Dismantling Justice

Instructor:

Dr. Girim Jung

Communication Preferences:

Please contact the instructor via email. The Canvas messaging function is a less helpful way to reach your instructors, and I may be slower to respond to those messages, but I will eventually see them. If you start with my Iliff email, I am happy to set up a phone call or Zoom conversation or other means of connection if that is preferable.

Course Synopsis

This course familiarizes students with some of the historically significant ways justice has been conceived within the fields of theology and philosophy. It then problematizes these offerings by placing decolonial, deconstructive, and post- thought in conversation with contemporary social struggles. Ultimately, it asks students to envision possible futures, holding plurality of traditions (with multiple conceptions of community and self) in mind.

Course Mechanics Video

Links

Instructions: Please sign up to present on given week. When signing up, indicate which reading you would like to present on.

Hint: click the "Edit" button on the top right corner of this page to sign-up!

Week 2

 

Week 3 Annie Lankford
Aquinas on Law and Justice

Week 4 Wesley Moncrief
Joan Lockwood O'Donovan "Human Dignity & Human Justice: Thinking with Calvin about the Imago Dei"
Week 6
Week 7 Andrea Murdock: Annette Baier, "The Need for More than Justice"
Week 8

Joelle McKnight

Jasbir Puar, "Crip Nationalism: From Narrative Prothesis to Disaster Capitalism"

Week 9 Ian Keith (Justice as reconciliatory Praxis)
Week 10

 

Intro Video (5%):

Students will post video introducing themselves by the end of the first week of class

Here's a few guiding questions to help students get started:

Zoom Sessions (10%):

Students are expected to attend and participate in Zoom sessions, scheduled on Weeks 2 and 8 of the quarter. Additional Zoom sessions may be scheduled based on student request or cancellation of Gathering Days.

If student is unable to attend the session, student must notify instructor at least 24 hours in advanced so that arrangements can be made to make-up the session.

Making up the session will involve:

  1. Viewing the Zoom session recording
  2. Responding to a question prompt after listening to recording and posting it on the appropriate discussion forums with the title "Zoom Session Makeup Assignment"

Reading Responses (20%):

Each student will write a reading response for one of the texts each week as well as a response to a question posed by a classmate in the discussions thread.

Part 1:

The initial reading response should be 300-500 words. Please post each week in appropriate Discussions thread. Due 11:59pm (Mountain Time) on Wednesday night.

Professor will post guiding questions under each week's discussion forums.

Part 2:

Respond to one of your classmate's discussion posts in 100-200 words . Due 11:59pm (Mountain) on Saturday night.

Class Discussion Leadership (15%):

Instructions:

Please prepare a brief (5-10 minute) video where you introduce the text that you signed up to lead discussion on.

Each video discussion should:

Please upload these by Sunday evenings (11:59pm Mountain Time) in the respective discussion forums.

Participation (10%):

Students are expected to keep up with weekly readings and actively participate in class discussions.

Participation grade will be assigned based on:

  1. Active engagement in the weekly discussions.
  2. Participation during our Zoom check-ins.
  3. Participation during Gathering Days (scheduled for Wednesday, April 25 at 1pm-5pm or Thursday, April 26th at 8am-12pm)

Points will be deduced for failure to participate or engage in online class discussions, Zoom check-ins, and/or Gathering Days.

Abstract and Final Project (40%):

Students are given the option to either write a traditional term paper or a creative project to fulfill this requirement. Either option requires that the project address an issue or concept related justice, theology, and/or contemporary criticisms of theological conceptions of justice. A rubric will be provided for either option to help students understand the requirements and evaluation criteria.

Please see guidelines on how each option is understood below for both:

Term Paper:

Abstract: Each student will write an abstract on their paper topic of 300 words or less by Week 6 of the course and post it on the Canvas forums. Students will read the abstracts and offer comments, questions, or suggestions by Week 7. The instructor will also review the abstracts and indicate whether the paper topic is approved or requires further refinement for approval.

Students will write one term paper at ten to fifteen (10-15) pages that will an issue or concept that emerges in theological conceptions of justice, or which represents the unique departure of a particular thinker. Papers should include a grasp of issues and ideas being discussed, engagement of notable thinkers on the subject matter in question and a clear articulation of a well-supported point of view. Papers should be typed, double spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman typeface, 1” (one-inch) margins using Chicago/Turabian bibliographic format, with footnotes in 10-point font; page number on bottom left hand corner; no cover sheet.

Creative Project:

Creative projects use alternative mediums to the academic paper to examine the various topics and themes explored in this course. Each creative project will be accompanied by a brief 5-page essay that analyzes/interprets the project to demonstrate understanding of theological conceptions of justice.

Examples of creative projects include (but are not limited to):

Project Proposals of 300 words or less are due on Week 6 and posted for peer feedback on our Discussion Forums. The Final Project is due on the same date as the term paper

Course Overview

Weekly Rhythm

Course Objectives

At the completion of class, students will be able to:

COVID Policy for On-Campus Classes: In the event that any participant in a course meeting on campus tests positive for COVID, that course will move to synchronous virtual meeting during the scheduled class time for the next two weeks. After that quarantine period the course will then resume meeting on campus as scheduled.

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (Links to an external site.) (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (Links to an external site.) (MTS, MA).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook (Links to an external site.) for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructors 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 (Links to an external site.), or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook (Links to an external site.), as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant (Links to an external site.).

Core Values: As a community, Iliff strives to live by this set of Core Values (Links to an external site.).

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 (Links to an external site.), 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. Inclusive language refers to language that refers to God and humanity in terms that are not solely male, language that deals with color in ways that does not foster racism (i.e. equating “black” with “evil”, “white” with “purity or goodness”), and sensory language (“paralyzed,” “deaf,” “blind”) in ways that does not equate persons with disabilities and evil.

Required Purchases

Please purchase (or borrow from the library) the following: 

DateDayDetails
Mar 31, 2022ThuWeek 1 Discussion: Varieties of Theological Justicedue by 05:59AM
Apr 03, 2022SunIntro Videodue by 05:59AM
Apr 06, 2022WedZoom Week 2due by 11:00PM
Apr 07, 2022ThuWeek 2 Discussion: Augustine’s Two Cities and Justicedue by 05:59AM
Apr 14, 2022ThuWeek 3 Discussion: Aquinas’ Eudaimonia and Natural Lawdue by 05:59AM
Apr 21, 2022ThuWeek 4 Discussion: Calvin, Luther, and Reformationdue by 05:59AM
Apr 28, 2022ThuWeek 5 Discussion: Enlightenment Philosophy and Justicedue by 05:59AM
May 05, 2022ThuWeek 6 Discussion: Rawls and Liberal Social Contractsdue by 05:59AM
May 05, 2022ThuProject Proposaldue by 05:59AM
May 12, 2022ThuWeek 7 Discussion: Feminist Care Ethics and Womanismdue by 05:59AM
May 12, 2022ThuProject Proposal Peer Feedbackdue by 05:59AM
May 19, 2022ThuWeek 8 Discussion: Deconstructing Social Justice: Race, gender, sexuality, and [de]bilitydue by 05:59AM
May 19, 2022ThuZoom Week 8due by 02:00PM
May 26, 2022ThuWeek 9 Discussion: Decolonial Critique and Justicedue by 05:59AM
Jun 02, 2022ThuWeek 10 Discussion: Black Radical Tradition and Justicedue by 05:59AM
Jun 04, 2022SatClass Discussion Leadershipdue by 05:59AM
Jun 04, 2022SatParticipationdue by 05:59AM
Jun 04, 2022SatFinal Projectdue by 05:59AM