RT2313 H21 Historisk teologi
Welcome to the Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion!
RT2313 H21 Historical Theology
Here, you can obtain general information about the course, such as syllabus and reading list.
- Syllabus and Reading list
- Course Guide
- Schedule - The schedule is only for students who will attend the campus course. The online course starts on Canvas on the same date as the campus course, according to the schedule. You will then find information from the teacher.
Course coordinator: Fredrik Portin.
Registration
When you are a registered student you will have access to further information related to the course, and how to get started.
The registration will be open between 2021-10-25 and 2021-10-28.
You will find information about the Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion on our web site.
Autumn 2021 at the Faculty of Humanities
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Course description
What is suffering? Why do we suffer? And why does God tolerate suffering?
As a result of the conflicts of the 20th century, which culminated with the second World War, the issue of suffering received renewed attention among theologians. In this course, we will take a deep dive into five of these theologians’ thinking about suffering, namely Dorothee Sölle, John Hick, Gustavo Gutierrez, Simone Weil and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Together, they not only provide an account of the essence of suffering. We also get an insight into the lived experience of living with and observing suffering.
What they saw, experienced and thought can help us come to terms with our own experiences of suffering – suffering in relation to racial injustice; suffering in the form of sexual violence; suffering in the form of exclusion; suffering in the form of the climate crisis; and more. In order to avoid reducing the issue of suffering to a theoretical-theological concern, we will, accordingly, discuss the books in relation to contemporary challenges that make suffering visible in different forms. The aim of the course is, therefore, for the participant to be able to understand how the topic of suffering has been addressed within theological discourse, as well as be able to relate these discussions to contemporary societal concerns.
The course will mainly consist of seminars where the course literature is discussed. Participants are invited to contribute their perspectives on the literature, as well as (if desired) how their views on and relationship to suffering is being shaped during the course.
Studies on campus
This this course will be given entirely on campus at Humanisten in Gothenburg (Renströmsgatan 6). You will be informed about the room number at a later date.
For those of you who have opted to attend this course online, the seminars will be broadcasted through Zoom. However, we will not be recording the seminars. If you chose not to attend the seminars, you can still complete the course. As is discussed below, it is easier to complete the writing assignments if you do attend the seminars, though.
The seminars
For every book we will have a seminar that explores the themes of the book. Of course, the main focus will be on the theology of suffering that is expressed in the books. For that reason, before every seminar you are tasked with preparing answers to the following questions:
- Why are does the author discuss suffering?
- What does s/he say about suffering?
- Why is it relevant today?
In order to facilitate a good discussion, you are also tasked with preparing a question and a comment of your own that we will discuss during the seminar.
During the seminars I will be given a short lecture where the aim is to situate the authors’ perspectives in contemporary societal concerns where suffering becomes a concern.
The seminars are not mandatory, but they contribute to the reading process and the subsequent writing tasks. Accordingly, if you attend the seminars you will have an easier time finishing the course and completing the assignments.
Assignment
The course is assessed by submitting five book reviews. The focus should be on the authors’ discussions on suffering.
Deadline for all the reviews is 16 January 2022. Please do not submit them all in January. I highly recommend that you submit them on the suggested dates (see below).
Links to the upload pages:
Link to review 1: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Prisoner for God. (Recommended deadline 14 November)
Link to review 2: Simone Weil, Waiting for God. (Recommended deadline 28 November)
Link to review 3: Dorothee Sölle, Suffering. (Recommended deadline 12 December)
Link to review 4: Gustavo Gutierrez, On Job. (Recommended deadline 26 December)
Link to review 5: John Hick, Evil and the God of Love. (Deadline 16 January)
The five reviews should be a minimum of 600 words, maximum 800 words. That is about 1,5 to 2 pages per review (Times New Roman, 12p, 1,5 spacing, 2,5 cm margin). Write the word count after every answer.
The reviews are evaluated as either non-pass (U), pass (G), or pass with distinction (VG). To pass the course you need to receive at least a G on all of the reviews. To pass with distinction, you need to receive VG on at least four of the reviews and at least G in the fifth review.
Link to a page that explains how I will be judging your reviews
Link to instructions on writing the book reviews
Course literature
Dorothee Sölle (1975) Suffering. Philadelphia: Fortress Press (178 p).
John Hick (2010) Evil and the God of Love. New York: Palgrave Macmillan (410 p).
Gustavo Gutierrez (1987) On Job: God-talk and the suffering of the innocent. New York: Orbis Books (160 p).
Simone Weil (1951) Waiting for God. New York: Harper & Row (242 p).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1959) Prisoner for God: Letters and papers from prison. New York: The Macmillan Company (202 p).
Schedule
Link to course evaluation (opens 1 January)
Course Summary:
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