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BTI Consortium | Last Updated April 11, 2023 - 5:00PM
ETHICS
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMCE7008
Introduction to Catholic Social Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
This course introduces the rich tradition of social ethics engaged explicitly by Leo XIII, Rerum novarum (1891), continued by his successors and bishops conferences, and enriched by theological reflection that continues today. Attention will be given to the principal documents (encyclicals, Gaudium et spes (1965), pastoral letters), and the contexts from which they emerged to gain facility in applying social analysis to contemporary concerns. Key themes to be studied: life and dignity of the human person, solidarity, social participation and the common good, the preferential option for the poor, and economic development and work, among others.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Mary Jo Iozzio
W
4:00-6:20
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMCE8002
Fundamental Moral: Theological Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
This Level Two course treats Roman Catholic fundamental moral theology, focusing on both traditional and contemporary understandings of principal themes such as: The Nature and History, as well as a Methodological Model for Approaching Fundamental Moral Theology; The Moral Person and Moral Community; Conscience, Moral Norms and the Natural Law; Evaluations of Moral Acts; Sin (personal and social), Conversion and Reconciliation; Roles of Church Teaching (Magisterium) & Tradition in selected contemporary issues in the areas of sexual ethics, health care and bioethics, Catholics in the political arena will be discussed in terms of applying the fundamental themes of moral theology.
Professor
Class Day & Time
James F Keenan
T
12:30-3:20
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
Y
Notes
PREREQ: At least one course in Christian Ethics. For MA: Advanced Student in Ethics
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMCE8124
End of Life Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
The course endeavors to educate the student about the issues, perspectives, and methodologies in contemporary end of life ethics. Throughout the course the tradition of Catholic end of life ethics will be placed in dialogue with Protestant and secular positions and approaches in the field. The course begins with an exploration of the development of the Catholic end of life ethics tradition from Thomas Aquinas to the present day. Students then consider contemporary issues in end of life ethics, such as physician assisted suicide, the provision of artificial nutrition and hydration for permanently unconscious patients, the ethics of palliative care, and the provision of treatment for neonates suffering from terminal illness. This section of the course analyzes cases in clinical end of life ethics. The course also introduces students to how end of life ethics functions in hospital ethics committees.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Daniel J Daley
W
1:00-3:30
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
Y
Notes
PREREQ: One course in moral theology at the graduate level. Department Permission Required
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TBD
Ethics of Global Development
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
TBD
Professor
Class Day & Time
Christina McRorie
T
10:00-12:20
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
TBD
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
TBD
Notes
N
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7762
Christian Ethics: Major Figures
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
Will consider fundamental questions in Christian theological ethics. Major issues are Scripture and ethics, nature and grace, Christian ethics and philosophy or "reason," and faith and social action or politics. Two areas of applied ethics will be emphasized: (1) just war and pacifism; and (2) gender, sex, marriage. The approach will be both historical or descriptive, and critical or normative. Authors include Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Menno Simons. This course is for doctoral students only.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Lisa Cahill
T
4:30-6:50
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
Masters and Doctoral
School
Boston University Graduate Program in Religion
GRS RN750
Topics in Religion, Science, and Medicine
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
Topic for Fall 2023: Religion, Race, and Climate Change. Advanced introduction to critical theories of race, religion, and climate change. Interrogates how these terms exist in braided tension and how contemporary debates centered on environmental justice are not divorced from ultimate matters of religious, racial, and political concern.�
Professor
Class Day & Time
James Hill, Jr.
R
3:30-6:15
Grading Option
Audit; Letter; P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL; MA allowed
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMCE7216
Virtue Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
This course introduces the emerging field of Christian virtue ethics. The course begins with a study of the theological and philosophical theories of virtue that have shaped contemporary Catholic and Protestant accounts of virtue. Attention is given to the relation of virtue theory and the virtues to: the Gospels and the life of Jesus; the Christian community; theological anthropology; human happiness; the natural law; and moral norms. The course also discusses the academic and pastoral uses of virtue ethics through the examination of contemporary cases in light of the virtues.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Daniel J Daley
F
1:30-4:00
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMCE8059
Social Justice and the Bible
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
This course builds on the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching found in the papal, Vatican, and conferences of bishops documentary history and brings the insights of Catholic social ethics and biblical studies to bear on the realities of social justice and human rights today. Attention will be given to primary source documents in the prophetic and wisdom literature traditions of scripture and the social encyclicals found in CST. The course a) presents the concerns of justice making/justice breaking/justice doing in the primary literature of these traditions, b) explores the social, economic, and educational conditions of those who are vulnerable or otherwise marginalized, and c) considers how to realize the preferential option for those who are poor and/or otherwise vulnerable as the Gospel demand for justice.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Mary Jo Iozzio
R
6:30-9:00
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
Y
Notes
PREREQ: One Graduate level course in either fundamental moral theology (including CST) or Scripture
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TBD
Race, Gender, and Ethics
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
TBD
Professor
Class Day & Time
Christina McRorie
M
12:30-2:50
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
TBD
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
TBD
Notes
N
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7037
Practical Theological Ethics and Global Christianity
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
The doctoral seminar explores four selected topics in contemporary practical theological ethics: bioethics, sustainability, politics, and theological ethics in the local and global Church. By engaging the contributions of representative, diverse theological-ethical voices in global Christianity from the Global South particularly from Asia, Africa, and Latin America the seminar aims to strengthening the students familiarity with current global scholarship on these topics.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Andrea Vicini, SJ
M
2:00-4:20
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
Masters and Doctoral
School
Boston College Department of Theology
THEO7763
Forgiveness: Theological and Philsophical Issues
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
This graduate course will examine theological and philosophical interpretations of forgiveness and related topics such as guilt, repentance, and accountability. We will focus on various accounts of what it means to forgive a wrongdoer, what it means to be forgiven, and how forgiveness is related to reconciliation. We will also examine whether and, if so, how forgiveness might pertain not only to interpersonal but also intrapersonal and collective wrongdoing. Special attention will be placed on the relation of forgiveness to the virtues of mercy and justice. Readings will include historical figures such as Thomas Aquinas, Joseph Butler, and Fredrich Nietzsche, contemporary philosophers Nicholas Wolterstorff, Martha Nussbaum, and Charles Griswold, and contemporary theologians Miroslav Volf, Anthony Bash, and James Alison. Course requirements: class participation, one seminar presentation, final paper. This is intended for advanced MA and PhD students.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Stephen J Pope
W
10:00-12:25
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL; Class Participation; seminar presentation; final paper. Intended for advanced masters or PhD students
School
Boston University Graduate Program in Religion
GRS RN753
Topics in Religion and Sexuality
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
Exploration of key topics and themes in the study of religion and sexuality, especially as they intersect with gender, race, and politics. Historical periods and religious contexts will vary according to instructor. Topic for Spring 2023: Race, Religion, Sexuality, and the US State. Examines the entwined relationships between race, religion, and sexuality in the histories, laws, and cultures of the US state through the lens of feminist and queer studies. Topics include settler colonialism, imperialism, civil rights, secularism, borders, labor, and reproduction.��
Professor
Class Day & Time
Najwa Meyer
M
2:30-5:15
Grading Option
Audit; Letter; P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL; MA allowed
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