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Theology and Ecology |
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Purpose and Objectives of the Course: |
| The purpose of the seminar is to
participate in the conversation about the relationship
of religion to contemporary ecological concerns. In 1967 Lynn White published an article,
"The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis," which lay at the feet
of Christianity responsibility for the contemporary environmental crisis,
at least in the West. According to him Gen 1:26 ("…and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps upon the earth"), and verse 28 ("…fill the earth and subdue it;
and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air
and over every living thing that moves upon the earth") provided the legitimation
for the domination which has resulted in the rape of the environment with
little or no regard to the need to preserve balance within the ecosystems.
The first part of the seminar will test his hypothesis and investigate
the voices that challenge his assumptions.
Other religious traditions—in their past and
present expressions—also either implicitly or explicitly address the relationship
of the belief system to the natural world. In an effort to enlarge
our horizons, the seminar will seek to understand the relationship of these
traditions (e.g., Native American, Buddhist, Hindu) to the natural world
and then compare and contrast their relationships with Christianity’s.
What does it mean to do theology at the
end of the twentieth century in a global context which is developing an
increasingly greater awareness of the limited nature of natural resources? |
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Assignments: |
Readings for each class;
Seminar leadership and participation
A one-page written summary of the readings done for each class
which lists the issues the particular
reading addresses,
including three critical questions for conversation
that are developed from the readings
A final paper/project
Land Pastoral
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The course will include the following readings: |
Marq de Villiers, Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource. Mariner Books, 2001.
Roger S. Gottlieb, ed. This Sacred Earth. Routledge, 2003 edition.
Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire. Ballantine Books, Reissue Edition, 1985.
Jeffrey Rothfeder, Every Drop for Sale: Our Desperate Battle over Water in a World About Ready to Run Out. Tarcher Putnam, 2004.
Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire. Random House Trade paperback, 2001. |
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Teaching method: |
All of the participants in the seminar will be responsible
for teaching one another in an interdependent learning environment;
Engagement and participation on the part of everyone is essential
to the success of the course. |
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Evaluation: |
| Students’ evaluation of each other’s contributions - 25%
Student evaluation of him or herself - 25%
Faculty evaluation of each student’s class contributions - 25%
Faculty evaluation of each student’s paper/project - 25%
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Course Schedule |
Class #1
Monday,
Sept 3 |
Introduction to the Seminar
Reading for next class: Gottlieb, pp. 1-50
Discussion leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #2
Monday,
Sept 10 |
Nature Writers Linking Nature and Spirit
Reading for next class: Gottlieb, pp. 51-188
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #3
Monday,
Sept 17 |
Traditional Religions Viewing Nature
Reading for next class: Gottlieb, pp. 189-382
Discussion leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #4
Monday,
Sept 24 |
Ecotheology in an Age of Environmental Crisis:
Transforming Tradition
Reading for next class: Gottlieb, pp. 383-470.
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #5
Monday,
Oct 1 |
Ecotheology in an Age of Environmental Crisis: Feminist Spirituality
Reading for next class: Gottlieb, pp. 471-508; 509-562
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #6
Monday,
Oct 15 |
Ecotheology in an Age of Environmental Crisis: Deep Ecology
Religious Practice for a Sacred Earth
Reading for next class: Gottlieb, pp. 563-720
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #7
Monday
Oct 22 |
Ecology, Religion, Society
Reading for next class: de Villiers, pp. 1-66; 67-184
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #8
Monday,
Oct 29 |
The Where, What, and How Much of the Water World
Remaking the Water World
Reading for next class: de Villiers, pp. 185-274; 275-316
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #9
Monday,
Nov 5 |
The Politics of Water; What Is to be Done?
Reading for next class: Rothfeder, pp. 1-118
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #10
Monday,
Nov 12 |
Right or Need?
Reading for next class: Rothfeder, pp. 119-186
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #11
Monday,
Nov19
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To the Highest Bidder
Reading for next class: Abbey
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #12
Monday,
Nov 26 |
Valuing the Natural: Desert, Rocks, Canyons and Flowers
Reading for next class: Pollan
Discussion Leaders:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Class #13
Monday,
Dec 3 |
Christian Praxis for Ecology and Justice: The Blackstone River |
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