The Spirit Gives Life: Pneumatology Old and New
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP26
This course explores how pneumatological renewal helpfully moves the Church in the direction of overcoming Geistvergessenheit (Spirit-oblivion). The course is to be situated in the context of, one the one hand, the increasing awareness of the Spirit in Roman Catholic theology and Christian theology at large, and, on the other hand, the clear limitations of that awareness. They key question of the course is how greater attention to the role and function of the Holy Spirit enriches theology, ecclesiology, Christian practice, and the relationship with other religions and society at large.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Moons, Jozef
T
2:00-4:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7074-01
Spiritual Transformations and Bodily Practices in Early Christian Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Church History/History of Religions
SP26
This course concerns various theologies of spiritual transformation in Early Christianity. This is examined through concepts of grace and divinization, and in relation to bodily practices known under the category of asceticism. One theme will be defining what properly Christian spiritual transformation was thought to be. A second theme of the course will pursue questions of how Christian asceticism is shaped by biblical narrative. This unit will include the theological import of monastic rules. The final theme will concern theologies of union with God, with special interest in the tradition of divinization in Greek Christianity.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Magree, Michael C, SJ
T
4:30-5:45 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7894-01
Philosophy for Theological Ethicists
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP26
The purpose of this class is to introduce theological ethicists to some philosophers who have been influential in discussions in theological/religious ethics over the past fifty years. The particular aims are threefold: (1) to allow students to engage with major works of philosophy; (2) to enable the seminar to collectively familiarize itself with the discussions these works have generated in the field of theological ethics; and (3) to encourage doctoral students to engage deeply with one or more of these philosophers in articulating and pursuing questions that will animate their own research, including their comprehensive exams. There are four basic areas covered (1) distributive justice (Rawls, Sandel, Walzer, Nozick); (2) virtue theory (MacIntyre, Nussbaum); (3) rights talk (Finnis, Dworkin, Glendon (on international law)); (4) cosmopolitanism (Appiah, Benhabib). Students will be required to produce two 12-15 page papers; one assessing the role of a philosopher's thought in the field of theological ethics, and the second furthering the student's own work in either comprehensive exam prep or dissertation research.
Professor
Class Day
Class Time
Kaveny, M Cathleen
M
2:00-4:25 PM
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites Req'd?
N
Notes
Graduate
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