top of page
BTI Consortium | Last Updated April 21, 2026 - 6:00PM
Boston University
School of Theology
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTC 812
Contextual Theology
BTI Category
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
Semester
FA26
In this course, students are introduced to contextual theology and its relationship to missions within mainline denominations through the consideration of ministries of love, justice, and service. Students will examine scriptural and theological grounds for missional outreach, consider church engagement in social justice, explore Christianity's history/tradition, and visit missional sites in the Boston area. Particular attention will be given to students' experiences in dialogue with the assigned readings and local leadership. This is an interdisciplinary course facilitated through a protestant feminist/Mujerista perspective with a decolonizing intent. It will be run in a seminar style with the instructor as facilitator for critical engagement of readings, sharing of experiences, and contextual deconstruction/construction of methods, theories and historical understandings.
Professor
Class Day & Time
De La Rosa, Cristian
M
2:30-5:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTC 825
Preaching and Protest
BTI Category
Preaching, Liturgy, & Ritual
Semester
FA26
This course examines the ways that preaching has helped to galvanize and sustain social movements, shape the public discourse of pressing social issues, and serve as a practice of protest. The course will attend to the history of the relationship between preaching and protest and the theologies undergirding its practice in various sociocultural contexts. Consideration will also be given to the praxis of preaching during protests and rhetorical analysis of the speeches that emerge in protest moments. Students will have the opportunity to craft sermons for protest and analyze them using the tools that are developed in class.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Adkins-Jones, Tim
W
5:30-8:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTC 829
Spiritual Autobiographies
BTI Category
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
Semester
FA26
In the course, students will explore classic and contemporary spiritual autobiographies. These autobiographies reveal the diverse paths of religious seekers, the crises and epiphanies that became focal points of meaning and revelation. Students will learn about the practices of faith that sustained and challenged religious people from Augustine to Teresa of Avila to Tolstoy. Through close, empathetic, and critical examination of the texts, students will reflect on their own spiritual journeys and identities. They also will engage first-hand in the crafting of spiritual autobiography, and students will have the opportunity to work intensively in small groups throughout the writing and sharing process. Throughout the course, students will explore potential uses of spiritual autobiography as pathways of discernment and growth in congregational and retreat settings, small faith groups, spiritual formation and companionship.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wolfeich, Claire
F,S
9am-5pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Class meets from 9am to 5pm on the following dates: 09/11/2026 - 09/12/2026; 10/02/2026 - 10/03/2026;10/23/2026 - 10/24/2026.
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTC 857
Anglican Formation
BTI Category
Church Polity/Canon Law
Semester
FA26
An integrative weekly session incorporating worship, spiritual practice, and group reflection on significant texts within the Anglican spiritual and theological tradition. Students will take turns leading the Daily Office and guiding group conversations. This course aims at grounding students in the Anglican spiritual tradition and helping them to develop their own practices of prayer, worship, and spiritual leadership. It is especially recommended for Anglican/Episcopal students but is open to all regardless of religious tradition.
Professor
Class Day & Time
TBD
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
1
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Contact registrar for course meeting times (sthregfa@bu.edu).
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTH 702
Introduction to Global Christianity
BTI Category
Church History/History of Religions
Semester
FA26
This course introduces the history of Christianity as a world religion. It explores major turning points in the history of Christianity, from antiquity to the present. Selected thematic approaches highlight the historical interplay between local contexts and the self-consciousness of Christianity as global movement. As one of the core options for introduction to the history of Christianity, the course contents align with the key turning points, structure, and assignments in TH 701 History of Christianity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Robert, Dana
TR
9:30-10:45 am, the class meets twice a week
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Core class for IME Certificate
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTN 723
Intro to NT Greek 1
BTI Category
Languages
Semester
FA26
Introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of the Greek New Testament. For students with no training in Greek.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Smith, Shively
TR
11 am-12:15 pm, twice
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTN 807
Women in the New Testament
BTI Category
Scripture & Biblical Studies
Semester
FA26
This course explores women�s lives, leadership, and portrayals in the New Testament and early Christian literature, considering both named and unnamed figures across diverse social statuses and environments. Students analyze how women appear in assemblies, households, and patronage networks in the first-century Mediterranean world, drawing on historical, literary, social-scientific, and archaeological approaches to New Testament texts alongside early Christian and Greco-Roman sources. The course engages womanist, feminist, Latina/mujerista, Asian, and other interpretive perspectives, and examines how gender-aware readings of the New Testament developed in relation to the nineteenth-century women�s suffrage movement and continue to shape ongoing efforts for dignity and justice.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Smith, Shively
R
3:30-6:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTN 840
Bible and Environment
BTI Category
Scripture & Biblical Studies
Semester
FA26
This course explores the relationship between environmental contexts and scriptural interpretation, including how current environmental crises shape interpretation and how environmental contexts shaped the writings themselves. Through reading, writing, and discussion, we will examine how the Bible has been used, accused, and defended in environmental debates as well as how environmental studies and other related disciplines can inform scriptural interpretation. (This course is pre-approved to count towards the Faith and Ecological Justice Certificate.)
Professor
Class Day & Time
Copeland, Becky
M
2:30-5:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTO 814
Cultural Background of the Hebrew Bible
BTI Category
Scripture & Biblical Studies
Semester
FA26
Investigation of the cultural background and presuppositions of the biblical writers by interpretation of biblical texts and archeological remains and by comparison with materials from other ancient Near Eastern cultures. Implications for understanding and use of the Bible.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Botta, Alejandro
T
12:30-3:15 Pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTR 820
Introduction to Black Church Studies
BTI Category
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
Semester
FA26
This course will examine trajectories of intellectual thought that have been missing, silenced, or marginalized in standard narratives of black church studies. Using critical race theory, we will explore counter-narratives that challenge prevailing ways of thinking about black church origins, theological and philosophical foundations, liberating discourses, and its representation in the public sphere. At the conclusion of the course, students will be equipped to reflect on the history, necessity, and trajectory of black church studies through the counter-narratives.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Young, Luther
R
3:30-6:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTS 805
The Spirit and Art of Conflict Transformation
BTI Category
Ethics (all traditions)
Semester
FA26
This course is an introduction to the theology, theory, and practice of conflict transformation, preparing students to become leaders equipped with fundamental tools and skills for engaging conflict and transforming conflict toward a just peace. It introduces students to conflict transformation practices such as mediation, interfaith dialogue, peacemaking circles, nonviolent direct action, compassion practices, truth and reconciliation commissions, community conferencing, etc. Designed for practitioners, students will be invited to participate in role play scenarios, dialogues, art projects, and other interactive in- and out-of-class engagements.
Professor
Class Day & Time
McCarty, James
R
6:30-9:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
Core class for RCT certificate
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTS 824
Christian Ethics
BTI Category
Ethics (all traditions)
Semester
FA26
This course introduces students to the sources and methods of Christian ethics. We will consider the ways in which Christian moral thinking is shaped by the Hebrew Bible and New Testament; survey some prominent approaches to Christian ethical discernment (divine command, natural law, Christian realism, virtue ethics, as well as feminist and womanist ethics); examine the deformation of Christian subject by empire, racism, and economic exploitation; and finally, probe the promise of Christian moral vision in reimagining human response to mass incarceration, finance-dominated capitalism, disabilities, racial capitalism, migration, and environmental justice.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Yin, Peng
T
12:30-3:15
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTS 849
The Political Economy of Misery
BTI Category
Ethics (all traditions)
Semester
FA26
This course is an examination of the ways in which the intersection of various forms of oppression - such as racism, sexism, ageism, heterosexism, and classism - coalesce to form lifestyles of misery that produce social patterns of domination and subordination. Consideration of how conversations between Christian ethics and other disciplines help frame possible trajectories of justice and justice making.
Professor
Class Day & Time
townes, emilie
F
8-10:45 am
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTT 732
History of Christian Theology in Philosophical Perspective
BTI Category
Church History/History of Religions
Semester
FA26
In its nearly two-millennium long history, Christian theology has been shaped by its dynamic engagements with (and in) various traditions of philosophical reflection. In this course, students will examine how four such traditions-- Platonic, Aristotelian, Kantian/Phenomenological, and Marxist/Critical--have influenced (and been influenced by) theological questions, concepts, and modes of discourse. Thinkers from ancient, medieval, Reformation, modern, and postmodern periods will be studied, with emphasis on historical and social settings. Students are encouraged to take STH TF 701 or 702 before registering for this course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Maia, Filipe
M
3:30-6:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTT 869
African Theology: Sources, Methods and Debates
BTI Category
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
Semester
FA26
This course will investigate suffering from a variety of perspectives. The approach, while reflectively interdisciplinary, will concentrate on suffering as the fundamental test for theology, ethics, and philosophy. Added to the course will be a component concerned with issues of pastoral ministry and the bereavement process. Students are encouraged to take STH TF 701 or 702 before registering for this course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wariboko, Nimi
T
12:30-3:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTC 817
Introduction to Christian Worship
BTI Category
Preaching, Liturgy, & Ritual
Semester
FA26
An introduction to the spirit and structure of Christian worship. Word, sacraments, calendar, music, and pastoral offices are analyzed and described in terms of their relevance to congregational life, spirituality, catechesis, and mission.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Tucker, Karen
TR
9:30-10:45 am, meets twice a week
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTC 826
Let the Church say Amen: Communal Preaching Methodologies
BTI Category
Preaching, Liturgy, & Ritual
Semester
FA26
Who is the preacher and who does the preacher preach with? What difference would it make to think through a�sermon with someone who is homeless? Or a victim of racial violence? Or in prison? Or someone of a different�faith? Or a lay person or persons within the congregation? Or someone from another congregation? Or? Or? Or?�This course will explore preaching methodologies that not only consider the congregation in sermon�construction but those that include the congregation explicitly in the preaching process. Students will learn�and utilize dialogical and collaborative forms of preaching and wrestle with their theological implications.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Adkins-Jones, Tim
R
12:30-3:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTC 839
Suffering and Healing
BTI Category
Ethics (all traditions)
Semester
FA26
This course will examine the understanding of human suffering in personal and communal space and explore the possibilities of healing in church and ministry. Through a range of readings, films, case studies, and a church or non-profit organization site visit, students will critically reflect on various conditions of human suffering including sickness, joblessness, homelessness, racial prejudices, immigration issues and others. The course will employ interdisciplinary study methods, from pastoral/practical theology to cultural studies. Building from these experiences and reflections, students will work to develop practical ministries that aim to restore and heal individuals and communities.�
Professor
Class Day & Time
Choi, Hee An
R
3:30-6:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTE 811
Doing Theology Aesthetically
BTI Category
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
Semester
FA26
In this course learners explore the aesthetic dimensions of meaning-making through visual art and aesthetic practices. Discussion of texts, experiences of making art, and engagement in aesthetic practices shed light on the potential strengths and limitations of using aesthetic experience as an effective teaching approach in religious education.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Goto, Courtney
TBA
TBA
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
The class meets on Mo Aug 17 (12-3 pm), Tu Aug 18 (8 am - 3 pm), We Aug 19 (8 am - 3 pm),Th Aug 20 (8 am - 3 pm), Fr Aug 21 (8 am - 4:30 pm), Sa Aug 22 (8 am - 3 pm), Tu Sept 15 (6 - 9 pm)
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTH 821
History and Doctrine of United Methodism
BTI Category
Church Polity/Canon Law
Semester
FA26
An exploration of Methodist origins, the Wesleys, the rise of Methodism in England, and the distinctive doctrines of Wesleyan theology. There is a particular focus on the development of the various United Methodist traditions in America and their impact on society. The course is designed to meet one of the requirements for membership in a UMC Annual Conference.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Maia, Filipe
R
12:30-3:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTN 806
Gospel of John
BTI Category
Scripture & Biblical Studies
Semester
FA26
The purpose of this study of the Fourth Gospel is to acquaint the student with this work from the later New Testament period in a way that provides understanding of and the capacity for criticism of the text involved (in addition to some non-canonical Johannine literature, e.g., the Gnostic Apocryphon of John). Appreciation for both the unity and the diversity within the Johannine literature should increase during this study.�Students are encouraged to take STHTN 721 or its equivalent, before registering for this course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Hill, Robert
M
8-10:45am
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTN 829
Enslavement and Early Christian Literature
BTI Category
Scripture & Biblical Studies
Semester
FA26
This course introduces historiographical questions, historical considerations, literary explorations, and theological consequences around the topic of enslavement in Early Christian Literature and its legacy in religious discourses. First, we will consider theoretical and methodological questions about enslavement (definitions, implications, and universality). Second, we will explore the historical, political, cultural, and social contexts of enslavement in the first century Roman Empire. Here we will focus on the material conditions (archaeological evidence) of the enslaved and the cultural understandings of their existence. Third, we survey New Testament Texts that either include characters that are enslaved or refer to the topic of enslavement as a key component in the narrative. Finally, we advance the theological implications of considering enslavement a central topic in early Christian formations. Students are encouraged to take STHTN 721 or its equivalent, before registering for this course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Men�ndez-Antu�a, Luis
TR
8-9:15 am
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTO 807
History of Israelite Religion
BTI Category
Judaic Studies
Semester
FA26
The origins and development of the religion of Israel and Judah from its earliest roots in Canaanite culture to its transformation in the Persian period. Attention to extra-biblical, as well as biblical evidence; the religion of family and countryside, as well as that of cities and elites; ritual behavior and mythological representation, and theological assertions and questionings.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Simonson, Brandon
M
6:30-9:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTR 800
Ethnographic Research
BTI Category
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
Semester
FA26
This seminar aims to train students in the understanding and application of ethnographic research methods. The research methods covered in this course are qualitative in nature, focusing on projects which require practitioners to go into the field and to analyze social spaces constructed, inhabited, and maintained by particular sets of social actors. The data in focus is less readily accessible via surveys, demographic analysis, and experimental designs. Course participants will, first of all, gain a broad understanding of the traditions related to ethnography, fieldwork, and qualitative research in the field of sociology. Secondly, participants will engage key debates in sociology related to the theories and methods of ethnographic work, ultimately developing research designs that most effectively fit personal projects in progress. Thirdly, participants will expand their techniques of data collection via guided field assignments and class interactions. Fourthly, participants will develop practices of research presentation that communicate findings in a compelling and insightful manner, with the aim of making findings accessible to a broader academic audience.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Young, Luther
T
3:30-6:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTR 850
Social Science Approaches to Religion and Spirituality
BTI Category
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
Semester
FA26
The social sciences offer a robust set of paradigms, methods, and insights useful for understanding religious and spiritual lives. Whether our goal is to deepen appreciation, articulate critique, or pursue transformation of religious institutions; to become better religious leaders; or to further our spiritual growth and healing, social science approaches can help us identify and interpret the broader contexts of religion and spirituality and better reflect on our relevant experiences. They also provide methods for studying religion and spirituality that are increasingly employed in multidisciplinary fields such as practical theology, social ethics, and pastoral psychology. This course provides an overview of social science approaches and methods with a special focus on sociology. Students will learn how to digest, interpret, and employ social science research in the service of their professional goals, and will begin to develop methodological skills for use in their own scholarship.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Manglos-Weber, Nicolete
R
12:30-3:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTS 811
Economics and Ethics
BTI Category
Ethics (all traditions)
Semester
FA26
This course is structured to provide students with the basic awareness and understanding of economic ideas, issues, and practices as they intersect with faith and ethics in all spheres of life. Economics and Ethics will enable students to better comprehend the existing economic order of being in their societies and to help them craft theologically-informed modes of resistance to social injustice and obstacles to human flourishing. It will teach students the basic concepts of economics in ways that would equip them to not only grasp the economic foundations of Christian thinking about moral decisions, but also prepare them to minister to professionals, business executives, and corporate leaders in a globalizing world. The course will also help students to respond to one of the major challenges in the marketplace: how can we develop frameworks and models to enable business executives live ethically and faithfully in the complex and pluralistic corporate world
Professor
Class Day & Time
Wariboko, Nimi
M
2:30-5:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTS 835
Seminar: What's in a Text?
BTI Category
Scripture & Biblical Studies
Semester
FA26
A detailed examination of one formative text in Black religious thought to explore a thinker�s ideas and how he or she states a theme, develops an argument, and is able to argue his or her case in a persuasive manner. Attention to consistency, reasoning, style, and rhetoric are also a part of the course. Finally, we consider the book in relation to the renewal of the church, its implications for ministry, and its place in enriching scholarly debate and thought. Students may repeat the course as different texts are studied. Please contact Dr. townes for information about this semester�s text.
Professor
Class Day & Time
townes, emilie
W
2:30-5:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTS 881
Environmental Justice
BTI Category
Ethics (all traditions)
Semester
FA26
This course explores the ways in which injustices are mediated through our physical environment, and how academics, artists, ordinary citizens, organizers, and religious leaders are addressing those injustices. Through articles, case studies, discussion, writing, and excursions to encounter the the work of the environmental justice movement in Boston, we will explore how communities engage (or avoid engaging) the connection between environmental and public health. We will explore how environmental justice activists navigate the complex webs of different stakeholders and analyze the ways that power and voice relate to environmental health. By the end of this course, you will have developed your own creative response to an instance of environmental injustice and have joined the other academics and activists at work in this vital field.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Copeland, Becky
M
8-10:45 am
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTT 849
Queer Theology
BTI Category
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
Semester
FA26
This course explores queer theology's potential to shape Christian thought and practice as a whole. We first introduce some prominent works of queer theory and ask what the implications of them on queer theology might be. We then consider how queer theology might contribute to some persistent debates in Christian theology: eros and agape, dissent and sainthood, grief and ritual, as well as utopic eschatology. Finally, we will explore how queer experiments in living might help us rethink fundamental moral categories such as kinship, vulnerability, play, fidelity, bodily change, and sexual knowledge.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Yin, Peng
W
5:30-8:15 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston University School of Theology
STHTY 704
Introduction to Pastoral Care
BTI Category
Practical/Pastoral Theology
Semester
FA26
Pastoral care is the art of ministry, chaplaincy, and counseling as it relates to the theological, psychological, and sociocultural needs of individuals and communities of faith. This course introduces various theories, methods, and practices of spiritual care and cognate disciplines for students to interpret and examine individuals and their communities as they are shaped by their own communal and sociocultural contexts. Students will have an opportunity to explore some of the personal, interpersonal, and communal issues that pastoral caregivers encounter as they engage in the work of care within congregations, hospitals, schools, the military, workplaces, and faith-based agencies. Furthermore, because of its deep commitment to social justice, pastoral care pays close attention to how social advantages and disadvantages contribute to unjust policies and systems that produce injustices based on class, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or other aspects of one's social identity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Cho, Eunil
M
11am-1:45 pm
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
bottom of page