IST2034-1OL-SP14 - The Episcopal Church & Contemporary Moral/Social Issues

Instructor:   The Rev. Gary Brower, PhD
E-mail: gary.brower@du.edu
Phones:  303-871-4488 (office)
303-501-6659 (cell)

Office Hours: By appointment
My office is at DU; I can meet anywhere near campus
I also work with both Skype and FaceTime --- from almost anywhere!

Course Synopsis

My "title" for the course:  "Episcopal Church:  Different Dreams"

The Anglican Tradition was born out of a set of different dreams for the future of Christianity in England; initially, would it be Catholic or Protestant, Lutheran or Calvinist. The Episcopal Church has continued to struggle with its members’ different dreams on American soil, e.g., authority of Scripture, role of hierarchy, tradition vs. innovation, etc.  Using a mix of historical and contemporary issues, this class will challenge students to recognize that not all questions are answered simply by “facts”, but that said “facts” need to be understood through the lenses of the dreams of the individual.

As this class is being taught as part of the Anglican Studies program, the focus will be primarily to engage students in bringing together the traditional Anglican “tripod” of scripture, tradition and reason — as well as their own personal views/experience — to address issues related to the seven canonical areas of the General Ordination Exams:  Holy Scripture, Church History (including the Ecumenical Movement), Christian Theology (including Missionary Theology), Christian Ethics and Moral Theology, Studies in Contemporary Society (including Racial and Minority Groups), Liturgics and Church Music, and Theory and Practice of Ministry.

Books for the Course

Froese, Paul and Christopher Bader, America's Found Gods:  What We Say About God & What That Says About Us (Oxford, 2010) ISBN-10: 0195341473

Other articles, videos, podcasts, etc. will be assigned (and made available) in advance.

See Taylor Library's list of online book sellers for purchasing options.

Course Objectives

1)             The student will understand that there are a variety of religious world-views represented in the United States, and within religious traditions.

2)             The student will know which overarching perspective/world-view of God she/he holds.

3)             The student will gain great familiarity with one historical theological thinker, and passing familiarity with as many others as are represented by other class members.

4)             The student will be able to translate his/her theology, along with its historical forbears, both into various contemporary issues, as well as into multiple “presentation modes”, suitable for a variety of audiences.

Evaluation And Accomodation

GUIDELINES FOR ENGAGING IN & RUBRICS FOR EVALUATION OF WEEKLY, ON-LINE DISCUSSION

1. Students are required to post TWO substantive comments every week;
2. Each posting should be no longer than 250 words;
3. The first posting should arrive by the end of the day (5 p.m.) on Monday;
4. The second posting, which engages other student comments and builds upon and extends your initial contribution, should arrive by midnight on Tuesday;
5. Please participate in on-line discussions as you would in constructive, face-to-face conversations;
6. Please be professional and courteous;
7. On-line communication lacks the non-verbal cues that provide much of the meaning in face-to-face interactions. Choose your words carefully, and phrase your sentences clearly. While you will want to keep your sentences and paragraphs brief (see #2 above), a “tweet” is not your aim;
8. State the main topic of your posting in the Subject Line;
9. State the main point(s) you are going to take up at or near the beginning of your comment whenever possible; yours are not “rambles” toward an idea;
10. Proofread what you intend to post. You may want to use a word processor to draft what you intend to say and then paste your text into the message section of your posting. That way you can be more intentional in your composition, providing you an opportunity to check (and correct) spelling and grammar;
11. Please do not use all CAPITAL LETTERS. It makes it hard to read, and it comes across as if you were shouting;
12. Here’s how I intend to evaluate your weekly, on-line postings:

4 POINTS

• Participant made at least two postings to the discussion, one of which was a response to that of a classmate(s);
• Participant’s comments were responsive to the discussion prompts posted by the instructor;
• Participant referred directly to (by quotation or by citing a page number) or showed clear evidence of having read, viewed, or completed the relevant assignments;
• Participant made substantive comments or raised questions that significantly enhanced the discussion and/or stimulated further discussion;
• Participant’s comments provided evidence that s/he had read and conscientiously attempted to engage other classmates’ postings;
• Participant’s postings were constructive and differences of opinion were expressed in a respectful manner.

3 POINTS

• Participant made at least two postings to the discussion, but none was in response to that of a classmate;
• Participant’s comments were responsive to some but not all of the discussion prompts posted by the instructor;
• Participant’s comments showed some concrete evidence of having read, viewed, or completed the relevant assignments;
• Participant made comments and raised questions that moved the conversation forward;
• Participant’s comments provided evidence that s/he had read at least a few classmates’ postings;
• Participant’s postings were constructive and differences of opinion were expressed in a respectful manner.

2 POINTS

• Participant made at least one posting of a substantive nature;
• Participant’s comments were responsive to at least one of the discussion prompts posted by the instructor;
• Participant’s comments showed some evidence of having read, viewed, or completed only a portion of the relevant assignments;
• Participant’s comments and questions were limited or showed little evidence of direct engagement with the discussion;
• Participant’s comments provided evidence that s/he had read few classmates’ postings;
• Participant’s postings were constructive and differences of opinion were expressed in a respectful manner.

1 POINT

• The participant more or less signed the attendance sheet by weighing in with a “me too” comment that neither demonstrated any degree of reflection nor expanded the conversation in a useful way.

0 POINTS

• Participant offered no comments; failed to join the discussion.

Policies and Services

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.