THEO 399 Outline 2002/03 Winter

COURSE NUMBER:

THEO 399

COURSE TITLE:

Special Topics in Theology - 2002/03 Winter - Prophets of Shalom

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Jeffrey Dudiak and Dr Doug Harink

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the theology faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.

Prerequisites: THEO 250

2002/03 Winter

This course will encourage reflection on what it means for us to take with utter seriousness our Christian responsibility to be peacemakers. We will pursue this end by undertaking a careful and critical reading of two of the most influential “prophets of shalom”: the French, Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and the American, Christian theologian John Howard Yoder.

Same as PHIL 399

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Yoder, John Howard, For the Nations: Essays Public and Evangelical, Grand Rapids, MI., Cambridge, U.K., William B. Eerdmans, 1997.
Levinas, Emmanuel, “Peace and Proximity,” trans. P. Atterton & S. Critchley, in Emmanuel Levinas: Basic Philosophical Writings, ed. A. Peperzak, S. Critchley & R. Bernasconi, Bloomington Indiana Press, 1996, pp. 162-169 (to be distributed as a class handout).
Dudiak, Jeffrey, The Intrigue of Ethics: A Reading of the Idea of Discourse in the Thought of Emmanuel Levinas, New York: Fordham University Press, 2001.

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Weekly summaries of and responses to assigned readings	50%
Term paper and final presentation	50%
	100%

COURSE OUTLINE:

Week one (January 10): Introduction
Weeks two through six (January 17- February 14): Levinas

Jan. 17 Levinas, “Peace and Proximity” (hand out).

Dudiak, “Preface,” pp. xi-xvii.

Dudiak, “Chapter 8: The Im/possibility of Peace,” pp. 403-419.

Jan. 24 Dudiak, “Chapter 1: The Impasse of Dialogue,” pp. 3-56.
Jan. 31 Dudiak, “Chapter 2: Original Plurality,” pp. 57-108.
Feb. 7 Dudiak, “Chapter 3: Discourse as the Condition,” pp. 109-164.
Feb. 14 Dudiak, “Introduction to Part II,” pp. 167-177.

Dudiak, “Chapter 4: The Two Aspects of Language,” pp. 178-223.

Dudiak, “Chapter 5: The Two Directions,” pp. 224-262.

Weeks seven through eleven (February 28 – March 28): Yoder

Schedule of readings to be announced.

Weeks twelve and thirteen (April 4 – 11): Student paper presentations

Schedule to be determined.

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.