TJ910 - Proseminar in Practical Theology – Fall 2007

Dr. Bryan Stone

1. Course Description

All practical theology doctoral candidates are required to take a proseminar in the first semester of their program in which it is offered. This seminar:

• examines the nature and tasks of practical theological reflection and of practical theology as a discipline;
• engages students in critical study of a range of classical and contemporary philosophical and theological perspectives and enables students to locate their own theological stance within these diverse traditions;
• surveys important methodological proposals within the discipline and develops a familiarity with the primary critical issues raised by those proposals;
• introduces students to faculty research in practical theology and to various School of Theology initiatives and centers that are directly engaged in practical theology;
• introduces students to program requirements, faculty resources, library resources, the general reading list, and discusses strategies for preparing for qualifying examinations;
• examines the vocations of scholarship and public religious leadership, for which the degree program seeks to prepare students

2. Course Schedule and Bibliography

September 5 – Introduction to the Course and to the Program

Burkhart, John E.
	1983	“Schleiermacher’s Vision for Theology,” in Don S. Browning, Ed. Practical Theology: The Emerging Field in Theology, Church, and World. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 42-57.
Farley, Edward
	1983	“Theology and Practice Outside the Clerical Paradigm,” in Don S. Browning, Ed. Practical Theology: The Emerging Field in Theology, Church, and World. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 21-41.
Maddox, Randy L.
	1991	“Practical Theology: A Discipline in Search of a Definition.” Perspectives in Religious Studies 18, 159-169.
Ogden, Schubert M.
	1986	“Prolegomena to Practical Theology,” in On Theology. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

September 12 – History of the Field; Edward Farley’s Proposal

Farley, Edward
	1983	Theologia: The Fragmentation and Unity of Theological Education. Philadelphia: Fortress.
Also recommended
Schleiermacher, Friedrich
	1966	Brief Outline of the Study of Theology. Translated by Terrence N. Tice. Richmond: John Knox Press.

September 19 – Bryan Stone’s Approach: Practices, Narratives, Ecclesia, and Virtue

Stone, Bryan P.
	2006	Evangelism after Christendom. Grand Rapids: Brazos.
Also recommended
Aristotle
	1925	Nichomachean Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dykstra, Craig
	1997	“Reconceiving Practice in Theological Inquiry and Education,” in Nancey Murphy, Brad J. Kallenberg, and Mark Thiessen Nation, eds. Virtues and Practices in the Christian Tradition. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
MacIntyre, Alasdair
	1984	After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. Second Edition. University of Notre Dame Press.

September 26 – Don Browning’s Proposal

Browning, Don S.
	1991	A Fundamental Practical Theology: Descriptive and Strategic Proposals. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.

October 3 – Poling and Miller’s Framework

Poling, James N. and Donald Miller
	1985	Foundations for a Practical Theology of Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

October 10 – “Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence” Final Conference and Dinner

October 17 – Feminist Theology as Practical Theology

Mercer, Joyce Ann
	2005	Welcoming Children: A Practical Theology of Childhood. St. Louis: Chalice Press.
Moore, Mary Elizabeth Mullino
	1999	“Feminist Practical Theology and the Future of the Church,” in Practical Theology – International Perspectives. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 189-209.
Also recommended
Doehring, Carrie
	1999	“A Method of Feminist Pastoral Theology.” In Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore & Brita Gill-Austern, Eds. in Feminist and Womanist Pastoral Theology. Nashville: Abingdon, 95-112.

October 24 – Claire Wolfteich’s Approach

Wolfteich, Claire
	2006	Lord Have Mercy: Praying for Justice with Conviction and Humility. Jossey-Bass.
	2005	“Devotion and the Struggle for Justice in the Farm Worker Movement: Practical Theological Approaches to Research and Teaching.” Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality 5:2, 158-175

October 31 – Narrative Theology Revisited: A Womanist Example

Williams, Delores
	1993	Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. Maryknoll: Orbis.

November 7 – Chris Schlauch’s Approach: Practical Theology and Pastoral Psychology

Schlauch, Chris
	1993	“Re-Visioning Pastoral Diagnosis.” In The Clinical Handbook of Pastoral Counseling, Volume II, edited by Robert J. Wicks and Richard D. Parsons, 51-101. New York: Paulist Press.
	1995	Faithful Companioning. Fortress Press. Especially chapter 2 – “Theologizing,” 16-44.
	2000	“Sketching the Contours of a Pastoral Theological Perspective: Suffering, -+-+ Healing, and Reconstructing Experiencing.” In The Blackwell Reader in Pastoral Theology, edited by James Woodward and Stephen Pattison, 207-222. Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell.

November 14 – Theology and the Social Sciences; Nancy Ammerman

Berger, Peter
	1967	Sacred Canopy. Read the methodological appendix.
Dudley, Carl S. and Nancy T. Ammerman
	2002	Congregations in Transition: A Guide for Analyzing, Assessing, and Adapting in Changing Communities. Jossey-Bass. Read Chapter 1.
Fowler, James W.
	1999	“Practical Theology and the Social Sciences,” in Practical Theology – International Perspectives. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 291-305.
Nieman, James
	2002	“Attending Locally: Theologies in Congregations,” in International Journal of Practical Theology (Fall).

November 21 - No Class: Thanksgiving Break

November 28 – Dale Andrews’ Approach

Andrews, Dale
	2002	Practical Theology for Black Churches: Bridging Black Theology and African American Folk Religion. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.

December 5 – Liberation Theology as Practical Theology

Segundo, Juan Luis
	1976	The Liberation of Theology. Maryknoll: Orbis.
Also recommended
Boff, Clodovis
	1987	Theology and Praxis: Epistemological Foundations. Maryknoll: Orbis.

December 12 – Empirical/Phenomenological Approaches to Practical Theology

Heimbrock, Hans-Günter
	2004	“Given Through the Senses: A Phenomenological Model of Empirical Theology,” in Normativity and Empirical Research in Theology. Leiden: Brill: 2004, 59-83.
Heitenk, Gerben
	1999	“Practical Theology: An Empirical-Orientated Approach,” in Practical Theology – International Perspectives. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 265-271.
Kaufmann, Franz-Xaver
	1999	“Normativity and Context in Sociological Perspective,” in Practical Theology – International Perspectives. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 273-288.
Schweitzer, Friedrich
	2004	“Practical Theology, Contemporary Culture, and the Social Sciences – Interdisciplinary Relationships and the Unity of Practical Theology as a Discipline,” in Normativity and Empirical Research in Theology. Leiden: Brill: 2004, 307-321.
van der Ven, Johannes A.
	1999	“An Empirical Approach in Practical Theology,” in Practical Theology – International Perspectives. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 323-339.
	2004	“An Empirical or a Normative Approach to Practical-Theological Research? A False Dilemma” in Normativity and Empirical Research in Theology. Leiden: Brill: 2004, 101-135.
Also recommended
van der Ven, Johannes
	1990	Practical Theology: An Empirical Approach. Kok Pharos Publishing House.

3. Reading Response Papers

Each student will be required to introduce the assigned reading material on two given afternoons with a prepared response paper. This paper should be divided into two roughly equal parts and should (1) briefly summarize what the author is saying. This is not a chapter-by-chapter commentary but a synthetic summary of the most important ideas and arguments and a sense of how the argument of the book or article develops. And (2) a critical analysis and evaluation of what the author is saying. The paper should be 6-8 pages in length, neatly typed, double-spaced, using a standard 12-pt. font, and enough photocopies made for the professors and each student to have their own personal copy. Students should be very careful to maintain an equal balance between the two required parts of the paper and to stay within the required page length parameters. At the beginning of the class, the student will read the paper. The class will then be allowed to ask "questions of clarification" and "questions of content" followed by a discussion of the paper and the reading material.

4. Final Essay

No later than Monday, December 12, each student should submit a concise 8-page (double-spaced) essay answering the following question: “What is Practical Theology? In your answer, provide (a) a brief definition of Practical Theology, (b) a discussion of what you take to be two or three key issues in the discipline, (c) an analysis of those issues with reference to at least three authors in the bibliography, and (d) an argument for your own position on these issues. Do not exceed eight pages.

5. Evaluation

Grades for the course will be assigned on the basis of the writing assignments and evidence of reading, participation, and contribution to the seminar.

6. Inclusive Language

The instructors will conscientiously attempt and all students are required to use inclusive language, images, and metaphors in both their speaking and writing.

7. Class Participation

If, in the professor’s opinion, the student is missing too many class sessions or is not actively participating, this can affect the student’s final grade —sometimes seriously. Class participation is a key to meeting the course objectives. Please consult with the professor ahead of time if you believe you will have difficulties in this area.

8. Students with Disabilities

Any students in this course who have a disability that might prevent them from fully demonstrating their abilities should meet with the instructor as soon as possible to initiate disability verification and discuss accommodations that may be necessary to ensure your full participation in the successful completion of course requirements.

9. Plagiarism

Do not plagiarize.

10. Late Policy

No written work will be accepted late.