DIVINITY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Ehrenschwendtner

Pre-requisites

None.

Co-requisites

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The course will introduce you to the first five centuries of Christian life and belief. It traces the rise of Christianity from its origins as a Jewish sect to a position of cultural and religious dominance in the Roman Empire. It also looks at the development of central themes in early Christian theology and spirituality.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Continuous assessment (40%): One seminar exercise (10%); One essay of about 1500-2000 words (30%).
A two-hour final examination (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

1. One seminar exercise (10%).
2. One essay of about 1,500-2,000 words (30%).

Feedback

Markers will provide timeous and individual feedback to students on all in-course assignment and will inform students of their individual essay CAS marks.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J Leonhardt-Balzer

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Part of the Sustained Study Programme in Biblical Language.

Overview

This course offers students the chance to acquire an introduction to first century Greek, the original language of the New Testament. It is aimed at complete beginners and does not assume any prior knowledge. The course covers basic Greek grammar and sentence structure and, by the end, students will be able to read aloud and translate simplified texts of first century Greek and to phrase simple sentences in Greek.

Structure

3 one-hour tutorials per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 one-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%): 1 one-hour written mid-term examination (25%), 1 brief (5 minutes) oral mid-term examination (5%), assessment of student progress by weekly written tests (10%).

Resit: 1 one-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Feedback on the students' participation in class and preparation for the sessions, homework etc.

Feedback

After each bit of assessment feedback is given as required.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course is an introduction to classical biblical Hebrew without presupposing any prior knowledge. It involves the study of grammar and syntax and the translation of simple Hebrew prose texts.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 one-hour written examination paper (50%), 1 class examination (20%), continuous assessment based on homework (30%).

Resit: 1 one-hour written examination paper (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

The homework will be discussed in the beginning of each class. This enables the students to raise any difficulty with the learnt material, and it enables the course-coordinator to provide additional explanations of this material.

Feedback

The homework will be returned to the students less than 1 week after submission. It will be graded.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 1543 in 2012/13.

Overview

This course will contain a survey of the biblical literature of the Hebrew Bible and of the critical methods involved in its study. The course will survey the content, theology, and history of formation of key books within the Hebrew Bible. It will also present and critically evaluate source-critical, redaction-critical, form-critical and canonical approaches to the biblical texts.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week and 1 one-hour tutorial every second week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 one-hour written examination (50%), 2 essays (1500 words each, 15% + 15%), 2 web-based quizzes, using WebCT quiz-tool (10% + 10%).

Resit: 1 one-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

The material covered in the tutorial will serve as a deepening of select material covered in the lectures. It will provide a forum for the exchange of intellectual ideas related to specific key ideas in the Hebrew Bible. It will provide the students with the opportunity to voice their own evaluation of read and taught material and it will enhance their skills of independent reasoning.

Feedback

The discussions during the tutorials will be a place for the students to receive oral feedback both from the course-coordinator and from their fellow students.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor S Mason

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 1044 in 2012/13.

Overview

The New Testament is a small library of 27 texts, produced by followers of Jesus in the period A.D. 30 to 120 or so, which has had a unique impact on Western civilization. This course explores such issues as these: the formation of the New Testament collection; the NT manuscripts that have reached us, and the problems of establishing the "correct" text and translation; criteria for establishing the authorship and chronology of the texts; what Paul's letters reveal about both his self-understanding and that of other groups in the first Christian generation; what the gospels and Acts reveal about unity and diversity in the second generation and possibly later; what other NT writings and texts that did not find a place in this collection have to say about these issues. Since these texts hint at the complex relations between the new groups of Christ's followers, on the one hand, and both Jewish and Graeco-Roman society on the other, those questions also arise in a preliminary way.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 one-hour exam (50%); Continuous assessment; one essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words (50%).

The exam may be taken only if each item of coursework is submitted and assessed at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 one-hour exam (100%)
The resit exam may be taken only if each item of coursework is submitted and assessed at CAS 6 or above.

Feedback

Feedback on the essay will be detailed and prompt. Feedback on the exam will be provided if requested.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor J Swinton

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course explores primary themes in Practical Theology (eg Pastoral Care, Mission, and Worship) from the perspective of human beings as they actually exist rather than as we imagine them to be. We will explore issues in the Christian life from the perspective of the socially marginalised through a survey of the historical tradition. This survey may cover thinkers like the following: the Church Fathers, Augustine, Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, the Reformers, Bonhoeffer, Barth, Reinders, Eisland, Vanier and Hauerwas. By asking questions about what it means to be human through such an "upside down anthropology" a model of practical theology is developed which informs how one understands Christian practice in churches and in society.

Structure

6 one-hour tutorials (beginning in the second of the course, and running bi-weekly afterwards), 1 two-hour lecture per week.

NOTE: the tutorial should be scheduled earlier in the week than the lecture.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Tutorial papers (40%) (6 short papers, 400-500 words each, worth 6.7% each); two-hour final exam (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%) (passing the course requires that a student has submitted all required written assignments, and has been awarded a CAS grade of 6 or higher).

Formative Assessment

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

Hebrew Language I or equivalent.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course provides the second part of an introduction to classical biblical Hebrew. It is the direct continuation of the course Hebrew Language I. It involves the study of grammar and syntax and the translation of simple Hebrew prose texts.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 one-hour written examination paper (50%), 1 class examination (20%), continuous assessment based on homework (30%).

Resit: 1 one-hour written examination paper (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

The homework will be discussed in the beginning of each class. This enables the students to raise any difficulty with the learnt material, and it enables the course-coordinator to provide additional explanations of this material.

Feedback

The homework will be returned to the students in less than 1 week after submission. It will be graded.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Wood

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The course will introduce students to the essential elements of historic Christian belief as summarised in the ancient creeds of the church. It will introduce students to the nature and practice of theological reflection by examining the central tenets of Christian doctrine in their historical context and contemporary iterations. Critical reflection upon the doctrines of God, creation, the person and work of Christ, the Spirit, and the nature and mission of the church will be central concerns.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial each week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Tutorial assignments consisting of 2 brief (500-600 word) reflections on set texts and questions discussed in tutorials (30%);
course essay of 1,500 words (30%); final two-hour written examination (40%).

Resit: Two-hour written examination (100%).

Feedback

Tutorial assignments will be timed to provide early written feedback during the first third of the course. Interaction with tutorial leaders will afford regular opportunities for students to gauge their understanding of material throughout the course.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr T Bokedal

Pre-requisites

Greek Language (New Testament) 1 or equivalent.

Notes

The course continues and concludes the teaching of Greek Language (New Testament) 1.

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Part of the Sustained Study Programme in Biblical Language.

Overview

This course offers students the chance to acquire first century Greek, the original language of the New Testament. It is aimed at students with a basic grounding in Greek (equivalent to Greek 1). The course covers Greek grammar and sentence structure and, by the end, students will be able to translate texts from the New Testament.

Structure

3 one-hour tutorials per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 one-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%): 1 one-hour written mid-term examination (30%), assessment of student progress by weekly written tests (10%).

Resit: 1 one-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Feedback on the students' participation in class and preparation for the sessions, homework etc.

Feedback

After each bit of assessment feedback is given as required.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr C Brittain

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

To introduce students to practical theology and Christian ethics. This is accomplished by demonstrating how theological issues arise out of human contextual experience, and how theologians respond to specific historical events. Some familiarity with issues that arise in Christian ethics will be accomplished through attention to the debate over the question of a “Just War” in Christian thought.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week and 1 one-hour tutorial.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One essay of 1,200-1,500 words (30%); 2 short tutorials papers (5% each); final exam (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms A Finger

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13 as RS 1004.

Overview

The course will consist of readings from the sacred texts of each religion studied. There will be also background readings from histories or surveys of each religion. There may also be the use of art, rituals, myths, and films to illustrate the way the religions are actually lived.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture per week and 1 one-hour tutorial every fortnight.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1. Two short writing assignments (300 - 600 words each) (15%). 2. One 2,500 word paper (40%). 3. 1 two-hour exam (45%).

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course develops a Religious-Studies perspective on religions. Asian religions (Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Shinto) as well as a few smaller traditions will be explored in their historical, systematic, and practical/ritual dimensions. In addition to studying religions of the world, we will look at how religions see the world and how the relate to it.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture per week and 1 one-hour tutorial every fortnight.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 1,500 wprd essay (30%); 1 two-hour exam (70%).

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13 as DR 2047.

Overview

This course discusses the issues involved in reconstructing the history and the religions of ancient Israel and Judah.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week and 1 one-hour tutorial every second week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%), 1 essay (2,000 words, 25%), 1 web-based mid-term examination, using WebCT quiz-tool (25%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

A student will not be eligible to take the resit unless s/he has fulfilled all the requirements for internal assessment (essay + midterm examination).

All pieces of internal assessment must be completed and submitted before week 46. Failure to do so will disqualify the student from taking the final exam and the resit.

A grade below 6 on any piece of internal assessment will disqualify the student from taking the final exam and the resit.

Late submission of essay: 1 point will be reduced every two working days. A student will thus receive a grade below 6 after maximum 30 working days past the date of submission, depending of the starting grade of the essay.

Formative Assessment

The material covered in the tutorial will serve as a deepening of select material covered in the lectures. It will provide a forum for the exchange of intellectual ideas related to specific key ideas in the Hebrew Bible. It will provide the students with the opportunity to voice their own evaluation of read and taught material and it will enhance their skills of independent reasoning.

Feedback

The discussions during the tutorials will be a place for the students to receive oral feedback both from the course-coordinator and from their fellow students.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M-L Ehrenschwendtner

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13 as DR 2549.

Overview

This course traces the history of Christianity from its establishment as the religion of the Roman Empire to the period just prior to its arrival in the Americas in the late 15th century. Lectures and seminars examine some of the main strands of Christian theology, spirituality and institutional life in this period. They also consider marginal groups such as the Cathars and Waldensians, as well as mediaeval Christianity's relationship with the religions of pre-Christian Europe.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Continuous assessment (40%): 1) Essay 2,000-2,500 words (30%); 2) A document commentary 800-1,000 words on the basis of the texts read and interpreted in the tutorials to demonstrate students' tutorial participation (10%).
1 two-hour examination (60%)

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

One essay of about 2,000-2,500 words.

Feedback

Markers will provide timeous and individual feedback to students on all in-course assignments, and will inform students of their individual essay CAS marks.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor J Swinton

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course explores primary themes in Practical Theology (eg Pastoral Care, Mission, and Worship) from the perspective of human beings as they actually exist rather than as we imagine them to be. We will explore issues in the Christian life from the perspective of the socially marginalised through a survey of the historical tradition. This survey may cover thinkers like the following: the Church Fathers, Augustine, Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, the Reformers, Bonhoeffer, Barth, Reinders, Eisland, Vanier and Hauerwas. By asking questions about what it means to be human through such an "upside down anthropology" a model of practical theology is developed which informs how one understands Christian practice in churches and in society.

Structure

6 one-hour tutorials (beginning in the second of the course, and running bi-weekly afterwards), 1 two-hour lecture per week.

NOTE: the tutorial should be scheduled earlier in the week than the lecture.

Assessment

1st Attempt; Tutorial papers (40%) (6 short papers, 400-500 words each, worth 6.7% each); two-hour final exam (60%).

Resit: Two-hour exam (100%) (passing the course requires that a student has submitted all required written assignments, and has been awarded a CAS grade of 6 or higher).

Formative Assessment

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr T Bokedal

Pre-requisites

DR 1538 Greek Language (New Testament) 2.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Part of the Sustained Study programme in Biblical Language.

Overview

Reading the New Testament in the language of its original authors and readers is one of the most rewarding ways of approaching these texts. This course will build on the acquisition of New Testament Greek at Level 1, and focus on reading and translating some of the simpler portions of the Greek New Testament, drawing especially on the Gospels and Johannine letters. Students will have the opportunity to compare parallel portions of the Gospels using a Greek Synopsis, and develop skills in evaluating how different translations of the New Testament influence meaning, and consequently the task of interpretation.

Structure

2 one-hour tutorials per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%) - one essay (1,500 words, 25%) and language exercises (15%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Students will be required to translate portions of the text, and comment on grammatical and translation issues in class. These contributions will be subject to informal formative assessment.

Feedback

Tutors will provide oral feedback on informal formative assessment; and written feedback on summative continuous assessment. Additionally, students will be able to obtain oral and written feedback on written examination summative assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

Hebrew Language II or equivalent.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The course will build on the acquisition of Hebrew grammar and syntax at Level 1 and will involve the translation and interpretation of selected prose texts of the Hebrew Bible.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); translation exercises (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Students will be required to translate portions of the text and comment on grammatical and translation issues in class. These contribution will be subject to informal formative assessment.

Feedback

Oral feedback will be provided on informal formative assessment and written feedback summative continuous assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor T Greggs

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 2057 in 2012/13.

Overview

The course will introduce students to the rich history of Christian thought by considering several representative theological thinkers from the time of the earliest church up to the era of the European Reformation. Students will be introduced to important developments in pre-modern Christian thought and formative theological controversies by close consideration of the work of leading theological figures including, for example, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Luther and Calvin.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures each week for 12 weeks (24 in total).
1 one-hour tutorial held fortnightly (6 in total).

Assessment

1st Attempt: Mid-term assignment consisting of a 1,000 word essay on a set text/gobbet (20%); final course essay of 2,000 words (30%); final two-hour written examination (50%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Feedback

Interaction with tutorial leaders and peers in tutorials will provide valuable opportunities for students to test their understanding of course materials throughout the half-session. The mid-term assignment will also provide timely written feedback prior to completion of other course assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr T Bokedal

Pre-requisites

Open to all Level 2 students.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 2559 in 2012/13.

Overview

This course introduces the four New Testament Gospels, and explores each of their distinctive portraits of Jesus' life and teaching, highlighting their particular characteristics. The literary relationship between the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) will be explored, as well as a comparison with the very different portrait presented in John. Selected Gospel passages will be studied in detail. The course also introduces some of the surviving, later, non-canonical gospels (eg. the Gospel of Thomas), which enjoyed popularity within some groups, and it explores why they were not included in the New Testament.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week and 1 one-hour seminar/tutorial in alternate weeks.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%) and continuous assessment, 2,000 word essay (40%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Feedback

Comments on the essays will be provided to students.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr A D Clarke

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 2060 in 2012/13.

Overview

On the road to Damascus Saul the Persecutor became Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He went on to take the gospel to the Gentile world against considerable opposition, and became the first and most influential Christian theologian. This course traces the progress of his mission, and attempts a synthesis and integration of his thought, in particular, his theology and ethics. We shall study the account of Paul presented in the Book of Acts, and the New Testament collection of Pauline letters (including detailed interpretation of at least one letter), and engage critically with relevant scholarly sources.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week; 1 one-hour tutorial in alternate weeks.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%), 1 written assignments (2,000 words).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Student discussion and comment in class, especially tutorials, will be subject to informal formative assessment.

Feedback

Tutors will provide oral feedback on informal formative assessment and written feedback on summative continuous assessment. Additionally, students will be able to obtain oral and written feedback on written examination summative assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J Leonhardt-Balzer

Pre-requisites

DR 1538 Greek Language (New Testament) 2.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Part of the Sustained Study Programme in Biblical Language.

Overview

This course will further build on the acquisition of New Testament Greek in this Sustained Study programme, and will offer the opportunity to translate some of the more complex portions of the Greek New Testament, drawing especially on the Pauline letters. Students will also have the opportunity to compare and translate facsimiles of some early New Testament manuscripts, and learn how to interpret the Textual Apparatus of a Greek New Testament, and make judgments about possible reasons for different textual readings.

Structure

2 one-hour tutorials per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%) - one essay (1,500 words, 25%) and language exercises (15%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Students will be required to translate portions of the text, and comment on grammatical and translation issues in class. These contributions will be subject to informal formative assessment.

Feedback

Tutors will provide oral feedback on informal formative assessment; and written feedback on summative continuous assessment. Additionally, students will be able to obtain oral and written feedback on written examination summative assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

Hebrew Language III or equivalent.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The course offers an introduction to the grammar and syntax of Hebrew poetry and to its basic forms, and will involve the translation and interpretation of selected poetic texts of the Hebrew Bible.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); translation exercises (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Students will be required to translate portions of the text and comment on grammatical and translation issues in class. These contribution will be subject to informal formative assessment.

Feedback

Oral feedback will be provided on informal formative assessment and written feedback summative continuous assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

This course provides an opportunity for students to participate in the Christian tradition of moral reflection. It does so by looking at how moral questions have been approached by the main thinkers in that tradition. Students will learn how Christian faith sheds light on specific moral questions (such as war, the death penalty, or truth-telling) as they trace the 2000 year development of Christian moral thought.

This course will teach the basic vocabulary of Christian ethics, introduce the main thinkers in the Christian tradition, and clarify how ethical theory applies to actual moral questions. This class is a taster, introducing the highlights of a very broad conversation that has being ongoing for centuries. If this is the only class you ever take in ethics, then, by the end of this class, you will have the basic skills to think critically about moral arguments and claims. If you go on to study further in ethics, this basic orientation will aid you in making informed choices about what to study next.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week. Several tutorial groups should be scheduled, and all earlier in the week than the lecture.

Assessment

1st attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%). Continuous assessment will be assessed via typewritten reports (of one page length) on the set readings, to be submitted in hard copy at the beginning of each tutorial session.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the tutorials (preparation and contribution to the discussions).

Feedback

Feedback will be provided via written comments on tutorial assignments.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Z Hadromi-Allouche

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13 as RS 2001.

Overview

The course introduces students to Islam and its many aspects. Beginning with the emergence of Islam as a religion and a Political entity, we will continue to explore diversity within Islam in terms of religious movements and approaches, culture, history and contemporary issues, such as scholarly approaches and contemporary currents.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures a week plus 8 tutorials per half-session (tutorials starting in week 3).

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 2,000 word essay (40%); 1 two-hour exam (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13 as RS 2503.

Overview

A survey of leading theories of religion from the fields of sociology and anthropology. Of each theory, the same questions will be asked: what aspects of religion is the theory trying to explain, what aspects does the theory succeed in explaining, and how does the theory reflect the field from which it comes?

Structure

2 one-hour lectures a week plus 8 tutorials per half session (tutorials starting in week 3).

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 2,000 word essay (40%); 1 two-hour exam (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Professor R Segal

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 2004 in 2012/13.

Overview

A survey of leading theories of religion from the fields of economics and psychology. Of each theory, the same questions will be asked: what aspects of religion is the theory trying to explain, what aspects does the theory succeed in explaining, and how does the theory reflect the field from which it comes?

Structure

2 one-hour lectures a week plus 8 tutorials per half session (tutorials starting in week 3).

Assessment

1st Attempt: One essay (2,000 words) (40%); 1 two-hour exam (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written exam (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13 as RS 2505.

Overview

This course introduces students to the history and anthropology of some of the many forms of Buddhism. We will consider ritual, narrative, art and doctrine as related zones of investigation. We will begin with a review of Buddhist philosophy, then look at three monographs in depth, considering different schools and religions of Buddhism. Ethnographic films are part of the reading list. Students will be expected to make a substantial contribution to the class through a presentation.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture a week plus 8 tutorials per half-session (tutorials starting in week 3).

Assessment

1st Attempt: One class presentation (using PowerPoint) (10%); one 2,000 word essay (30%); 1 two-hour exam (50%).

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Wood

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in programme year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 301A in 2012/13.

Overview

The Christian tradition speaks of the world as creation, a reality that is God's from beginning to end. Through close readings and seminar discussion of selected texts, this course will consider what some classic texts from this tradition have to say about the origin and destiny of creation and about the coherence of the world and our place within it. By examining such questions, we win a better understanding of contemporary debates about where we have come from, what we are, and where it is all going.

Structure

1 two-hour seminars per week during the half-session.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); a 2,500 word essay (30%) and a class presentation (10%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.

Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J Leonhardt-Balzer

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 351B in 2012/13.

Overview

'Things can't go on the way they are!' This sentiment as well as a deeply rooted hope that God's plan and the heavenly realm are going to interact with the world to make things better for the faithful are the basic convictions behind apocalyptic thought. Apocalyptic thought is an important feature of most New Testament writings; apocalyptic motifs occur in almost every New Testament text. This course studies the difference between apocalypticism and the apocalyptic genre as well as specific examples: Jewish and Christian. Apocalyptic motifs and genre in the New Testament writings, Revelation as well as apocalyptic features of the Pauline letters or the Gospels, are addressed and compared with Jewish apocalypses current in NT times, eg. Daniel, 1Enoch, 4Ezra. In this way the place of early Christianity among the apocalyptic movements of the first century becomes apparent.

Structure

2 one-hour seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 essay of 2,500 words (30%); 1 oral presentation in class (10%); 1 two-hour exam (60%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr P Ziegler

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in programme year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course invites students to explore a wide range of live issues in contemporary Christian theology. The seminars will involve close reading and debate of key texts which set forth the terms of the present debate in each case, and its historical backdrop will outline the history of each theme and the central questions surrounding its contemporary restatement. Topics to be dealt with will include such themes as divine impassibility, providence, universalism, trends in scriptural interpretation, christology, political and feminist theologies, the challenge of the 'new atheism', the viability of ecumenism, and the relationship of Christianity to other faiths.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week during the half-session.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); a 2,500 word essay (30%)and a class presentation (10%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.

Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr J Leonhardt-Balzer

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 301D in 2012/13.

Overview

'I am the light', 'I am the resurrection and the life' ... All these statements from the Gospel of John have shaped people's idea of Christ for millenia. Its symbolic language reverberates through art and literature, as well as in Christian lives throughout the world.

This course will pay particular attention to the Johannine Corpus - consisting of John's Gospel and the three Epistles. We investigate the origins of the community which produced these texts, examine allegations of anti-Jewishness and Christian sectarianism, uncover the distinctive Christology and the ideas of salvation within the literature, and look at the background of some of the best known images within the whole New Testament. Selected passages from the gospel and letters will be studied in English.
There is also the option of working with the original text for those with the necessary background in Greek.

Structure

2 one-hour seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 2,500 word essay (30%); one oral presentation in class (10%); 1 two-hour exam (60%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr C Brittain

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or above.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course in social and political theology explores the tension between the theological concepts of forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. How does one, or should one, forgive those who have committed unjust and terrible crimes? To what extent must justice be retributive? This analysis of the different work of reconciliation gives particular attention to how the churches have wrestled with this issue in their own social and political contexts. Discussions will examine the complexity involved in the relationship between violence and forgiveness, particularly as this relates to the concept of Justice ethics, an understanding of "community", and the formation of the moral subject. Some attention will be given to the emotional and spiritual tensions that individuals face when confronted with the complexities involved in living through periods of conflict and reconciliation.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 2,500 word essay (50%); 1 two-hour exam (50%). Admission to the exam depends on the submission of the coursework and assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%). Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr P Ziegler

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in programme year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The advent of the Reformation brought with it a flood of literature through which the now diverging churches sought to distinguish their own profession of faith in Jesus from that of other Christian groups, whom they felt had betrayed that faith to varying degrees. This literature included the major confessions of the Reformation era (eg. the Augsburg and French Confessions) but also formative catechisms, orders of worship and conciliar documents. This course will introduce students to a representative range of such 16th century confessional documents and will provide historical and theological background within which to analyse and assess their contents.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week during the half-session.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); a 2,500 word essay (30%) and a class presentation (10%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.

Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr A D Clarke

Pre-requisites

Divinity students in programme year 3 or above. Other students, with the permission of the course coordinator.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 351G in 2012/13.

Overview

The two-part work called Luke-Acts amounts to more than one quarter of the New Testament, and describes both the ministry of Jesus and the subsequent ministry of the early apostles (especially Peter and Paul) and early spread of the Christian church across the Mediterranean world. This composite has been the subject of much scholarly debate, especially regarding issues of historicity and historiography. The course will explore issues of historical, literary and theological interpretation, in recent contemporary debate and in the history of scholarship, and will make critical comparisons with other ancient texts.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%), consisting of one essay of 2,500 words.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

Oral feedback will be provided on informal formative assessment; and written feedback on summative continuous assessment. Additionally, students will be able to obtain oral and written feedback on written examination summative assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr A Denlinger

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator prior to admission.

Overview

This course traces the intellectual development of early Protestantism, with particular reference to two of the most influential Reformation theologians: Martin Luther and John Calvin. Those aspects of Luther's/Calvin's thought which collectively distinguished them from late-medieval/contemporary Roman Catholic teaching (i.e. that which defines Protestantism per se) as well as those aspects of their thought which distinguished them from one another (ie. that which explains the early bifurcation of Protestantism into Lutheran and Reformed camps) will receive particular emphasis.

Structure

12 two-hour seminars.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%);
one literature review (20%);
one 2,000-2,500 word essay (30%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr P Ziegler

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in programme year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The history of Christian Theology comprises, in large part, a series of landmark texts. Only very occasionally, however, are students expected to read such classic primary texts in their entirety. In this course a selection of such texts will be available for students to work through in seminar-style groups which will meet every week. The emphasis here is on student-led collaborative work. Each student runs at least one of the sessions, though a member of staff will chair the sessions. Student leadership of seminar sessions forms part of the assessment. The classic texts selected for study will vary depending on the course ordinator.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week during the half-session.

Assessment

1st Attempt: one 2,500 word essay (60%); class participation/leadership (10%); 1 two-hour written examination (30%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.

Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr A Denlinger

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator prior to admission.

Overview

This course traces the history of Christianity from the Reformation of the 16th to the early 18th centuries and includes the religious revivals and political revolutions accompanying the Transformation of the European religious landscape. Seminars will offer students a broad introduction to developments in Christian theology, spirituality and institutional life during this period. Contemporary texts will offer students opportunities to consider individual items of historical evidence in greater depth. The course focuses on the history of Christianity in Europe.

Structure

12 two-hour seminars.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%); one literature review (20%);
one 2,000-2,500 word essay (30%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr K Aitken

Pre-requisites

None. Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator before admission.

Overview

An introduction to comparative linguistics and a comparative overview of Akkadian; Ugaritic; Hebrew; Aramaic and Arabic.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures/seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment: two written exercises of 2,000 words (40%). Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class.

Feedback

Oral feedback will be provided on informal formative assessment and written feedback on summative continuous assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr K Aitken

Pre-requisites

None. Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator.

Overview

An introduction to the method and study of central theological themes of the Old Testament including exegesis of key texts from the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Psalms.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures/tutorials per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment: two written exercises of 2,000 words (40%). Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class including tutorial presentations.

Feedback

Oral feedback will be provided on informal formative assessment and written feedback on summative continuous assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr R Re Manning

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 351M in 2012/13.

Overview

This course responds to the resurgence of interest in natural theology by offering a comparative analysis of the diverse contemporary developments in this area. This course takes as its starting point the recent revisionary re-evaluations of natural theology from naive Enlightenment apologetics and anti-scientific invocations of the "God of the gaps" to a tradition of sophisticated and robust theological engagements with philosophy, science, and the arts.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Continuous assessment (40%) and 1 two-hour written examination (60%)
Breakdown of continuous assessment; one 1,000-word Encyclopaedia Entry review (10%) and 1-1,500 word essay (30%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written exam (100%).

Formative Assessment

Informal via participation in seminars.

Feedback

Feedback on formative assessment will be informal direct to students.

Feedback on summative assessment will be formal following the standard procedures for DR courses.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr T Bokedal

Pre-requisites

Open to all Level 3 and Level 4 students

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The New Testament includes 27 different works, by a number of different authors, produced over a significant time-span. To what extent are these disparate or complementary voices? This course firstly introduces the academic discipline of New Testament Theology - its history, tasks, methods and problems - and then explores a number of New Testament texts, addressing questions of similarity, difference and development within their theology/ies. This will include particular study of one or more key theological themes (e.g. Christology, pneumatology, eschatology, soteriology), by means of close study of selected New Testament texts.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One essay, 2,500 words (40%); 1 two-hour exam (60%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour exam (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Feedback

Feedback on oral presentation, written essay and final exam.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

Only available to students in programme year 3 or above and by permission of the supervisor and Head of School.

Overview

This course allows a student to do in-depth study in a specific area in Divinity or Religious Studies. The specific content of the course may vary, but the focus will include work on enhancing research skills and the completion of a academic research paper. Students interested in pursuing such a course of study need to obtain the permission of a supervisor and of the Head of School.

Structure

A minimum of one hour per week of contact time with the course supervisor.

Assessment

Individual supervisors may select from one of the following two options for assessment:

• One 2,000 word essay (50%) and 1 two-hour written exam* (50%)
• one 3,000-3,500 word essay (100%)
• one 1,000 word essay (30%) and one 2,500 essay (70%)

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%). Admission to the exam depends on other assessment completed at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs throughout the course in the form of oral feedback by the supervisor during meetings, particularly with regard to student preparation for the completion of the major essay.

Feedback

The students will obtain prompt and detailed written feedback on the essay(s) they submit for assessment.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Mawson

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Years 3 or 4. Students from outwith Divinity must seek the authorisation of the coordinator.

Overview

The course will include four units. While the themes and issues covered within these units may vary in a given year, possible units will include sexual ethics, the family, war and peace, environmental ethics, business ethics, social ethics, and ethics and technology.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

Four 1,500 word papers worth (25% each).

1 two-hour exam (100%) (passing the course requires that a student has submitted all required written assignments, and has been awarded a CAS grade of 6 or higher).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment principally takes the form of conversation amongst instructors and students during seminar sessions, and this will form an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

I will provide written feedback on all continuous assessment within two weeks of work being submitted.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr L-S Tiemeyer

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in DRS.

DR1543 or DR2047 or the equivalent.

Overview

The course will help students to study the Hebrew Bible in an informed manner. It will introduce the students to the Masoretic text and different ancient translations of the Hebrew Bible and discuss what they can tell us about the original text; it will look at different critical methods (source criticism, redaction criticism, form criticism) and how they can help us understand the text better; and it will investigate how texts from the ancient Near East can shed light upon the message of the Hebrew Bible. It will also explore different theories of biblical interpretations (canonical, black, feminist, and third-world perspectives on the Hebrew Bible) and discuss how we can use the Bible in a responsible manner in today's society.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1 two-hour written examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%) consisting of a paper of 2000 words (30%) and an oral presentation (10%).

Examination (100%).

A student will not be eligible to take the resit unless s/he has fulfilled all the requirements for internal assessment (essay and class presentation).

Formative Assessment

The students will recieve formative assessment/feedback from the course instructor after their oral presentation.

The students will receive formative assessment/feedback within the context of the class-room discussions.

Feedback

The students will be given the chance to discuss their essays with the course coordinator prior to the submission.

Students will receive detailed written feedback on their essay no later than 2 weeks after date of submission.

Students will receive detailed written feedback on their final exam.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr D Wood

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Years 3 or 4. Students from outwith Divinity must seek the authorisation of the coordinator.

Overview

This course explores the modern history of Christianity in Scotland through analysis of its leading cultural and theological features, such as the social-political and theological factors of leading to and issuing from the Scottish Reformation; the interpretation and influence of the Reformed confessions of faith; the relation of church and state in the seventeenth-century; the impact of the Scottish Enlightenment on the intellectual life of the Scottish churches; the Great Disruption; and Scottish theological scholarship from Protestant Orthodoxy to the present.

Structure

12 two-hour seminars.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1) Class presentation (10%)
2) Literature review (approx. 1,500 words) (30%)
3) Research essay (approx. 4,000 words) (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment principally takes the form of conversation amongst instructors and students during seminar sessions, and this will form an essential part of the work of the seminar. Informal conversation outwith the seminar may also take place at the student's initiation.

Feedback

Ad hoc formative feedback to be given orally during seminar discussion and in written form (by email or on essay assessment reports) as appropriate.

Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms A Finger

Pre-requisites

Available to students from any discipline in Programme Year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 3007 in 2012/13.

Overview

Starting with the media phenomenon of so-called New Atheism, including Richard Dawkins? God Delusion and the slogan of the bus campaign "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life", we will sketch out a history of the atheist present. We will trace both how contemporary discourses build on prior ones and in what ways they differ from them. This is done in line with methodological pluralism and from an interdisciplinary perspective that brings into play sociological, philosophical and [even] theological approaches to inform the academic study of ir/religion and secularity.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture/seminar block per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One presentation (10%), one 3,000 word literature review essay (40%), one 4,000 word research essay (50%).

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%) provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentations and essays.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 3 with honours standing in Religious Studies or Philosophy, or consent of co-ordinator.

Overview

In the first half of the course we will read Nagarjuna and Candrakirti on Madhyamika ontology, Dharkamirti on valid inference from meditative experience and language, and key texts in Yogacara and path doctrine.

In the second half of the course we will look at how these postulates and methods are deployed by later thinkers in Himalayan, East Asian and Western Buddhist traditions for problems such as the sudden/gradual debate, Engaged Buddhism, and anthropological method.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Online presentation (blog, journal or other) (20%); 2,500 word paper (40%); 1 three-hour examination (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%). Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their writing assignments, web-blog, and essay.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 3 with honours standing in Religious Studies or Anthropology, or by consent of coordinator.

Overview

The course will begin with a study of environmentality and the use of religion and sacred as categories in UN and donor discourse. We will then look at the neo-colonial creation of people-free national parks and the rise of eco-tourism. Finally we will look at ethnographic accounts of societies creating landscapes through rituals, architecture, land management or other practices in the context of globalisation.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Assessed online work (30%); 4,000 word paper, 30%; 1 three-hour examination (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%). Admission to the examination depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their writing assignments, wepblog, and essay.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr Z Hadromi-Allouche

Pre-requisites

Available for students in Programme Year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 3010 in 2012/13.

Overview

In this course we will discuss the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, the main figure in Islam, through whom the Qur'an was revealed.

The course will look at the existing sources for this biography and the problems that they present to modern scholars. It will examine various research approaches to this topic and discuss the advantages and shortcomings of each approach. Through a discussion of the main episodes in the life of the Prophet we will learn of the various ways for understanding these episodes. The course will also discuss the status of Muhammad against other prophets in Islam and against the Qur'an; and the relevance of his biography for contemporary Islam.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour examination (50%); 1 essay of 2,500 words (50%). Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all course work and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs throughout the course, based on the student's preparation to and participation in seminars and discussions.

Feedback

Students get detailed feedback on their essays, and if required on exams as well.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 3.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course presents a detailed study of religious and political dynamics in the a significant region of the glove. The course provides a social scientific approach to the understanding of the globalisation of regional conflicts and the role of religious identities and religious movements within them. Particular attention will be given to one or more of the following regions: Middle East, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, or North America.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture/seminar block per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 presentation (10%), one 2,500 word essay (40%), 1 two-hour examination (50%).

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%). Admission to the examination depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their writing assignments, presentations, and essays.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms A Finger

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 3512 in 2012/13.

Overview

This course closely analyses the methodologies and theories developed by social anthropologists for studying religion and how those have influenced how we think about religion in the modern day. It particularly focuses on questions of embodiment, ritual, theodicy, magic and witchcraft, sex/gender/sexual orientation, and pilgrimage and material culture, but also offers a chance to explore other related topics through fieldwork.

Structure

1 two-hour lectures or seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One writing assignment (1,000 words) on a theoretical topic (20%), one writing assignment (1,000 words) 'from the field' (20%), one 30-minute group presentation (10%, using Powerpoint) on the fieldwork project, one 2,500 word essay (50%) as a research report.

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%). Admission to the examination depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their writing assignments, presentations, and essays.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr L Pokorny

Pre-requisites

None. Available to students in Programme Year 3 or above. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 3513 in 2012/13.

Overview

The focus of the course will be on the development and the main doctrinal tenets of "new" religious traditions, ie movements that have been founded in the past 200 years. Theoretical approaches of defining "new" religions will be examined. Major characteristics and similarities in terms of development, organization structure, and doctrine will be discussed.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%); one 2,500 word essay (30%); one class presentation (10%); one handout (10%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminar, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

Students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 3.

Overview

This course presents a detailed study of religious and political dynamics in the a significant region of the glove. The course provides a social scientific approach to the understanding of the globalisation of regional conflicts and the role of religious identities and religious movements within them. Particular attention will be given to one or more of the following regions: Middle East, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, or North America.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture/seminar block per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 presentation (10%), one 2,500 word essay (40%), 1 two-hour examination (50%).

1 two-hour examination (100%). Admission to the examination depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their writing assignments, presentations, and essays.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Z Hadromi-Allouche and Dr J Leonhardt-Balzer

Pre-requisites

Available for students in Programme Year 4 or above.
Level 3 students need prior permission from the course coordinators.

Overview

In this course we will discuss the biography and characterisation of Jesus, a major Muslim prophet and the expected mahdi (Islamic messiah).
The course will look at the existing sources for this biography and the problems that they present to modern scholars. It will examine possible Christian origins of this figure. Through a discussion of the main episodes in the life of the Muslim Jesus we will learn of the various ways for understanding his character. The course will also discuss the status of Jesus against other prophets in Islam, especially Muhammad, and against the Qur'an.

Structure

1 two-hour and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour examination (50%); 1 essay of 3,000 words (40%); 1 presentation in class (10%).

No resits on level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment principally takes the form of conversation amongst instructors and students during seminar sessions, and this will form an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Students get detailed feedback on their essays, and if required on exams as well.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Z Hadromi-Alouche

Pre-requisites

Available for students in Programme Year 4 or above.

Level 3 students need prior permission from the course coordinators.

Overview

In this course we will discuss the theme of demons and demonology in Islam.
The course will introduce the 'main figures' of Islamic demonology, such as jinn, demons and Iblis.

It will examine the construction of each of these terms, from pre-Islamic times, through the Qur'an and later sources.
The implications of these constructions will be discussed and explored from different perspectives, such as religion, literature, culture, inter-textuality, and more.

Structure

1 two-hour and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour exam (50%); 1 essay of 3,000 words (40%); 1 presentation in class (10%).

No resits on level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment principally takes the form of conversation amongst instructors and students during seminar sessions, and this will form an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Students get detailed feedback on their essays, and if required on exams as well.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr M Mawson

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Year 4. Students from outside Divinity must seek the authorisation of the coordinator.

Overview

While the particular issues covered in a given year may vary, they will typically include assisted reproduction, abortion, genetic screening, organ donation, euthanasia, justice and healthcare distribution.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Five short (1-page) written assignments (20% total), a 3,000 word paper (40%) and 1 two-hour exam (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour examination (100%) (passing the course requires that a student has submitted all required written assignments, and has been awarded a CAS grade of 6 or higher).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment principally takes the form of conversation amongst instructors and students during seminar sessions, and this will form an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

All written work and continuous assessment will be graded within two weeks of submission and returned to students with feedback.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr D Wood

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Year 4. Students from outwith Divinity must seek the authorisation of the coordinator.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4041 in 2012/13.

Overview

Topics covered in the course will include, the confessional consolidation of the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century, the emergence of Federal Theology, the history, substance and legacy of the Westminster Confession, the Marrow Controversy, 18th and 19th debates between Moderates and Evangelicals, the Great Disruption, the theological work of John McLeod Campbell, H.R. Mackintosh, P.T. Forsyth, John and Donald Baillie, and T.F. Torrance.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture/tutorial and 1 two-hour seminar each week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1,000 word literature report (20%); 3,000 word essay (50%); 1 three-hour final written examination (30%).

Resit: 1 three-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.
Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

TBC

Pre-requisites

Only available to students in Programme Year 4 and by permission of the supervisor and Head of School.

Overview

This course allows a student to do in-depth study in a specific area in Divinity or Religious Studies. The specific content of the course may vary, but the focus will include work on enhancing research skills and the completion of a academic research paper. Students interested in pursuing such a course of study need to obtain the permission of a supervisor and of the Head of School.

Structure

The minimum contact time involved is 10 hours of contact with the supervisor (to be arranged by the supervisor).

Assessment

Individual supervisors may select from one of the following two options for assessment:

1. one 5,000 word essay (100%)
2. one 1,500 word essay (30%) and one 3,500 essay (70%)

Resist exams are not generally permitted at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs throughout the course in the form of oral feedback by the supervisor during meetings, particularly with regard to student preparation for the completion of the major essay.

Feedback

The students will obtain prompt and detailed written feedback on the essay(s) they submit for assessment.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

TBC

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 4.

Overview

This course involves the writing of a 10,000 word dissertation in one of the sub-disciplines in Divinity and Religious Studies. Independent Research work is done under the supervision of a member of staff.

Structure

Students are to meet for an initial orientation session at the beginning of the half-session, and one 3-4 occasions with their supervisor.

Assessment

1st Attempt: one 10,000 word dissertation (100%).

Resit: Usually, no resit is permitted at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Students will receive feedback, comments, and advice from their supervisor.

Feedback

The students will obtain prompt and detailed written feedback on the dissertation they submit for assessment.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor J Schaper

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed one or more courses in Old Testament at Level 2.

Notes

This course will be available in the first half-session of 2012/13 as DR 4053.

Overview

The courses involves study of a range of issues in the study of the literature and theology of the Hebrew Bible.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 two-hour lecture per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (60%), in-course assessment (40%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr D Wood

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Year 4. Students from outwith Divinity must seek the authorisation of the coordinator.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

Through lectures and close readings of selected texts, this course will introduce students to major themes in a Christian account of God and his effective presence in Jesus Christ. The first half of the course will treat the doctrine of the Trinity and the divine perfections; the second half will treat the theological understanding of the enacted identity of Jesus.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture/tutorial and 1 two-hour seminar.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Two in-course essays of 1,500 words on set topics (30% each); 1 three-hour final written examination (40%).

Resit: 1 three-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.
Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Brittain

Pre-requisites

Available to students from Programme Year 4.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course in social and political theology explores the tension between the theological concepts of forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. How does one, or should one, forgive those who have committed unjust and terrible crimes? To what extent must justice be retributive? This analysis of the different work of reconciliation gives particular attention to how the churches in Latin America and South Africa have wrestled with this issue in their own social and political contexts. Lectures and seminars will examine the complexity involved in the relationship between violence and forgiveness, particularly as this relates to the concept of Justice ethics, an understanding of "community", and the formation of the moral subject. Some attention will be given to the emotional and spiritual tensions that individuals face when confronted with the complexities involved in living through periods of conflict and reconciliation.

Structure

1 one-hour and 1 two-hour sessions per week using a combination of lecture/seminar format.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%), 2 essays (40%), seminar participation (10%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Brittain

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 4. Students in year might be admitted with permission of the course coordinator and the Head of School.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

The place of religion in contemporary pluralistic societies is a pressing and open question. This course explores tensions between the traditional 'secular state' and an emerging emphasis on particular voices of cultural minorities and religious communities. Particular attention will be given to contemporary criticism of the concept of 'secularism' as well as to the question of what place theological discourse has in the public sphere.

Structure

1 one-hour session and 1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 3,000 word essay (60%); one student presentation (10%); one 1,000-1,500 essay (30%).
Successful completion of the course requires the submission of all coursework and assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: Resits are not generally permitted at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Continuous informal assessment of performance in class, unmarked.

Feedback

Feedback for in course assessment will be provided in typed form on the School's grade report sheet. Such assessment will highlight in particular those things the student has done well, and those things which could be done to strengthen the essay for a higher grade.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course introduces students to questions of interpretation and method facing church historians today. These questions will be exemplified through the study of two topics from the medieval and early modern periods. The topics will vary from year to year, but may include one or more of the following: literacy and the Bible in the Middle Ages, piety and spiritually in the High and Late Middle Ages, continuity and change in the Reformation, confessional identity in the Reformation.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and two hours seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour examination (60%), one essay of 3,000 words (40%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr P Ziegler

Pre-requisites

Only available to students in Programme Year 4.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

Select developments in modern Christian thought including the doctrines of God, revelation, anthropology, salvation, history, the idea of 'religion', the nature of the Christian Scriptures and their interpretation, theological method and the nature of Christian doctrine. The seminar will involve reading important primary texts by leading Protestant and Catholic figures from the modern era.

Structure

A two-hour seminar per week plus a one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (40%) and continuous assessment (60%). The latter involving two 3,000 word essays on topics decided upon in consultation with the Course Co-ordinator.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor J Webster

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Year 4. Students from outwith Divinity require the authorization of the coordinator.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4069 in 2012/13.

Overview

The course provides seminar study of major texts and themes in the theology of Karl Barth. Particular attention will be devoted to Barth's earlier writings in biblical interpretation, his work on the historical theology of the Reformed tradition, and the development of his dogmatic thought from the mid-1920s to
the Church Dogmatics.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar session, 1 one-hour lecture/tutoral session.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1,000 word literature report (20%); 3,000 word essay (50%); 1 three-hour final written examination (30%).

Resit: Resits are not generally permitted at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar. This is given orally during the course of group discussions.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.
Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr B Brock

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator prior to admission.

Overview

This course follows the account of creation in the biblical book of Genesis in order to explore the theological account of human moral action it offers. By exploring different movements of the creation story, the course lays out the basic structure of Christian moral theology. The aim is to develop a theological approach to the fundamentals of Christian ethics, clarifying its relevance for issues of sexuality and procreation, economics, work, governance, health, animals and the environment. The course offers a broad theoretical framework for thinking about the relevance of a christian account of creation for a wide sweep of ethical questions in contemporary society.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%). Continuous assessment will be by way of one 3,000-3,500 word essay.

Resit: 1 three-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their submitted essay, and if requested, on their class contribution and exam.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr P Ziegler

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Year 4. Students from outwith Divinity must seek the authorisation of the coordinator.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

This course aims to provide an initial orientation to the history of modern Christian thinking. Through reading and discussion of a series of accessible primary texts, students will begin to appreciate the spectrum of Christian thought in the modern age, and the various ways in which theologians in this period struggled to be both 'Christian' and 'modern' at the same time.
Moving chronologically and focussed on examining important primary texts by key figures in the modern history of the tradition, the seminar will explore developments in the doctrines of God, revelation, anthropology, salvation, history, the idea of 'religion', the nature of the Christian Scriptures and their interpretation, theological method and the nature of Christian doctrine.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar and 1 one-hour lecture/tutorial.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1,000 word literature report (20%); 3,000 word essay (50%); 1 three-hour final written examination (30%).

Resit: 1 three-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.
Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr M Ehrenschwendtner

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4580 in 2012/13.

Overview

The course will examine the spiritual issues and practical challenges that confronted the Franciscan movement. Students will be introduced to a range of primary sources relating to the following topics: the quest of evangelical poverty in the High Middle Ages (heterodox and orthodox); St Francis and his fight for his way of life; St Clare and other female followers of the saint; diverging interpretations of St Francis after his death; Franciscan spirituals; Franciscan theology, lifestyle and piety; St Francis' afterlife in Protestantism.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture per week, 1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour examination (50%); one 3,500-4,000 word essay (40%); seminar presentation, orally and written summary (10%).

Students are required to submit all pieces of coursework and have it assessed at CAS 6 in order to be eligible for the exam.

Resit: examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Essay plan.

Feedback

As formative piece of work, which will be returned on a one to one basis with feedback, the essay plan is designed to indicate how students are progressing in acquiring the key skills of identifying, synthesising and presenting their research and knowledge.
The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor B Wannenwetsch

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4581 in 2012/13.

Overview

The list of thinkers past and present, whose work will be read and analysed, comprises names such as Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Stanley Hauerwas, and Oliver O'Donovan.
Each time the course will run, it will focus on one or two of those more specifically.
Texts will be studied in English, but where appropriate, comparison with the original language versions are encouraged.

Structure

2 one and a half-hour sessions per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One essay of 3,000-3,500 words (80%); one oral presentation in class (10%);
one written report (1-2 pages) summarising oral class presentation (10%).

Admission to the examination depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course, based on students' participation in the seminars, their prepared work, and contribution to class discussions.

Feedback

Students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentations as well as on the submitted essays.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr A Denlinger

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 3 or 4 only. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4582 in 2012/13.

Overview

This course examines radical changes and continuities in Scottish religious life and thought between c1450 and the revolutions of the 17th century. Students will be introduced to a range of primary sources relating to the following topics: Scottish religious life and thought on the eve of the Reformation; Christian Humanism in Scotland; martyrdom; poetry and drama in the service of reform; Catholic reformers and controversialists; the Reformed confessions of faith; fasting and communion seasons; discipline and repentance; recusancy and exile; Episcopacy and Presbyterianism; theologies of resistance and obedience; the National Covenant and the Covenanting revolution; the Sectaries.

Structure

12 one-hour lectures and 12 two-hour seminars.

Assessment

1st Attempt: a class presentation (10%); an essay of 3,000-3,500 words (40%); a final examination (50%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor S Mason

Pre-requisites

Either 'Founders of Christianity: Introduction to the New Testament' (level 1), or
'Earliest Portraits of Jesus' (level 2), or permission of the course coordinator.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4083 in 2012/13.

Overview

Jesus of Nazareth has been the most consequential figure in Western history. But what can we know about him, and how can we know it? This course covers three areas, which may be ordered and integrated differently from year to year:

• Culture and society in the first-century Galilee, where Jesus lived and taught. This field has been dramatically opened up in recent decades by archaeological excavation.
• The history of modern scholarship on Jesus, since the European Enlightenment, and its various approaches to the literary evidence.
• The central questions that need addressing in a 'life of Jesus, for example: his birth and early influences, relation to John the Baptist, modes and content of teaching, important actions, arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.

Structure

1 two-hour and 1 one-hour seminar (total 3 seminar hours) each week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (40%); continuous assessment (60%), comprising:
1 in-class presentation: review of a scholarly study relevant to the student's research essay (20%). NB: summative assessment will be based solely on the written basis of this presentation, not on the art of the presentation.
1 essay of ca. 3000-3500 words(40%)

The exam may be taken only if each and every item of coursework is submitted and assessed at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: usually no resit provision at level 4.

Formative Assessment

The in-class presentation (Summative Assessment) will be assessed without marking as a contribution to formative assessment.

Feedback

Feedback on the presentation and essay will be detailed and prompt.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor J Swinton

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4084 in 2012/13.

Overview

An exploration of Christian theology and spirituality as it relates to medicine and health.
An exploration of Biblical and theological perspectives on health healing in the Old and New Testaments
An examination of Christian healing today
Critical reflection on healing and disability
Critical reflection on contemporary understandings of spirituality without God
Vocational issues around ministry, chaplaincy, medicine and psychiatry.
Practical issues around mental health, dementia, cancer, death and dying and the relationship between spirituality and medicine.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar each week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 3,000 word essay (40%)and 1 three-hour exam (60%).

Resit: Not generally permitted at level 4.

Feedback

Feedback on essays will be provided through the standard essay feedback sheet.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor T Greggs

Pre-requisites

Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course coordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as DR 4085 in 2012/13.

Overview

The course involves a consideration of the development of the Christian doctrine of God and related themes from Scripture to the 20th century. It pays close attention to significant texts in the Christian tradition (including creedal statements, and the writings of Origen, Augustine, Barth, and others), and to discussions of the doctrine of the trinity. The course requires careful reading of key primary texts.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar (which includes an introductory lecture) and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Continuous assessment; text review of 3,000 words (30%), essay of 3,000 words (30%); 1 three-hour written examination (40%).

Admission to the examination depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: 1 three-hour exam (100%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.
Students have an individual tutorial with the course co-ordinator on an assignment proposal form before submitting the continuous assessment components.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on both pieces of continuous assessment and on the examination if requested.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Z Hadromi-Allouche

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 4. Students outwith DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Overview

This course will discuss the Stories of the Prophets genre in Islam. We will learn who is a prophet according to Islam, and discuss different kinds of prophets, such as women, men, biblical and pre-Islamic Arabic prophets. We will also discuss the sources in which these stories are available to us, the place and use of these texts in Islam and their relationship with extra-Islamic sources.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week and 1 one-hour lecture per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%);
1 essay of 3,000 words (40%);
1 presentation (10%).

Resits: Resits are not generally permitted at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment principally takes the form of conversation amongst instructors and students during seminar sessions, and this will form an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Students get detailed feedback on their essays.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr D Wood

Pre-requisites

Students must be enrolled in Programme Year 4. Students from outwith Divinity must seek the authorisation of the coordinator.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

Course lectures will introduce main themes in a doctrine of scripture, including
the inspiration and authority of the biblical text, the dynamics of canonization,
the relation of scripture and tradition, and the spiritual-moral profile of scriptural reading. Seminar discussions based on close reading of classical and contemporary texts will expose students to something of the range and complexity of the Christian exegetical tradition and to some historically formative construals of the nature and function of the biblical text.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture/tutorial and 1 two-hour seminar each week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (50%); 1 essay of 3,500 words (40%); 1 seminar presentation (10%).

Resit: 1 three-hour written examination (100%).

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment from both instructors and peers will be an essential part of the work of the seminar.

Feedback

Formative feedback to be given in seminar discussion generally.
Feedback for summative assessment will given in written form: detailed comments on an essay feedback form for each student plus class discussion for general errors and advice for improvement.

Written feedback on exam performance available on request.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr G Herman

Pre-requisites

Normally available only to students at level 4, although students at level 3 might be permitted, with permission of the Course Coordinator.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

Rabbinic literature, Mediaeval Jewish biblical interpretation, and Jewish philosophy from the Hellenistic period to the present day.

Structure

The course will be taught two hours weekly during weeks 30-37, 41-44, with 6 additional hours of seminar discussion.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and continuous assessment (40%) consisting of a paper of 2,500 words (30%) and an oral presentation (10%).

Resit: Examination (100%).

A student will not be eligible to take the resit unless s/he has fulfilled all the requirements for internal assessment (essay and class presentation).

The internal assessment must be submitted before week 46. Failure to do so will disqualify the student from taking the final exam and the resit.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor R Segal

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 4. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 4502 in 2012/13.

Overview

A survey of eight leading theories of myth from the fields of anthropology, sociology, psychology, and religious studies. The focus will be on the differing answers the theories give to the questions of the origin, the function, and the subject matter of myth. Each theory will be applied to a familiar myth.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week, 1 two-hour lecture per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%); 1 essay of 3,000 words (50%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: No resit at Level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr L Pokorny

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 4. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available in 2012/13.

Overview

Confucianism has played a dominant role in many parts of East Asia for more than two thousand years. The focus of this course will be on the history and the main doctrinal facets of Confucianism in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam from its beginnings to modern times.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week.
1 one-hour lecture per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%); one 3,500 word essay (30%); one class presentation (10%); one handout (10%).

Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: No resit at Level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminar, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

Students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentation as well as on the submitted essay, and if requested, on the exam.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Programme Year 4. Year 3 students may join with the consent of the course coordinator.

Notes

A previous course in Buddhism is advised.

Overview

The course is built around the close reading of Vajrayana Buddhist ritual and iconographic texts from the origins of Vajrayana in the 7th century to its post-Pala localisation in Newar and Tibetan forms in the 15th century. Students will acquire fluency in the basic ritual and iconographic elements in these texts, study their historical development and proceed to assess whether they are intended primarily as instruments of healing and immortality, of personal and political domination, or of inducing englightenment. We may look at some comparative material from the Shaiva and Pa-caratra traditions.

Structure

2 two-hour seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One 3,000 word paper (40%); 1 in-class presentation (10%); 1 three-hour written examination (50%).

Resit: Resits are not generally available at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their writing assignments.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Ms A Finger

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 4. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 4006 in 2012/13.

Course runs jointly with level-5 course 'Theorising Religion with the Frankfurt School'.

Overview

In this course we will explore what the authors of the so-called Frankfurt School with Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer most prominently at the centre of the Institute for Social Research but also extending to eg. Walter Benjamin, Erich Fromm and possibly to J'rgen Habermas have had to say about religion. We shall ask in what ways critical theory is different from traditional theory and what the socio-cultural contexts were in which this re-definition of intellectual work took place. In the process, we will discover a type of thought that is sensitive for suffering and unwilling to simply abandon Utopian and Messianic hopes, but one that is also radical in its diagnosis of contemporary capitalist society and those religious phenomena conforming to and even expressive of it. Differences between authors and discontinuities within individual lifeworks will be assessed. Finally, we will discuss which of the intuitions of this way or these ways of theorising should and can be preserved in the academic study of religion.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: One oral presentation (10%); one essay of 3,000 words (45%); 1 two-hour written examination (45%)

Resit: Not available at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on their presentations and essays as well as their exams if requested.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr Z Hadromi-Allouche

Pre-requisites

Available to students in Program Year 4. Students outwith DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will be available as RS 4507 in 2012/13.

Overview

This course will discuss the main text of Islam the Qur'an, the divine word. We will learn about the history of the text, its structure and the challenges with which its reader is confronted. We will examine various exegetical approaches to the Qur'an, as well as scholarly approaches, and read and discuss some Qur'anic chapters. We will also familiarise ourselves with the Qur'anic exegesis and other Islamic and scholarly literature that developed around the Qur'an.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week and 1 one-hour lecture per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (50%); 1 essay of 3,000 words (50%)
Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all course work and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: Resits are not generally permitted at level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs throughout the course, based on the student's preparation to and participation in seminars and discussions.

Feedback

Students get detailed feedback on their essays.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr L Pokorny

Pre-requisites

Available to students at level 4. Students of non-DRS subjects are required to get permission from the course co-ordinator prior to admission.

Notes

This course will NOT be available in 2012/13.

Overview

a) Basic grammatical principles of Middle Korean and/or Literary Chinese
b) Correct usage of relevant dictionaries
c) Reading and translating of Confucian, Daoist and/or Buddhist source texts in Middle Korean and/or Classical Chinese
d) Critical discussion of the content

Structure

1 two-hour and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); Four in-class tests (10% each) (40%)
Admission to the exam depends on the submission of all coursework and each item's assessment at CAS 6 or above.

Resit: No resit at Level 4.

Formative Assessment

Formative assessment occurs orally throughout the course based on the students' participation in the seminars, their preparation and contribution to the discussions.

Feedback

The students obtain prompt and detailed feedback on the in class tests and if requested, on the exam.