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BTI Consortium | Last Updated November 14 - 9:00AM
Hartford International University
for Religion and Peace
School
Hartford International
ET-631-1
Environmental Ethics: Leadership and Justice for Life on Earth
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP25
The Native American "Tale of Two Wolves" tells of two evenly matched wolves in a battle. One is evil, greedy, arrogant, lying, and full of fear. The other is good, filled with love, hope, compassion, and integrity. The question is: which one will win? The sage's answer: the one we feed. The study of environmental ethics can easily devolve into a spiral of pessimism, given the unprecedented challenges we face regarding the climate crisis and other ecological threats to the well-being of our planet. We are tempted to "feed the wrong wolf" and give into despair and a fatalistic resignation. Therefore, we will explore religious, philosophical, and environmental perspectives to help us understand the roots of the crises, as well as search for resources to help us "feed the good wolf." This course will equip students to work toward faith-based approaches to environmental ethics focused on justice and building community.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dahill, Lisa
R
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
HI-619
Muslim-Christian Conflict or Cooperation: The Politics of Interpreting Our Shared Past
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
The interpretation of Islam and Christian-Muslim encounters has become highly politicized, ideological, and controversial. Islam and Christianity have been described as either sibling children of Abraham sharing much in common or part of a monolithic clash of incompatible civilizations. This course will survey the history of Christian-Muslim relations, giving attention to how contemporary events shape our memories of past events and identities. Students will examine the origins of the encounter, the diversity of historical contexts, and interpretive frameworks to provide tools to develop their own critical perspectives on Christian-Muslim relations for contemporary public engagement.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton, David
ASYNC
ASYNC
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
IP-611-1
Peace, Justice, and Violence in Sacred Texts
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
Students in this course will examine sources from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Quran that relate to peace, justice and violence. Students will analyze sacred texts in their original socio-historical contexts, and will explore diverse ways Jewish, Christian and Muslim sources confront and interpret these texts. Students will take a case study approach to investigate how texts from all three Abrahamic traditions can and have been used to legitimate violent conflict and injustice toward others in real-life settings (e.g., empires, religious persecution, colonialism, misogyny, racism, and Anti-Semitism), as well as how they can and have been used to promote peaceful practices and just relations (peace movements, provision of care for the poor and sick by religious orders and communities, peaceable co-existence and cooperation with religious and ethnic others, liberation and justice movements).
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grant, Deena
R
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
IP-614-1
Nonviolence in Faith-based Social Movements
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP25
Social movements are important arenas for social change. Religion, faith and tactics of non-violence have played a significant role in many social movements. By joining together, individuals and groups have worked to transform social values or norms, establish collective identities, change laws, and chart new ways of living, learning, and being. This class will aim to further our understanding of social movements and how faith helped shape the trajectories of the movements. We will focus on how that's happened in the Americas while referring to similar movements from around the world. Topics include racial identity, nationalism, Christianity, Islam, the civil rights movement, feminist approaches, and contemporary interfaith dialogue. Course material includes primary sources and analytical perspectives. We will examine how they develop, are sustained, have changed/evolved, and (sometimes) decline. We will begin by examining theories of social movements and look at the ways in which our understanding of social movements has changed over time. We will also examine mobilization to social movements and ask why some people come to participate while others do not, as well as the tactics, goals, and successes of various social movements.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Robertson, Cleotha
W
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
LG-562-1
Introduction to New Testament Greek II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP25
A continuation of LG-561, Introduction to New Testament Greek, Part I. Pre-requisite: LG-561 or permission of the instructor.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Duffy, Edward
W
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Pre-requisite: LG-561 or permission of the instructor.
School
Hartford International
RS-658-1
The Future of Religion
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP25
Undeniable changes are taking place in the religious landscape of the United States as well as globally. Yet the human desire for religious and spiritual grounding continues, but what forms and practices will address this need into the future? This course explores recent past trends and the present dynamics that are reshaping religion in America, including individuals, organizations, and the religious enterprise itself. Using this research-informed perspective, we will speculate on what the near and distant future(s) could look like. This course, however, will not just be an academic thought experiment, but rather asks students to re-envision ministry and craft possible alternative religious communities of practice that might address these possible future realities with spiritual integrity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Thumma, Scott
M
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
SC-522-1
Hebrew Bible Survey
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP25
This course will examine the content and theology expressed in the Hebrew Bible. We analyze scripture using historical-critical methodologies that consider the biblical material in light of its ancient Near Eastern context. We also investigate how the Hebrew Bible has been interpreted by different faith communities.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Robertson, Cleotha
W
7:00pm-8:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
TH-505
Investigating Christian Theology: A Dialogical and Interreligious Approach
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
SP25
Whether we think of it as "faith seeking understanding" (Anselm of Canterbury) or "the study of God and God's ways" (Frederick Buechner) or "the discovery, understanding, and transformation of the convictions of a convictional community, including the discovery and critical revision of their relation to one another and to whatever else there is" (James Wm. McClendon Jr), Christian theology is complex - complicated as it is by the sheer manyness of the forms Christianity now takes. Taught collaboratively by two scholar-practitioners who embrace radically different expressions of this faith, who delight in the resulting complexity, and who have deep experience in multifaith contexts, this course provides an opportunity for dialogical investigation of such core Christian doctrines (revelation, creation, Trinity, Christology, pneumatology, ecclesiology, soteriology, eschatology, and more). It facilitates exploration of multiple perspectives of thinkers and exemplars from the early church to the present among them, a few non-Christian scholars of Christian scripture, belief, and practice. This course will help students connect "theology" to their own beliefs and practices, ecclesial ministry, service as a chaplain, or social activism whatever their orientation toward "religion", or their prior experience with formal study of Christian doctrines may be.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Mosher, Lucinda/Watts, Benjamin
T
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
TH-513-2
The Faiths as Formal Realities: Describing and Portraying God
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
One of three core courses in the MA in Interreligious Studies curriculum, The Faiths as Formal Realities explores how faith communities move from the text to practices with the use of structured beliefs and traditions, approaches and doctrines. This course is taught in a multi-faith classroom, with faculty of different faith traditions, and it builds knowledge and skills for study within a multifaith setting.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton, David/Kamaly, Hossein
M
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
TH-553-2
Intro to Islamic Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP25
This course explores the content and structure of Islamic belief, as elaborated by Muslim classical thinkers (7th-15th centuries), in relation to a selection of representative texts. The Introduction questions the nature and modalities of theology in Islam. History studies the origins and growth of the science of Kalâm in its interaction with the other major religious disciplines of Sunnism -- exegesis, Prophetic tradition, jurisprudence, sects, Sufism and philosophy (falsafa). The Creed is then analyzed more theoretically in its major components: the lordship and divinity of God, the mediation of the Messenger, the servitude and ethics of the believers. Society offers a last avenue for enquiry, in so far as it was shaped by particular theological doctrines. The Way/Law (sharî’a), power, love, innovation, and alterity -- religious or other -- are among the topics envisaged. No knowledge of Arabic is required for this course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Laher, Suheil
W
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
WS-605-2
Rites of Passage
BTI Category
Semester
Preaching, Liturgy, & Ritual
SP25
Rites of passage are the hinges of human life, allowing individuals and communities to negotiate complex transitions meaningfully in relationship to one another, to the roles and responsibilities of one's community, to the land and creatures among whom one lives, and to the transcendent dimension of human experience. Yet as traditional cultural and religious traditions erode, many individuals, families, and communities are left without the psychic/ communal structures these rites once provided. This course will examine the importance of rites of passage in human development, the impact of their widespread loss in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood today, and the creation of new or renewed forms of such rites for healthy and resilient human-ecological flourishing.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dahill, Lisa
T
7:00pm-8:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
ET-631-2
Environmental Ethics: Leadership and Justice for Life on Earth
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (all traditions)
SP25
The Native American "Tale of Two Wolves" tells of two evenly matched wolves in a battle. One is evil - greedy, arrogant, lying, and full of fear. The other is good - filled with love, hope, compassion, and integrity. The question is: which one will win? The sage's answer: the one we feed. The study of environmental ethics can easily devolve into a spiral of pessimism, given the unprecedented challenges we face regarding the climate crisis and other ecological threats to the well-being of our planet. We are tempted to "feed the wrong wolf" and give into despair and a fatalistic resignation. Therefore, we will explore religious, philosophical, and environmental perspectives to help us understand the roots of the crises, as well as search for resources to help us "feed the good wolf." This course will equip students to work toward faith-based approaches to environmental ethics focused on justice and building community.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dahill, Lisa
R
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
HI-625
Modern Muslim Histories
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP25
This course offers an in-depth introduction to modern Muslim histories from the 16th to the 21st centuries. Utilizing a variety of sources, from primary to secondary and fiction, it engages big questions - modernity, "Muslim World," colonialism, nationalism, globalization, diversity, memory, and religion - through case studies centered in and across sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East/Europe, south and southeast Asia, and North America.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Kamaly, Hossein
T
7:00pm-8:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
IP-611-2
Peace, Justice, and Violence in Sacred Texts
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
Students in this course will examine sources from the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Quran that relate to peace, justice and violence. Students will analyze sacred texts in their original socio-historical contexts, and will explore diverse ways Jewish, Christian and Muslim sources confront and interpret these texts. Students will take a case study approach to investigate how texts from all three Abrahamic traditions can and have been used to legitimate violent conflict and injustice toward others in real-life settings (e.g., empires, religious persecution, colonialism, misogyny, racism, and Anti-Semitism), as well as how they can and have been used to promote peaceful practices and just relations (peace movements, provision of care for the poor and sick by religious orders and communities, peaceable co-existence and cooperation with religious and ethnic others, liberation and justice movements).
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grant, Deena
R
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
IP-614-2
Nonviolence in Faith-based Social Movements
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP25
Social movements are important arenas for social change. Religion, faith and tactics of non-violence have played a significant role in many social movements. By joining together, individuals and groups have worked to transform social values or norms, establish collective identities, change laws, and chart new ways of living, learning, and being. This class will aim to further our understanding of social movements and how faith helped shape the trajectories of the movements. We will focus on how that's happened in the Americas while referring to similar movements from around the world. Topics include racial identity, nationalism, Christianity, Islam, the civil rights movement, feminist approaches, and contemporary interfaith dialogue. Course material includes primary sources and analytical perspectives. We will examine how they develop, are sustained, have changed/evolved, and (sometimes) decline. We will begin by examining theories of social movements and look at the ways in which our understanding of social movements has changed over time. We will also examine mobilization to social movements and ask why some people come to participate while others do not, as well as the tactics, goals, and successes of various social movements.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Robertson, Cleotha
W
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
LG-562-2
Introduction to New Testament Greek II
BTI Category
Semester
Languages
SP25
A continuation of LG-561, Introduction to New Testament Greek, Part I. Pre-requisite: LG-561 or permission of the instructor.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Duffy, Edward
W
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
Y
Notes
Pre-requisite: LG-561 or permission of the instructor.
School
Hartford International
RS-658-2
The Future of Religion
BTI Category
Semester
Sociology/Ethnography/Research Methods
SP25
Undeniable changes are taking place in the religious landscape of the United States as well as globally. Yet the human desire for religious and spiritual grounding continues, but what forms and practices will address this need into the future? This course explores recent past trends and the present dynamics that are reshaping religion in America, including individuals, organizations, and the religious enterprise itself. Using this research-informed perspective, we will speculate on what the near and distant future(s) could look like. This course, however, will not just be an academic thought experiment, but rather asks students to re-envision ministry and craft possible alternative religious communities of practice that might address these possible future realities with spiritual integrity.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Thumma, Scott
M
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
SC-522-2
Hebrew Bible Survey
BTI Category
Semester
Scripture & Biblical Studies
SP25
This course will examine the content and theology expressed in the Hebrew Bible. We analyze scripture using historical-critical methodologies that consider the biblical material in light of its ancient Near Eastern context. We also investigate how the Hebrew Bible has been interpreted by different faith communities.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Robertson, Cleotha
W
7:00pm-8:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
TH-513-1
The Faiths as Formal Realities: Describing and Portraying God
BTI Category
Semester
Interreligious Learning
SP25
One of three core courses in the MA in Interreligious Studies curriculum, The Faiths as Formal Realities explores how faith communities move from the text to practices with the use of structured beliefs and traditions, approaches and doctrines. This course is taught in a multi-faith classroom, with faculty of different faith traditions, and it builds knowledge and skills for study within a multifaith setting.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Grafton, David/Kamaly, Hossein
M
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
TH-553-1
Intro to Islamic Theology
BTI Category
Semester
Islamic Studies
SP25
This course explores the content and structure of Islamic belief, as elaborated by Muslim classical thinkers (7th-15th centuries), in relation to a selection of representative texts. The Introduction questions the nature and modalities of theology in Islam. History studies the origins and growth of the science of Kalâm in its interaction with the other major religious disciplines of Sunnism -- exegesis, Prophetic tradition, jurisprudence, sects, Sufism and philosophy (falsafa). The Creed is then analyzed more theoretically in its major components: the lordship and divinity of God, the mediation of the Messenger, the servitude and ethics of the believers. Society offers a last avenue for enquiry, in so far as it was shaped by particular theological doctrines. The Way/Law (sharî’a), power, love, innovation, and alterity -- religious or other -- are among the topics envisaged. No knowledge of Arabic is required for this course.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Laher, Suheil
W
5:00pm-6:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
School
Hartford International
WS-605-1
Rites of Passage
BTI Category
Semester
Preaching, Liturgy, & Ritual
SP25
Rites of passage are the hinges of human life, allowing individuals and communities to negotiate complex transitions meaningfully in relationship to one another, to the roles and responsibilities of one's community, to the land and creatures among whom one lives, and to the transcendent dimension of human experience. Yet as traditional cultural and religious traditions erode, many individuals, families, and communities are left without the psychic/ communal structures these rites once provided. This course will examine the importance of rites of passage in human development, the impact of their widespread loss in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood today, and the creation of new or renewed forms of such rites for healthy and resilient human-ecological flourishing.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Dahill, Lisa
T
7:00pm-8:50pm
Grading Option
Letter, P/F, Audit
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisites?
N
Notes
N
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