Courses for M. A. and Theology and Religious Studies Required Courses (offered every year). Gtrs 6000. 0 Theory and Methods Seminar

Both Theology and Religious Studies are multidisciplinary fields of scholarly inquiry. Theology is the scholarly exposition and analysis of the practices and thought of religious practitioners. It includes the disciplines of Biblical Studies, Systematic theology, ethical theory and practice, pastoral training. Religious Studies is rooted in the study of religions in their cultural and social settings. It encompasses the theories of religion, the social scientific study of religious experience, comparative study of religions and cultures, and comparative ethics. These courses will require all students to study and compare the theories and methods of Theology and Religious Studies.

This course is a research seminar examining themes about historical and current issues involving religions in Canada and especially Atlantic Canada. Special emphasis will be given to comparative studies of Canadian themes in relation to North American and International patterns.

Students will engage in library and/or field research and the writing of a thesis under supervision of a thesis committee made up of a director and two readers. The student must satisfy the supervisor that thesis research and all other methodological and disciplinary preparation for the successful handling of the thesis topic have been completed. Supervisors may require a demonstration of language competence or extra course work as preparation for the treatment of thesis topics. Students will publicly defend their thesis, following which a final grade will be determined by the thesis committee, reconstituted as the defense jury for an oral defense. This normally includes the recommendation of the external reviewer of the thesis.

In lieu of a thesis, student not intending to pursue higher graduate study may choose to do an applied research project (equivalent of 1 semester course) or Practicum. Each student is required to complete a project, under the supervision of a faculty member, involving real-world application of the theory and methods of religion and/or Theology. The project will be undertaken in conjunction usually with a religion affiliated agency working either locally, nationally or internationally. The student, in consultation with her/his supervisor and the relevant agency, designs and carries out a suitable research activity. The student prepares a suitable proposal beforehand, including a letter of agreement by the host agency, engages in the research and writes a final report on the results.

This research seminar is focused on the issues of “doing ethics” in multicultural, multifaith contexts. Students will learn how to conduct critical inquiry into methodological approaches and sources used when religious voices are included in attempts to create a common good.

An historical examination of the relationship between religion and society in Atlantic Canada from the beginning of European settlement to the present. Themes to be considered include religion and the formation of regional/ethnic identities, religion and politics, religion and movements of social reform, and the impact of secularization on Atlantic Canadian society. Topics will be examined in the broader context of Canadian history and the evolution of the trans-Atlantic world.

In lieu of a thesis, student not intending to pursue higher graduate study may choose to

do an applied research project (equivalent of 1 semester course) or Practicum. Each

student is required to complete a project, under the supervision of a faculty member,

involving real-world application of the theory and methods of religion and/or Theology.

The project will be undertaken in conjunction usually with a religion affiliated agency

working either locally, nationally or internationally. The student, in consultation with

her/his supervisor and the relevant agency, designs and carries out a suitable research

activity. The student prepares a suitable proposal beforehand, including a letter of

agreement by the host agency, engages in the research and writes a final report on the

results.
GTRS 6430.1(.2) Christian Theologies of Religious Pluralism & Beyond
This course explores Christian theologies of engagement with religious pluralism.

Christian approaches to inter-religious dialogue are usually categorized as the exclusivist

(or particularist) position, the inclusivist position, and the pluralist position. In addition to

a critical and constructive assessment of these positions, the course will consider

practice-oriented approaches (Ryan) and feminist approaches (Hill Fletcher). Finally, we

examine the role of religion or faith in public discourse, particularly those authors who

challenge the “secularization thesis”
GTRS 6480.1(.2) Religious Vision in Film (3 credit hours)
This course considers filmic representations of practices of human flourishing, or

“fullness of life” as the Psalmist describes it, that emerge in and through human suffering

and the cultivation of human goodness and joy. Throughout the course we ask, what is

religious vision in film? The course introduces a number of spectator theories and three

narratives are used to communicate religious vision in film.

the book of Job. Job’s struggle with the scandal of his suffering has attracted volumes of

reflection and response – first from his narrative companions, and subsequently from a

host of others. In this course we, in our turn, will engage with the magnificent poetry and

the deep quandary expressed in the book of Job. As a companion piece to our study we

will also study the Psalms, so many of which describe the basic struggles of human life.

spirituality. This course draws on narrative method from several disciplines to explore

how stories ‘work’ with us when we listen to them and when we tell them. Special

attention is given to the function of storytelling at different times in the life cycle and to

cues storytellers offer to help listeners interpret the meaning embedded in their stories.

We will also examine ways in which stories form and change in the lives of families,

religious communities and cultural groups, shaping new generations in communal

identity.

terms, this is often understood as a tension between a liberal focus on the individual

rational will (Kant, Rawls, Herman) and communitarian commitments to a moral self

formed through historical and communal relations (Hauerwas, MacIntyre). Between the

opposing tendencies to focus on either the individual or community lies the ‘middle way’

of envisioning the moral subject developed by philosophers and ethicists like Murdoch,

Benhabib, Johnson, among others.
GTRS 6520.1(.2) Personality Theory and Five Emotional States (3 credit hours)
The purpose of this course is to deepen the participant’s understanding of how people

come to experience themselves as human, particularly within the context of anxiety and

distress. It will be a particularly useful course for those interested in working intensively

with those who are struggling for a sense of meaning in their lives. The first section of the

course will be an introduction to theories of personality and some of the central tenets of

meta-psychology. In the second part of the course, the class will apply learned theories to

five emotional states that often leave people spiritually crippled or paralyzed: anger,

grief, guilt, remorse, and love.

authorities within religious communities. The construction, reception, transmission, and