|
|
Course Schedule |
Sections
01, 02 Reilly Hall 338, T/TH 11:30; 2:30
|
Date |
Class Topics
and Assignments |
|
Module 1 |
The Learning
Covenant |
|
8/29 Introductions |
Questions:
Why am I in this class? What do I hope to learn from taking this
class? Who else is in this class and why? Who is this
professor? What qualifies him to teach this class? Can he help me
meet my learning objectives? |
|
8/31 The Learning Covenant |
Questions:
What is a "learning covenant"? What contribution, if any, can
it make to my learning in this class and beyond? ·
Fred
Glennon, "The Learning Covenant Revisited," Teaching Theology
and Religion vol. 11 no. 1, pp. 32-41 (on
Canvas under Learning Covenant Module Reading Assignments). This essay
will provide a framework for the pedagogical style I use in this class.) ·
Read
Syllabus and Learning Covenant materials (learning covenant guidelines,
activity options) on Canvas (http://Canvas.lemoyne.edu) or my web page (http://webserver.lemoyne.edu/~glennon/the237.htm) |
|
Module 2. |
Elements
of a Christian Social Ethic |
|
9/5 Facts and Perceptions |
Questions: What are the elements of a Christian Social
Ethic? Why are facts and perceptions
of the situation so important in developing one's ethical framework? What influences one's perceptions of
ethical situations? ·
Stassen
and Gushie, "The Four Dimensions of Holistic
Character Ethics,” from Kingdom Ethics
(on Canvas) ·
De
La Torre, "The Liberation of Ethics," from Doing Ethics from the
Margins (on Canvas) |
|
9/7 Social-Institutional
Location/Loyalties |
Questions: Does my social and institutional location
(my ethnicity, race, class, family origins, religion, educational status,
political perspective, etc.) shape my moral conduct and moral character? Does it contribute anything to my ability
to think, feel, and act ethically about the important issues of our day? Does it keep me from seeing other points of
view? ·
Glennon
and Oliver, “Ethical Traditions:
Situation Ethics, Evangelical Ethics (on Canvas) |
|
9/12 Beliefs, Values and Moral Principles |
Questions: What role does the beliefs and values I
hold play in my ethical decision-making?
How have these contributed the Christian complicity in injustice over
the years? What principles does the
Catholic church think ought to guide ethical decision-making on important
societal issues? Do I agree with these
principles? ·
Glennon
and Oliver: “Ethical Traditions: Natural Law Ethics, Feminist Ethics” (on Canvas) (everyone read) |
|
9/14 Moral Reasoning |
Questions: What constitutes a good
moral argument? What is the relationship between the conclusions I
reach and the beliefs, principles, and facts from which those conclusions are
drawn?
Assessment Activity #1: Learning Covenants Due (see Assignment #2 under Module 1 on Canvas) |
|
Module
3 |
Sexuality,
Marriage, and Family |
|
9/19 The Social Construction of Sexuality
and Gender |
Questions:
What are gender and sex? Do men and women have different innate
qualities and characteristics? Or are these characteristics shaped by
their culture and society? What is the nature and purpose of
sexuality? What does it mean to say that we are sexual beings? Is
it only about making babies or is it more? Should sexual expression be
limited? If so, in what ways? ·
James
Nelson, "Embodiment in Sexual Theology," Embodiment, 19-36
(on Canvas) (Group 1) ·
Daniel
Maguire, “Sex and the Sacred” (on Canvas) (Group 2) ·
Beverly
Harrison, “Human Sexuality and Mutuality,” in Justice in the Making
, 53-65 (on Canvas) (Group 3) |
|
9/21 The Morality of Sexual Variations |
Questions: Why is there such debate about the morality
of homosexuality and same-sex marriages today? Can people with different sexual
orientations act on their sexuality in morally appropriate ways? If so, what makes those acts moral and
others immoral? ·
Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, "Letter
to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual
Persons (1986),"; (Group 4) ·
Ellison,
“Reimagining Good Sex,” in Erotic
Justice (on Canvas) (Group 5) Supplementary ·
Fred
Glennon, "Must a Covenantal Sexual Ethic Be Heterocentric?
Insights from Congregations" Perspectives
in Religious Studies (on
Canvas) |
|
9/26 Marriage in Christian Perspective |
Questions: What are the nature and purpose of marriage
in the Christian traditions? Does the
blessing of gay marriage or civil unions undermine or threaten them or can
these nontraditional forms achieve the same ends? ·
Lisa
Sowle Cahill, “Marriage,” in New Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought (on Canvas) (Group 1) ·
Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, "Considerations
Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual
Persons (2003)" (Group 2) ·
Jean
Porter, “The Natural Law and Innovative Forms of Marriage: A
Reconsideration,” Journal of the
Society of Christian Ethics 30, 2 (2010): 79-97. (Group 3) ·
Marvin
Ellison, “Marriage Advocates,” in Same-Sex
Marriage? A Christian Ethical Analysis, 78-98 (on Canvas) (Group 4) ·
Wilson
Yates, “The Protestant View of Marriage,” Ecumenical
Studies (on Canvas) (Group 5) |
|
9/28 Parenthood and Families |
Questions: How does the Christian tradition understand
the role of the family and parenting?
Is the nuclear family the norm or an aberration? In our day of over population, can we
really justify having more than one child?
What is the impact of the economy on the well-being of families?
·
Bill
McKibben, "The Case for Single Child Families" (also on
Canvas) (Group 3) |
|
10/3 Catch-up Day |
I am adding
this into the schedule to address any questions you may have to this point
and to review what we have done. |
|
Module
4 |
Justice
and Individual Rights |
|
10/5 Injustice |
Questions: How do we know when an injustice is
occurring or has occurred? What are
the marks of such injustice? What does
it mean to say that our society is marked by a "web of
injustice"? ·
Karen
Lebacqz, “The Reign of Injustice,” in Justice in an Unjust World, chap. 1
(on Canvas) (everyone read) |
|
10/10 |
Fall Break
(no class) |
|
10/12 Christian Conceptions of Justice |
Questions:
What is social justice? Is it one thing or are there various
understandings of it? What significance does the Bible have for
Christians who are trying to understand social justice? ·
Stephen
Mott, "God's Justice and Ours," Biblical Ethics and Social
Change, 59-81 (on Canvas) (Group 4) ·
Beverly
Harrison, “The Dream of a Common Language:
Toward a Normative Theory of Justice in Christian Ethics,” in Justice in the Making, 14-29 (on
Canvas) (Group 5) |
|
10/17 Contraception and Abortion |
Questions:
What does it mean to say that people have human rights? How extensive
are they? What do they mean, if anything, for the abortion
debate? Can you envision an instance where aborting a fetus might be a
morally justifiable act on the part of a woman and/or family? If not,
why not? If so, what are the reasons you would use to justify it? Are
other forms of birth control and family planning acceptable to you?
What are they and why?
Supplemental:
|
|
10/19 Euthanasia and Suicide |
Questions: Is it ethical to choose to end one's own
life, especially when one's quality of life is so bad? Who should decide? Are all forms of
euthanasia unethical? Is there ever a
time when medical personnel can and should assist people in ending their
lives? ·
Sacred
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Declaration on Euthanasia”
(Group 5) ·
Joseph
Fletcher, “Euthanasia,” “Suicide,” in Humanhood: Essays in Biomedical Ethics, 149-158,
166-175 (on Canvas) (Group 1) |
|
Module
5 |
Justice and Social Rights |
|
10/24 Economic Justice |
Questions: Questions: What are the possibilities
and pitfalls of our emerging global economy? Can Christianity provide
ethical guidance to address the inequalities of the system or is the global
economy beyond its reach? ·
Excerpts
from Catholic Bishops’ Letter Economic Justice for all (also on Canvas)
(Group 2) ·
Rebecca
Blank, “Market Behavior and Christian Behavior,” in Faithful Economics, chap. 3 (on Canvas) (Group 3) ·
David
Gushee, “The Economic Ethics of Jesus,” in Faithful Economics, chap. 7 (on
Canvas) (Group 4) |
|
10/26 Health Care |
Questions: How should we
distribute health care? Is it a part of the communal provision
that we should provide to each other? Or should it only be
distributed on the basis of one’s ability to pay? ·
Glaser,
“Health Care,” in New Dictionary of
Catholic Social Thought (on Canvas) (Group 5) ·
Chapman,
“Health Care Reform: The Potential Contributions of a Faith-Based Approach,” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics,
28,2 (2008): 205-215. (Group 1) |
|
10/31 Work and Employment |
Questions: Why do people
work? Is it only to make a living? Or is there something in human
nature that leads us to engage in some type of productive work? Are all
forms of work equally valuable or is there some work that is better
than others and even some work that human beings should not engage in? ·
May,
“Work in the Catholic Theological Tradition,” in New Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought (on Canvas) (Group 2) ·
Almade, “Just Wage,” in New
Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought (on Canvas) (Group 3) ·
Elizabeth
Hinson-Hasty, “For the Workers,” in To
Do Justice, 1-11 (on Canvas) (Group 4) Supplemental ·
Glennon,
“Desperate Exchanges: Secondary Work,
Justice, and Public Policy,” The Annual
of the Society of Christian Ethics (on Canvas) |
|
11/2 Poverty and Welfare |
Questions: Who
are the poor? Why are they poor? Is it simply a failure
of personal responsibility? Or is it more complex involving
structural impediments that the poor have difficulty overcoming? Whose responsibility is it to overcome
poverty? What obligations do the poor have? What is the
obligation of the state toward its neediest citizens? ·
Rebecca
Blank, “The Changing Face of Poverty,” in It Takes a Nation (Princeton),
chap. 1 (on Canvas) (Group 5) ·
Fred Glennon,
"Welfare/Welfare State;" "Social Security," in New
Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought (on Canvas) (Group 1) Supplemental ·
Fred Glennon,
“Renewing the Welfare Covenant: A Covenantal Perspective on Responsible
Poverty Policy,” (on Canvas) |
|
Module
6 |
Violence |
|
11/7 What is Violence? |
Questions: What do we mean by the term
"violence"? Is it only
physical, or can it be emotional, social, or institutional? If it is broader, then what are we trying to
get at when we say that someone has experienced violence? ·
Robert
McAfee Brown, "Clarifying Our Terms," in Religion and Violence, 1-13 (on Canvas) (everyone read) |
|
11/9 Sanctioned Violence: War |
Questions: Considering the multiple conflicts going on
in the world today (Afghanistan, Iraq war, Israel-Palestine, etc.), how do
the parties involved in the conflicts justify going to war? Is there such a thing as a "just
war" given today's military firepower?
What criteria should we use to measure the justice of a war or
conflict? ·
Daniel
Maguire, The Horrors We Bless,
chapter 2 (on Canvas). (Group 2) ·
Daniel
Bell, “Discriminating Force: Just War and Counterinsurgency,” Christian Century Aug. 7, 2013 (on
Canvas) (Group 3) ·
Douglas
Johnson, “What Torture Does to Human Beings,” in Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul (on Canvas)
(Group 4) |
|
11/14 Sanctioned Violence: Capital Punishment |
Questions: Should a society have the right or
obligation to put people to death, even when that same society does not allow
individuals to do the same? If so,
what reasons does a society put forth to defend such a right? If not, why not? What reasons do Christians give to support,
limit, or oppose the death penalty?
What alternatives to the death penalty seem appropriate? ·
Glennon
and Oliver: “Criminal Justice: The Execution of Troy Anthony Davis” (on
Canvas) ·
Catholic
Bishops, “Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death” (on Canvas) |
|
11/16 Environmental Case Study: Keystone XL Pipeline |
Video Presentation: Watch these videos online: ·
Naomi Klein, "This Changes Everything" (this short film gives a Canadian
perspective that complements the Keystone Pipeline issue) Then read the
case study below. These will be the
basis for your case study discussion analysis which is due on Canvas. ·
Glennon and Oliver, “Case Study:
Keystone XL Pipeline” |
|
11/21 Nonviolent Social Change |
Questions:
Does social change only come through violent means? Is the notion of
redemptive violence really a myth? Is the biblical concept of
"turning the other cheek" realistic in our world today?
Supplementary (to read in
addition to the above, not in place of) ·
Fred
Glennon, "Baseball's Surprising Moral Example: Branch Rickey, Jackie
Robinson, and the Racial Integration of America," in Faith of Fifty
Million: Baseball and Religion in American Culture, 145-166 (on Canvas) |
|
Module
7 |
The
Environment |
|
11/28 The Roots of our Ecological Crisis |
Questions: Is our world on the brink of ecological
crisis (global warming, ozone depletion, species extinction, etc.)? If so, how did we get to this place? Is it only the result of overpopulation,
consumption, and the like, or did religion, especially Christianity, play a
role at the level of worldview and ethic?
Is there hope within Christian traditions for addressing this crisis? ·
Lynn
White, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis," Science 155
(1967): 1203-07 (on Canvas) (everyone read) |
|
11/30 Environmental Ethics |
Questions: What are the theological
beliefs and values that would enable Christians to rethink their relationship
to the natural world? How do we learn to see the intrinsic value
of the world around us rather than simply see it as there for our own
purposes? What environmental ethics do
Christian traditions espouse to address the directions we should take? ·
U.S.
Catholic Bishops, “Renewing the Earth: The Environment in Light of Catholic
Social Teaching” (on Canvas) (Group 5) ·
Sallie McFague, “Intimate Creation: God’s Body, Our Home,” Christian
Century (on Canvas) (Group 1) |
|
12/5 |
Open date for student topics and
interests. |
|
12/7 Last day of class |
Open date for student topics and
interests. |
|
Group Final |
·
Section
01: Dec. 12, 9-11:30pm (Exam due 12/15
by 5pm) ·
Section
02: Dec. 13, 12-2:30pm (Exam due 12/15
by 5pm) |