NOTE:  Discipline Seminars may be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.  If taken for graduate credit, additional coursework will be required and, where enrolments allow, a separate graduate section may be offered. 

2008 DISCIPLINE SEMINARS

Trajectories in Systematic Theology
Dr Andrew Moore

Systematic theology is the orderly exposition of Christian belief.  But, what do Christians believe?  One answer to it might be, ‘the Creed’.  Another Christian might say, ‘the Bible’.  Someone else might reply, ‘Yes, but the Bible and the Creed are ancient documents.  The answer to your question depends on the historical and social circumstances in which it is asked. What Christians believe has to be—can’t not be—determined by those circumstances, so there’s no such thing as a fixed “orthodoxy” that says what Christians believe.  (Nor, for that matter, is there “heresy” for Christians not to believe)’.

This course will consist of a series of snap-shots of how the tasks and methods of systematic theology have been conceived at key periods in history.  Its aim is to enable students to understand the nature of systematic theology and how it might be practised today.

Reading List for Trajectories in Systematic Theology (2008)

 

 
Literature and the Christian tradition
Dr Santha Bhattacharji and Dr Elisabeth Dutton

In this seminar we will look at the major problems and opportunities presented by literary fiction from a Christian perspective. Is fiction legitimate at all for Christians, who are not supposed to tell lies? How do we integrate bawdiness and immorality? Can virtue ever be depicted convincingly and attractively? How does fiction engage with social issues? Is a secular idiom more accessible than a religious one? We will see how a selection of writers down the centuries wrestled with just such problems.

Reading List for Literature and the Christian tradition (2008)

 

 

Philosophy and the Christian tradition
Dr Kevin Kinghorn

 

Many of the claims of the Christian tradition carry both implicit philosophical assumptions and various philosophical implications.  Take, for example, the claim that the exercise of faith is a voluntary act for which God can rightly hold us accountable.  Most of the Christian tradition has assumed that faith can be voluntary because belief in God can be voluntary.  However, philosophers have offered increasingly powerful arguments that challenge this assumption about the voluntary nature of belief.  If these philosophers are correct, then one of the key assumptions about faith will have been called into question.  Also, the implications of involuntary belief are numerous, extending to such issues as: the nature of faith; whether we can ever be culpable for what we believe; the moral standing of non-believers; and so forth. 

 

In this seminar we shall look at the common assumption that belief is voluntary.  Then, we shall explore the various implications for Christian doctrine stemming from the suggestion that belief is in fact not voluntary.  As time permits, we may also explore how the tools of philosophy can help shed light on other Christian doctrines, such as the Incarnation, and on the Christian affirmation that the Bible is God’s ‘word’ to us.

 

Reading List for Philosophy and the Christian tradition (2008)

 

 

 

Art and faith in the western European tradition: Christian art and architecture in the late Middle Ages c. 1300-1550

Dr Hubert Pragnell

 

Why are the great European cathedrals and churches so full of sculptural and pictorial imagery, the meaning of which is sometimes lost to the present generation?  What drove artists and craftsmen to express their Christian beliefs so vividly and how did their work fulfil their patrons wishes?

 

This course sets out to examine the place of art including architecture, painting and sculpture in the life of the late Middle Ages when European towns and cities were identified by the grandeur of their churches and cathedrals, and the costly works within such as shrines, relinquaries and altar paintings. We will pay particular attention to examples of medieval architecture in England, but emphasising their place in the broader picture of European church building. Patronage by the nobility and the role of the religious orders will be examined. We will also look at the place of religious paintings and symbolism often found in Flemish panel painting or frescoes in Italian churches.

 

There will be a visit directly related to the course topic, probably to Winchester Cathedral or St Alban's Abbey, as well as a Summer School visit to Coventry where we will examine the role of art in a twentieth century cathedral grafted on to a medieval building destroyed in the Second World War.

 

Reading List for Art and faith in the western European tradition (2008)

 

 

 

Science and the Christian tradition
Dr John Roche

 

There has been an enormous growth of interest and scholarship in science and religion during the past ten years. Increasingly, professional scientists who are Christians are turning their attention to the claimed conflicts between science and Christian belief and are finding that the more deeply they penetrate into these questions, the less obvious these conflicts become. This course examines some of the great historical debates between science and Christianity, including those related to Galileo and Darwin, and then deals with cutting-edge issues: the origins of the cosmos and of life; the mechanisms of evolution; free will, brain, mind and spirit; ethical responsibility, and natural theology. Oxford today is one of the world’s leading centres for research in science and religion. The course will include a field trip to the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, where a replica of Galileo’s telescope and observational data will be studied.

 

Reading List for Science and the Christian tradition (2008)

 

 

NB:  Discipline seminars may be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.  If taken for graduate credit, additional coursework will be required and, where enrolments allow, a separate graduate section may be offered. 

 

Course requirements for each seminar:

Participation: attendance at and participation in all seminar discussion classes (including making a short presentation if required by the seminar leader)

Long essay: undergraduates –  a 2,500 word essay;
graduates – a 5,000 word essay

Short essay or book review:  undergraduates –  a 1,500 word essay or book review; graduates – a 2,000 word essay or book review

Documentation: completion of an attendance form (one form for the whole programme) 

NB:  other than the completion of the attendance form, these are requirements for each seminar, so each student will submit a total of four pieces of written work.