Course Descriptions & Archive

Course Title: Introduction to the Old Testament
Course Number: Thst 6000
Sections Times/Days:  MONDAY 7:20-9:50 PM
Instructor: Dr. Daniel L. Smith-Christopher

Course Description
This course is intended to be a challenging introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The emphases of this course are historical and literary familiarity with the Hebrew Bible, although questions about the Hebrew Bible as a religious text will not be out of place.  This is a “historical-critical” approach to Textual analysis.  There will be a secondary emphasis on the role of the Old Testament in informing contemporary Christian Theology.  

A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THIS CLASS WILL BE ONLINE

Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will:
(1)    Have a basic orientation to all the books of the Old Testament.
(2)    Have a basic grasp of essential dates of Old Testament History, and the importance of those events for the study of the Bible.
(3)    Have a basic understanding of the different genres of Old Testament Literature, such as Poetry, Wisdom, Prophetic Texts, Law, Story.
(4)    Have a basic understanding of critical approaches to the study of the Bible.
(5)    Have a good command of central theological themes that are informed by a study of the Old Testament

Prerequisites/Recommended Background
    There are no prerequisites to this course. 

Required Texts:
1) Bible - New Revised Standard Version (New American Bible is OK.)
2) John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (THIRD EDITION: Fortress Press)

Course Work / Expectations
1) Class attendance is required
2) 6 quiz-type short tests, spaced every  two-three weeks, covering BOTH reading and lecture material.  Each test is worth 10 points. 
3)  All students will write the final paper (15-20 pages), an analysis of a selected Bible passage, which is worth up to 40 points.   Full Research Paper expectations – citations, bibliography, etc.  There will be detailed instructions.

There will be a particular emphasis on the issue of CROSS CULTURAL Interpretation of the Bible.

COURSE TITLE: Foundations of Historical Theology

COURSE NUMBER/SECTION: THST 6020.01

TIMES/DAYS: Wednesdays 4:30 – 7:00 pm 

INSTRUCTOR: Austin Foley Holmes

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS

This course explores Early Christian or Patristic era (ca. 100–700 CE) treatments of the major topics of theology, with a special focus on the primary sources (translated into English from the ancient Greek, Syriac, and Latin). For it is here, in the Church Mothers and Fathers, that we encounter the “foundations” of the Christian theological tradition. Following an introduction to the methods and skills particular to “historical theology,” as well as an overview of the culture and context of the early Church, we will consider the following topics: Scripture, epistemology, Christ, the Incarnation, salvation, Trinity, creation, anthropology, grace, sin, death, ethics, asceticism, resurrection, and heaven. Sources include, but are not limited to: Origen, Athanasius of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, Makrina of Cappadocia, Basil of Caesarea, Ephrem the Syrian, Evagrios of Pontus, Augustine, and Maximos the Confessor. We will also consider one representative figure from the Medieval era (ca. 700–1400) who received and developed this theological tradition in creative ways: Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179). 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Through successfully completing this course, students will: (1) understand and explain the early development of central doctrines of Christian theology; (2) integrate a sense of the diversity and coherence of a multitude of voices in early Christian thought; (3) engage ancient and medieval theology’s pastoral and ministerial relevance for today; (4) skillfully interpret theological texts within their ancient / medieval historical context.  

PREREQUISITES/RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND
No prior study of historical theology is required.  

REQUIRED TEXTS 
Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation (SVS Press, 2011). 
Augustine of Hippo, City of God 11–22 (New City Press, 2013). 
Maximus the Confessor, On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ (SVS Press, 2003). 
Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias (Paulist Press, 1990). 
**Additional readings will be available on Brightspace**

COURSE WORK/EXPECTATIONS
Careful preparation of the course readings is expected. Assignments include an in-class presentation on a primary source, two short papers, and either a written final exam or final paper. 

SEMESTER: Spring 2025

COURSE TITLE: Introduction to Systematic Theology

COURSE NUMBER/SECTION:   THST 6030.01

TIMES/DAYS:  Mondays, 4:30 – 7:00 pm.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Nancy Pineda-Madrid

CORE AREA: N/A

FLAGGED: N/A

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS
This course serves as an introduction to systematic theology, its foundational issues and enduring questions. The course will give each student the opportunity to consider how theological discourse reflects and enriches the faith experience of Christian believers, and to consider some of the diverse ways that the experience of Christian faith has been understood.  It will briefly survey several enduring theological themes and their attendant questions (i.e., God/Trinity, Creation, Theological Anthropology, Christology, Ecclesiology, etc.).    It will attend to the methodological choices made by theologians in their constructive endeavors (i.e., relation of faith and culture; authority of theological sources; interpretation of the Bible; use of tradition; etc.).  

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, a successfully engaged student will . . .
(1) have a working vocabulary of the theological categories and terms used in the construction of Systematic Theology
(2) be able to identify some of the ways in which theologians have approached the enduring questions of Christian theology  
(3) be more clear and confident about your own theological commitments  

PREREQUISITES/RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND
No prerequisites required.  This course is appropriate for students taking their first graduate course in theology.

REQUIRED TEXTS
* Fiorenza, Francis Schüssler and John P. Galvin, Eds.  Systematic Theology:  Roman Catholic Perspectives. Second Edition  (Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 2011)  ISBN #  978-0-8006-6291-2  
* Additional required readings will be available through the course’s Brightspace Canvas Site.   

COURSE WORK/EXPECTATIONS
5 Short Essays (65%)
Take home written Final Exam (25 %) 
Contribution to Class Discussions and Class Exercises (10%) 

SEMESTER: SPRING 2025
COURSE TITLE: Foundations in Pastoral Theology
COURSE NUMBER/SECTION: THST 6070-01
TIMES/DAYS: Tuesdays, 720-950 pm
INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer Owens-Jofré, PhD
CORE AREA: n/a
FLAGGED: n/a

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS

This course provides an overview of pastoral/practical theology in both academic and ecclesial spaces, introducing students to mainline Protestant and Catholic approaches to academic discourse in pastoral/practical theology.  With special attention to Catholic pastoral/practical theology, students consider the relationship of pastoral/practical theology to other branches of theology, the practices and contexts that inform and affect ministry, how clergy and lay ecclesial ministers can collaborate in service of the People of God in the contemporary context of the United States, and matters of professional ministerial ethics. 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students who have completed the course will be able to:
(1)    explain the issues at play in defining pastoral theology and practical theology among mainline Protestant and Catholic thinkers and practitioners; 
(2)    locate pastoral/practical theology alongside other branches of Catholic theology; 
(3)    examine contemporary issues related to the practice of ministry, especially as they relate to the diverse cultural contexts represented in the Catholic landscape of the United States; 
(4)    articulate a theology of ministry that engages with the sources of their respective traditions and considers their vocational calls within them.  

PREREQUISITES/RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND

n/a

REQUIRED TEXTS

•    Richard Gula, Just Ministry: Professional Ethics for Pastoral Ministers.  New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2010. 
•    Bonnie Miller-McLemore, Christian Theology in Practice: Discovering a Discipline.  Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2012. 
•    Claire E. Wolfteich, ed., Invitation to Practical Theology: Catholic Voices and Visions.  New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2014. 
•    Additional materials posted on Brightspace.  

COURSE WORK/EXPECTATIONS

Students’ work will be assessed based on the strength of their discussion posts, short writing assignments, case studies, and integrative research papers.

SEMESTER: SPRING 2025
COURSE TITLE: Ignatian Spirituality and Discernment
COURSE NUMBER/SECTION: THST 6052-01   
TIMES/DAYS: 4:30pm-7:00pm / Tuesday
INSTRUCTOR: Professor Fisher
CORE AREA: N/A
FLAGGED: N/A

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS

Through academic inquiry, experiential learning and critical theological reflection, this graduate-level seminar style familiarizes students with the spiritual and theological insights of Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, as they have been adapted in diverse socio-cultural contexts and historical settings. Students will engage primary texts from the sixteenth-century as well as selected contemporary commentaries. Through individual and small group practices and their unique ministerial setting, students will reflect upon and identify foundational perspectives and themes in Ignatian spirituality, critically evaluate their historical and contemporary significance and relevance, and apply these insights to contemporary questions of meaning and purpose.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the structure and dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the Ignatius wisdom regarding discernment and the ability to apply it to their own lives.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of Ignatius forms of prayer.

PREREQUISITES/RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND

• Successful completion of the Graduate Pro-Seminar (THST 6090) is a strongly recommended prerequisite. 

REQUIRED TEXTS: 

• TBD

COURSE WORK/EXPECTATIONS

This is a hybrid course that meets once each week for 2.5 hours, either in-person or synchronously online (approximately 7 sessions in-person and 7 sessions online via Zoom). Methods of instruction will be multidisciplinary combining various media, lecture, sacred texts in translation, academic analysis, and class discussion of the assigned course materials. Given that this is a seminar style course, lectures by the professor will be minimal. Collaborative discussion, guided by the assigned materials (lectures, readings, films, web-resources, etc.) will constitute our primary experiential in-class activity. Students will engage in analysis of the multidisciplinary course content through class discussion, independent research, and reflective practices. At Loyola Marymount University, for each hour of scheduled class time per week, there is an expectation of at least 2 hours of outside work by each student per week. Using this ratio, class participants are expected to spend an average of 5 hours outside of class per week on class-related learning activities. This includes, but is not limited to: assigned reading, preparation for class, online discussions, projects, and reflective writing. As a graduate level course this is a reading intensive course!

SEMESTER: SPRING 2025
COURSE TITLE: SYNODALITY: RECONFIGURING CATHOLICISM
COURSE NUMBER: THST 6998.01   
TIMES/DAY: R 7:20-9:50 PM, UNH 1403 
INSTRUCTOR: Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ
CORE AREA: 
FLAGGED:

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS: 

This graduate seminar takes place in hybrid form with weekly zoom sessions and three face-to-face ones in the designated classroom, one at the first session and two toward the end. This course explores the retrieval, evolution, current understanding, and reception of the synodal practice in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council and especially under Pope Francis. The biblical, historical, pastoral/theological and spiritual sources of the synodal way of proceeding will be studied. A seminar methodology will be used based on orientation from the professor along with extensive reading, research and input by the students. Pope Francis maintains that synodality is the way forward for the Church in the 21st century. Synodality, moreover, is said to be of concern not only to the Church or Christianity broadly understood but also to the whole human family. What are some specific, pastoral consequences of the turn toward synodality? How is “walking together” understood  and lived as an applied spirituality? What does a reconfigured, global Catholicism look like regionally and locally? 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

1.    Fuller understanding of the possible institutional and ministerial implications for the Catholic Church of the synodal reform.
2.    In-depth knowledge regarding scriptural, historical and theological sources for the synodal pathway.
3.    Growing familiarity with and grasp of the specific challenges confronted in the reception given the reconfiguring required by a synodal church
4.    Fuller appreciation of synodality as an applied spirituality rather than another theory about the Church.

PREREQUISITES/RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND

Undergraduate major in theology or related field,  and some educational and experiential background in ecclesiology, spirituality, ministry and practical theology. 

REQUIRED TEXTS

1.    Rafal Luciani, Synodality: A New Way of Proceeding in the Church, New York: Paulist Press, 2022. 
2.    Massimo Faggioli, The Liminal Papacy of Pope Francis, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2020.
3.    Many articles, chapters in books and other media resources to be provided

COURSE WORK/EXPECTATIONS

1.    Attendance at all sessions, hybrid and face-to-face and engaged participation.
2.    Brief one-page, single-spaced written reviews of required readings due at most sessions
3.    Oral presentations on readings, other media sources and research to be given in class.
4.    A midterm take-home exam.
5.    The development of a research theme and final oral and written presentation chosen by student with professor’s approval and submitted toward the end of the class in place of a final exam.

COURSE TITLE: Supervised Pastoral Field Education
COURSE NUMBER/SECTION:   THST 6078-01
TIMES/DAYS: Wednesdays 4:30-7:00 pm
INSTRUCTOR: Layla Karst

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS
Contextual field education is an integral component in pastoral theological education. This seminar addresses the integration of theological competence with pastoral skills through reflection on student’s concrete practices of ministerial leadership.  Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that is both theoretical and practical, students will explore two sets of foundational questions:
What is pastoral theological reflection and how is it done? What are the theological resources that students can draw when attending to the tensions and challenges of pastoral ministry? How do the lives and practices of living faith communities speak back to the theological tradition?
What does it mean to be a public pastoral minister?  How does one construct one’s self-understanding as a Christian minister? What foundational skills are required for effectiveness in ministry and how do we develop these skills?
Student learning in this course happens in three distinct contexts: field work, mentoring, and a classroom seminar.  

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Through successfully completing this course, students will be able to (1) make use of pastoral theological methodologies in theological reflection; (2) identify and articulate with appropriate terminology connections between their experiences of ministry and their theological study; (3) analyze pastoral situations using six lenses: socio-cultural, personal/interpersonal, spiritual, theological, pastoral, and ministerial; (4) facilitate shared theological reflection with ministerial peers; (5) demonstrate improvement in oral presentation skills; and (6) articulate one’s own growth in pastoral leadership and create a plan for ongoing formation and skill-building.

PREREQUISITES/RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND
Before beginning this seminar, students must have successfully completed THST 6090 (Graduate Pro-Seminar), THST 6070 (Foundations of Pastoral Theology), and THST 6000 or 6010 (Foundations of New or Old Testament Theology). Students must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in: THST 6060 (Ethics) or THST 6030 (Systematic Theology)

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS (subject to change)
Gittins, Anthony. Living Mission Interculturally: Faith, Culture, and the Renewal of Praxis. Liturgical Press, 2016.
Gula, Richard M. Just Ministry: Professional Ethics for Pastoral Ministers. Paulist Press, 2010.
Katongole, Emmanuel. Mirror to the Church. Zondervan, 2009.
Mahan, Jeffrey H. et al. Shared Wisdom: A Guide to Case Study Reflection in Ministry. Abington Press, 1993.
Additional readings available on Brightspace.

COURSE WORK/EXPECTATIONS
Students are required to spend 5-8 hours a week in an approved ministry setting and meet with a ministry mentor for 1 hour every two weeks for the duration of the semester. Our weekly seminar will include the discussion of course texts, shared reflection on field experiences, and the development of oral communication skills.  Students will keep a ministry journal, complete weekly writing assignments, and prepare a case study, a pastoral ministry interview, an oral presentation, and a final ministry portfolio.

Course Title:  Pastoral Synthesis Seminar
Course Number:  THST 6091-01
Section Times/Days:  Thursdays, 7:20-9:50 pm (irregular meeting pattern), UH 1218
Instructor:  Dr. Brett C. Hoover

Description: In this course in the final year of study, pastoral theology students develop and execute their final capstone projects, each designed so that students can reflect on what they have learned and accomplished across the MA in Pastoral Theology. There are three capstone projects:

• A Theology of Ministry Paper (TMP), which allows the student to present their own theology of ministry as informed by critical reflection on both ministry experience and theological theory about pastoral ministry.
• An Assessment Portfolio, a required but ungraded assignment in which students draw upon previous academic work to show how they have met program learning outcomes for the MA in Pastoral Theology (PLOs 3-6 below).
• A Pastoral Synthesis Project (PSP) is project in which students study in depth a pastoral challenge from their own context, making use of pastoral/practical theology methodology and integrating pastoral inquiry with theological study and pastoral planning. 

Student learning outcomes: Students will be able to:
1.    Assess pastoral situations from a critical stance;
2.    Reflect on ministerial practice in and perfect ministry skills for a culturally and religiously diverse society;
3.    Perform biblical exegesis with attention both to historical contexts and contemporary pastoral contexts
4.    Reflect critically on the praxis of faith and of justice within an ecumenically minded Roman Catholic context;
5.    Situate contemporary theological developments and pastoral practice in light of historical trajectories;
6.    Interpret the work of seminal thinkers in Christian ethics and analyze contemporary moral problems;
7.    Establish strategies and habits for the integration of one’s own faith, pastoral practice, and theological expertise.

Pre-requisites:  THST 6070 Foundations of Pastoral Theology, THST 6000 or 6010 (New or Old Testament), THST 6030 Introduction to Systematic Theology (may be concurrently enrolled).

Recommended Text: Kate L. Turabian, Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students & Researchers, 9th ed.

Work expectations: Expectations for this class include a Theology of Ministry paper, a portfolio, a proposal, and the different sections of a Pastoral Synthesis Project.  

SEMESTER: Spring 2025

COURSE TITLE: Research and Writing Seminar

COURSE NUMBER/SECTION:   THST6093.01

TIMES/DAYS:  Wednesdays 7:20-9:50 pm (& meetings scheduled individually) 

INSTRUCTOR:  Dr. Nancy Pineda-Madrid

CORE AREA:  N/A

FLAGGED:  N/A

COURSE DESCRIPTION/PRINCIPAL TOPICS
This is the required research and writing seminar for MA in Theology students. It is the second course of a two course year-long sequence.  The first course is the Comprehensive Exam Seminar.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, a successfully engaged student will . . .
(1) have acquired the skills needed to conceptualize and complete a larger research project
(2) be able to evaluate sources for quality and to employ sources both appreciatively and critically 
(3) have learned how to use multiple drafts to write a larger research project
(4) have demonstrated clear, scholarly, and reflective writing

PREREQUISITES/RECOMMENDED BACKGROUND
THST 6092: Comprehensive Exam Seminar

REQUIRED TEXTS
- Kate L. Turabian, Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students & Researchers, 9th ed. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2018) ISBN #  978-0-226-43057-7 

- [Highly Recommended] Lucretia B. Yaghjian, Writing Theology Well: A Rhetoric for Theological and Biblical Writers, 2nd ed. (New York: T&T Clark, 2015)  ISBN # 978-0567499172
Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing.  (New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2018) ISBN #  978-0-393-63167-8

COURSE WORK/EXPECTATIONS
Revised Proposal from the Comprehensive Exam Seminar (10%)
First Draft: 20 Pages/First Half (15%)
First Complete Draft (15%)
Second Complete Draft (20%)
Oral Project Presentation (10%)
Final Draft (30%)