Theology Courses 

Fall 2025

THEO 6676 Sexual Ethics M 9-11:30 (Massingale)

• An in-depth examination and critical appraisal of current discussions in Christian theological reflection relating to human sexuality. Specific attention will be given to emerging paradigms for the ethical evaluation of sexual behaviors, identities, and relationships being advanced in light of developments in social mores and ecclesial consciousness. MTMC Modern/Contemporary concentration

THEO 6050 Gender and the Reception History of Genesis M 2:30-5:00 (Hogan)

• This course will examine Jewish and Christian reception of stories and characters from Genesis, with an emphasis on the role gender plays in these traditions. In addition to exegetical texts such as Midrash Genesis Rabbah, we will read “rewritings” of the Genesis narratives such as Jubilees and the Life of Adam and Eve. We will also explore literary and artistic receptions of selected Genesis narratives from late antiquity to the early modern period, such as selections from medieval mystery plays, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and 17th-century Dutch paintings of Hagar in the wilderness. In addition, we will read some contemporary scholarship on Genesis from a feminist perspective. MTAM Ancient/Medieval concentration

THEO 5640 Introduction to Theological Ethics T 9-11:30 (Traina)

• This introductory course will examine the sources and methods of Christian ethics, as well as contemporary questions in the discipline including gender and identity, racism, and bio-and environmental ethics.

THEO 7171 Rhythms and Cycles of Early Christian Life T 1-3:30 (Peppard)

• How did early Christians organize their experience of time? This doctoral seminar explores the temporal turn in ancient studies, with a focus on the textual and material evidence from Second Temple Judaism, the New Testament, and early Christianity. During the Roman era, how did Jews and Christians mark daily life with domestic and civic rituals? What rhythms were established by the weekly Sabbath and Sunday, or the monthly lunar cycle, and how were such practices inflected by gender? As the calendrical year moved from agricultural to civic and ecclesial, how did religious experience change? Throughout all of this, each individual has a life cycle that is related to but distinct from communal markings of time. We will study the regular life cycle and also its peaks and valleys, fasts and feasts, impurities and purifications, penitence and renewal. Comparisons will be made to various Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultures, as appropriate to each topic. This research seminar is intended for doctoral students. It is open also to master's students who have already completed a graduate-level course in Second Temple Judaism, New Testament, or early Christianity. Students will demonstrate their abilities as co-teachers through leading discussions, providing oral reports, and reviewing classic and recent works of scholarship. MTAM Ancient/Medieval concentration.

THEO 6485 Doing Theology with Gustave Gutierrez T 4:00-6:30 (Guardado)

• The years 2021 and 2023 mark, respectively, 50 years since the Spanish and English publication of Gutiérrez’ “A Theology of Liberation.” While the book is central for understanding Gutiérrez’ theological contributions, a fuller appreciation of his theology, its evolution, and the refinement of key ideas requires an examination of his theological thought across 50 years. This class will examine the roots and context (pastoral; ecclesial) that gave rise to Gutiérrez’ initial essays in the 1960s, the reception and impact (not only theological but also social and political) of “A Theology of Liberation” in the 1970s, the growing emphasis on spirituality and biblical theology in the 1980s (e.g. “On Job”; “God of Life”; “We Drink from our Own Wells”), the focus on the colonial context of Latin America and on Bartolome de Las Casas in the 1990s, and his ongoing reflections on the poor and insignificant in light of the challenges of the 21st century (e.g. “On the Side of the Poor”). MTMC Modern/Contemporary Concentration; MTMH Modern/Contemporary Religious History

THEO 6543 Aesthetics, Religion, Modernity W 9-11:30 (Reklis)

• This course will explore the rise of "aesthetics" as a category to supplant, explain, enrich, and/or revive religious discourse within the philosophical and economic projects of Western modernity. Focus will be given to the historical conditions that made aesthetics a compelling rival or reviver of traditional religious belief and practice in the 18th-20th centuries. MTMC Modern/Contemporary Concentration; MTMH Modern/Contemporary Religious History

THEO 6634 Black Theology and Decolonial Option W 6-8:30 (Burnett)

• This course examines how black American constructive theologians engage with people’s struggles for decolonization and racial freedom. Special attention will be given to recent insights in decolonial theories and the analysis of epistemology, race, gender, being, and economics. MTMC Modern/Contemporary Concentration

THEO 6192 Greco-Roman Context of Early Christianity R 9-11:30 (McGowan)

• This course creates a context for understanding the encounter of early Christianity with Greco-Roman culture by exploring Hellenistic and Roman history, politics, religion, social relations, economics, education, rhetoric, philosophy, literature, and the theatre. MTAM Ancient/Medieval Concentration; MTAH Ancient/Medieval Concentration

THEO 5790 The Church in Light of Pope Francis F 9-11:30 (De La Fuente)

• This course engages contemporary Catholic reflection on the church through the unique hermeneutical lens of Jorge Bergoglio/Pope Francis, whose vision of the Catholic Church (and the church catholic) challenges older dichotomies of conservative/liberal. The course begins with a representative engagement of some of Francis's major writings and his contextual, theoretical, and hermeneutical sources (such as the Argentinian teologia del pueblo, Romano Guardini, Henri de Lubac, Michel de Certeau, and Paul Ricoeur), and continues with a thematic engagement—conducted in a Bergoglian dialectical spirit—of major trends and debates in Catholic ecclesiological reflection and praxis. Topics may include: the theology of authority and the development of doctrine; the theology of culture in relation to the sensus fidelium fidei and synodal methodology; theologies of ministry, orders, and liturgy; gender, sexuality, and intersectionality; ecclesial movements and trends; and the legacies of colonization and imperialism. Course objectives include fostering appropriate formation in contemporary ecclesiology as well as developing and actualizing a theological and pastoral synthesis for ministry, professional work, and/or further specialized graduate studies. Students will be invited to choose an appropriate culminating project, ranging from a traditional research paper to collaborative projects that simulate synodal and magisterial texts, apostolic planning, and other possibilities. MTMC Modern/Contemporary Concentration
  
  

THEO 5017 Dissertation Seminar (Peppard) TBA

• A colloquium for workshopping dissertation chapters in progress

Related Courses Offered Through Other Departments

Philosophy

• PHIL 5012 Introduction to St. Augustine (Pini) 1-3pm

• PHIL 6114 Neo-Platonism in the Middle Ages (Cullen) M 1-3pm.

• PHIL 6121 Kierkegaard and Levinas (Davenport) W 12:30-230pm

History

• HIST 5203 Medieval Hagiography (Bruce) F 2:30-5pm

English

• ENGL 5252 Exhibiting Latinidad (Hernandez) F 2:30-5pm

German

• GERM 5001 Graduate German Reading 1 (Hafner) T/F 11:30-12:45