Course Description:

“Christian Understandings of Human Existence” addresses broad questions about human nature, human possibilities and limitations, and human social experience, as these are understood in the light of central Christian beliefs about God and Christ.  In this section, for example, we will focus on Christian attempts to interpret the complex relation in humans between “body” and “soul.”  We will also attend to Christian attempts to interpret humans’ complicated potentials for good and for evil under categories like “sin,” and “salvation.”  Throughout these reflections we will consider the way gendered categories of masculine and feminine imagery are implicated in the metaphors and doctrines through which Christian understandings of human existence are communicated.

Required Texts:

Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man.
Ruether, Sexism and God-Talk.
Shakespeare, Othello.
Suchocki, The Fall to Violence.
Photocopied Handouts

Course Requirements:

1. Participation in classroom discussion based on regular reading of daily assignments.
2. Weekly essays on assigned topics, presented to round-tables.
3. Two essays presented to entire class, and turned in to instructor.
4. Mid-term Exam
5. Web Portfolio.
    Web Portfolio Scoring Assignments
    Extra Score Sheet (Word Document)

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