Ecotheology (DP9747Z)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

This unit equips students to critically analyse the use of the Bible in ecological discourse and interpret key biblical texts in conversation with wider wisdom regarding the relationship between Creator and Creation (including Indigenous wisdom and scientific discourse) to enable robust application. Engaging with concepts of ecological justice, students will consequently develop an eco-theology for local contexts and articulate holistic, hopeful and collaborative action for today.

Unit code: DP9747Z

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Pastoral Theology and Ministry Studies

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Uniting College for Leadership and Theology

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Learning outcomes

1.

Critically engage with issues of ecological justice from a faith perspective
2.

Critically analyse the use of the Bible in ecological discourse
3.

Interpret a key biblical text in critical conversation with other knowledges
4.

Conceptualise a local eco-theology and action plan
5.

Employ knowledge and skills developed in the unit to critique and develop resources suitable for selected ministry context(s)

Unit sequence

A unit available for undergraduate elective study

Pedagogy

UCLT uses primary and secondary sources considered through different lenses to identify and explore the challenges of the unit material for the contemporary world. Students are engaged in a range of comparative, analytical and reflective practices.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Champion, Denise. Anaditj, Ed. Rosemary Dewerse. Adelaide: Denise Champion, 2021.
  • Conradie, Ernst. The Earth in God’s Economy: Creation, Salvation and Consummation in Ecological Perspective. LIT Verlag, 2015.
  • Edwards, Denis. Ecology at the Heart of Faith: The Change of Heart That Leads to a New Way of Living on Earth. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2006.
  • —Deep Incarnation: God’s Redemptive Suffering with Creatures. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2019.
  • Elvey, Anne. Reading with Earth: Contributions of the New Materialism to an Ecological Feminist Hermeneutics. London, New York: Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2023.
  • Francis, Pope. Laudato si’ … On Care for Our Common Home, Encyclical Letter. Vatican City: Libraria Editrice Vaticana, 2015.
  • Habel, Norman C. et al, eds. The Earth Bible, Vols. 1-5. London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000-2002.
  • Heinrichs, Steve, ed. Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry: Conversations on Creation, Land Justice, and Life Together. Waterloo Ontario: Herald Press, 2013.
  • Horrell, David G., Junt, Cherryl, Southgate, Christopher and Stavrakopoulou, Francesca. Ecological Hermeneutics. Biblical, Historical and Theological Perspectives. London: T & T Clark, 2010.
  • Marlow, Hilary and Harris, Mark eds. The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and Ecology. Oxford University Press, 2022.
  • McFague, Sallie. A New Climate for Theology. God, the World and Global Warming. Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2008.
  • Mendoza, S. Lily and Zechariah, George, eds. DEcolonizing Ecotheology: Indigeous and Subaltern Challenges. Intersectionality and Theology Series. Eugene: Pickwick, 2022.
  • Mowaljarlai, David & Malnic, Jutta. Yorro Yorro: Original Creation and the Renewal of Nature. 2nd ed. Broome: Magabala Books, 2015.
  • Santmire, H. Paul. Before Nature. A Christian Spirituality. Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2014.
  • Swimme, Brian Thomas & Tucker, Mary Evelyn. Journey of the Universe. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2011.
  • Tucker, Mary Evelyn & Grim, John, eds. Living Cosmology: Christian Responses to Journey of the Universe. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2016.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Short Answer Responses - Responses to set resources exploring ecological justice and the Bible in ecological discourse 2250 30.0
Investigation - Biblical, Indigenous and other knowledge source contributions to ecological understandings 2250 30.0
Multi-media project - Local theology and action plan resource 3000 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 1 Sep, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-09-01 10:31:50 +1000