The contemporary communitarian moral philosopher, Michael J. Sandel, begins his course, Justice , with the following question: what is the right thing to do? This question, along with its attending questions -- what is the right thing and what is the right belief -- not only characterizes Sandel's chief contributions contemporary moral philosophy, but also defines the work of philosophical, social, and theological ethics. A reconciliation of the answers to the questions of what the right belief is and what the right thing to do is at the heart of what the people and ideas Gary Dorrien, contemporary Christian social ethicist, engages in his extensive historiographies of theo-ethically influential figures in the development of the "United States of America."
Notwithstanding the people and ideas that Sandel and Dorrien bring to public moral and theo-ethical conscience and the ways these thinkers do this, the cry is still heard throughout the ages and in contemporary terms: "Black Lives Matter!" This cry tolls a bell of conviction and purpose in the hearts of people striving to make sense of insidiously perennial oppressions, reminding us of the incongruence of belief, action, and the human dignity of all people.
Accordingly, this course invites students to join in study at the intersection of moral philosophy, Christian social ethics, and Black moral and religious thought to consider the "house" of united states -- its people and its places -- that theories and praxes of "justice" have built. Students are challenged to define and redefine justice with special consideration of the challenges of racial ideas and racism turned against the bodies and beings of people of African descent.
In preparation for the journey we will take together in this course, please consider the following videos that will help frame our collective discourse.
Consider the following questions as you watch the following film:
Throughout the course, you are also encouraged to watch one or two episodes of Justice with Michael J. Sandel.
Mapping the points of origin and trajectories of justice, in general, and in the United States, in particular, is one of the most significant and sacred tasks of religious and social ethics. Methodologically, on one hand, this course focuses on the work of Michael Sandel as a cartographer of justice ethics and theories of justice in the U.S. On the other hand, this course emphasizes the life, experiences, and moral constellations of and about Afro-Diasporic people and communities in the United States, noting that Afro-Diasporic people remain among the most religious of any demographic group in the U.S. This course provides a survey of Afro-Diasporic religion through the lens of “prophetic” religious traditions. Alongside theories of justice emerging from the works of diverse thinkers including Iris Marion Young, Michael Sandel, Charles Long and Emilie Townes, historians of religion (including Vincent Harding, Bettye Collier-Thomas, and Gary Dorrien) frame the course's central concern with the evolution of justice in theory and praxis in the U.S., preparing class participants to define, explore, and critique the role of the “justice” in both Afro-Diasporic and broader U.S. religious tradition. Specifically, this course will consider implicit and explicit ethical mandates for religion qua pursuits of justice. Through this course, students will learn who has framed justice discourse within the U.S., how this work has been done, and the unique impact by and on the particular demographic of Afro-Diasporic people in the U.S.
The Evaluation
You will be graded according to Iliff standards on a letter grading scale. For more information see iliff.edu. Your grade will be determined according to the following distribution:
The Assignments
Select From the Following Autobiographies:
Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).
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.
COURSE READINGS
Long, Charles. Significations: Signs, Symbols, and Images in the Interpretation of Religion . Aurora, Colorado: The Davis Group, Publishers, 1999.
Sandel, Michael J. Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Reprint edition. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010.
Townes, Emilie M. Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil . New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
Young, Iris. Justice and the Politics of Difference . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.
RECOMMENDED
Collier-Thomas, Bettye. Jesus, Jobs, and Justice: African American Women and Religion . New York: Knopf, 2010.
Dorrien, Gary. The Making of American Liberal Theology: Crisis, Irony, and Postmodernity, 1950-2005 . Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.
———. The Making of American Liberal Theology: Idealism, Realism, and Modernity . 1 edition. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.
———. The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion, 1805 - 1900 . 1 edition. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
Harding, Vincent. There Is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America . Reissue edition. Mariner Books, 1993.
Please feel free to peruse the syllabus in document form.
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