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BTI Consortium | Last Updated April 11, 2023 - 5:00PM
RELIGION & CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION
CERTIFICATE (PRE-APPROVED COURSES)
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMPS7006
Grief and Loss
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA23
Grief may be understood as the response to a significant loss. We will explore pastoral, theological, religious, and secular perspectives on grief and loss and seek to integrate these perspectives where appropriate. We'll consider important new research in thanatology and review traditional psychological theories of grief in light of contemporary critiques. We will explore the experience of grief in light of context and culture and consider which features may be universal. We will attend to often unrecognized dimensions of grief�disenfranchised grief and the grief born of injustice. We'll focus on how to respond pastorally to grieving individuals and communities.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Melissa Kelly
R
9:30-11:50
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMPS7090
Ministry in a Diverse Church
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA23
Catholicism in the United States is presently shaped by rich cultural traditions that demand creative approaches to ministry in the midst of diversity. Nearly 45% of all Catholics in the country are Hispanic, 40% Euro-American, 4% Asian-American, 3.7% African-American, among others. Students in this course explore key questions and discuss ministerial strategies that will help them develop cultural competencies for effective ministry today. The course builds on the U.S. Latino/a Catholic experience as a case study while addressing core issues in ministry that affect everyone in the Church. Ecumenical and international perspectives are welcomed into this conversation.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Hosffman Ospino
ASYN
ASYN
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMPS7277
Trauma Healing and Prevention
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA23
Traumatization occurs at the interrelated social, psychic, and physiological boundaries of life and death. This course offers an introduction to trauma healing and prevention for contexts of pastoral and spiritual care. It surveys approaches to trauma developed in peacebuilding, public health, and psychology, as well as the emerging subfield of trauma theology. The final research paper is a vocational case study.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Heather M. DuBois
R
3:30-5:30
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMPT8138
Impasse and Spiritual Transormation
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA23
This course gathers multi-disciplinary resources for spiritual responses to intractable conflicts. It develops a working social theory definition of identity and traces dynamics of transformation in The Dark Night by John of the Cross. Next, it examines Constance Fitzgerald�s concept of impasse and its implications for socio-political life. Finally, it reflects on wisdom, hope, and imagination in light of the foregoing challenges.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Heather M. DuBois
T
3:30-5:30
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
Y
Notes
One year of graduate level theology
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
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
Class Participation; seminar presentation; final paper. Intended for advanced masters or PhD students
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMPS7078
Pastoral Care of the Family
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA23
This course presents specific topics that are important for effective and compassionate pastoral care of families today. We will examine challenging realities that may shape and/or disturb families and lead members to seek pastoral care, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, imprisonment of a family member, grief and loss, and family caregiver stress. We will consider the specific needs of families affected by injustices and harsh difficulties such as poverty and immigrant/refugee status. We will consider the specific roles and strategies of the pastoral caregiver and the faith community in helping families to negotiate challenges and create stability and well-being.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Melissa Kelly
T
12:30-3:00
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMPS7182
Pastoral Care in/with Communities of Faith: Creating Networks of Care
BTI Category
Semester
Practical/Pastoral Theology
FA23
Life is in inherently relational, multidimensional, interconnected, and located within larger systems and structures � i.e. communities. Thus, our practices of pastoral care and counseling must likewise attend to the multidimensional and systemic nature of relationality. This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to explore personal, pastoral, and communal processes of creating networks of care in communities of faith and para-church organizations. Both pastoral and lay leaders will learn how to engage and utilize systems theory, conflict theory, therapeutic skills and processes, and theological and spiritual resources to navigate conflict, foster dialogue, and build constructive solutions and possibilities in community as part of an overarching practice of pastoral care. Particular attention will be given to one’s self-in-relationship and the capacity to remain a non-anxious, non-reactive constructive presence.
Professor
Class Day & Time
William Roozeboom
ASYN
ASYN
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
Y
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMRE7083
Educating for Justice and Peace
BTI Category
Semester
Religious Education & Youth Ministry
FA23
In this course, students study and practice initiatives that work for understanding, justice, and peace. Recognizing that much injustice happens across some divide, the course begins with an investigation of our experiences of otherness and connection. We consider how cultural narratives undergird our sence of identity and purpose, and investigate them theologically. We look to educational theorists from the early 20th century to the present, who reflect that education itself is a work of justice. The course culminated with group projects that give students an oppurtunity for spreakking and listening across divides for the sake of understanding and justice.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Theresa A. O'Keefe
W
10:00-12:50
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
TMST7247
Faith & Justice: Liberation Theologies in the US
BTI Category
Semester
Systematic Theology & Philosophy (Western)
FA23
Liberation theologies are modes of theological discourse that rethink the purpose of religious thought and practice by placing attention on distinctive experiences of injustice and inequality encountered by different individuals and social groups. Although the liberation theology movement is now a global one, the United States has been the birthplace of a good number of liberation theologies. This course examines the emergence, development, emphases, and methodologies of four of these, including African American/Black theology of liberation, feminist theology of liberation, Latino/a theology of liberation, and LGBTQ theology of liberation. Besides offering a solid introduction to liberation theology, the course analyzes basic concepts underlying theories of injustice, domination, and oppression.
Professor
Class Day & Time
Benjamin Valentin
T
3:30-6:20
Grading Option
Letter
Credits
3
Professor Approval Req'd?
N
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
N
School
Boston College School of Theology & Ministry
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 University Graduate Program in Religion
GRS RN766
Tolerance
BTI Category
Semester
Ethics (All Traditions)
FA23
Explores the religious roots of tolerance as an alternative to secular, more liberal foundations for pluralism. Grapples with the challenge of tolerance to the revealed religions and the ways different societies have met or failed to meet this challenge. Presents multiple case-studies and contemporary connections, explores relevance to students own experiences.��
Professor
Class Day & Time
Adam Seligman
TR
11:00-12:15
Grading Option
Audit; Letter; P/F
Credits
4
Professor Approval Req'd?
Y
Online?
N
Prerequisite?
N
Notes
DOCTORAL
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