God of Solidarity: Liberation Theology as Social Movement

In the latter half of the 20th century, a wave of liberation movements swept across the globe as colonized and exploited people undertook seismic struggles for self-determination. These movements had a profound influence not only on global politics, but also on intellectual trends and the political left, for whom “the masses” took on new significance and previous orthodoxies seemed out of step with the times. Theology was no exception, and from the 1970s on Christian theology would not only reinterpret itself through the lens of liberation around the world, but would also become a primary organizing force in the struggle for liberation.

While liberation theology is often studied for its doctrinal content, it is irreducibly social, historical, and political, emerging from and accountable to people’s movements. As a result, liberation theology was also severely disciplined by ecclesial and political power brokers. In this class, we will consider liberation theology in historical perspective, specifically in its Latin American expressions, examining its relationship to a revolution in global Christianity and revolutions in various political contexts. We will also consider the papacy of Pope Francis, looking at the rehabilitation of several liberation theologians since 2013, with an eye toward the future and legacy of liberation theology in the 21st century.

Dean Dettloff

ICSD 132904 / 232904 S24

Remote (Online Synchronous)

Intensive, June 10 - July 17

Mondays & Wednesdays, 7pm - 9pm ET

(MWS, MA, PHD)

Syllabus

Enrolment Notes:

To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register is June 7, 2024. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.

*Attention TST students: if you are interested in taking this course for credit, you must petition your college of registration to count the course credit toward your degree program.

The Craft of Reflective Practice

We humans make sense of things by telling stories. In this course we will learn how to do critical reflective practice, primarily by telling stories about our everyday professional lives. We will zoom in on the story of an ordinary day at work, and then zoom out to the story of our career to date, zoom out further to the story of our work community, and zoom out even further to the overarching story of God’s world. In the process we will learn qualitative research skills, receive an introduction to phenomenology (the philosophical study of lived experience), develop our own approach to praxis (that is, the craft of morally-oriented, theoretically-informed, and theory-generating critically reflective practice), and, most significantly, come to terms with who we are in what we do.

Dr. Gideon Strauss

ICSD 132501 / 232501 F24*
Blended (Online Asynchronous/Synchronous)

(MA-EL, MWS)


Syllabus


Enrolment Notes:
To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register is September 12 (Note that the first session for this course takes place on September 12). Maximum enrolment of twelve (12) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.


*Approved for Area 2 of the CSTC

Cultivating Learning Communities of Belonging

This is a course for instructional leaders and administrators considering school and classroom cultures. Course content will include attention to social and cultural contexts, racial justice, Indigenous perspectives, human sexuality, restorative practices, and how these topics impact and form school and classroom cultures.

This course seeks to help students find clarity in answers to the following questions:

• What is the relationship between the daily behaviour of educational leaders and the cultures of schools?
• How do we awaken our students’ knowledge, creativity, and critical reflective capacities in our schools and classrooms?
• How do racism and other forms of oppression underlie achievement gaps and alienation within our schools?
• How can classroom learning be linked to larger movements seeking to effect change in the community?
• How can school culture be a vehicle for social change?
• How do we cultivate learning communities of belonging in our schools?

Dr. Edith van der Boom
ICSD 260008 F24*
Blended (Online Asynchronous/Synchronous)

(MA-EL)


Syllabus


Enrolment Notes:
To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register is September 12 (Note that the first class for this course takes place on September 12).  Maximum enrolment of twelve (12) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.


*Approved for Area 2 or 3 of the CSTC

State, Society, and Religion in Hegel’s Philosophy

 This course explores the interrelation of political, social, and religious life in the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel. Readings will be drawn from Hegel’s lectures on art and religion, as well as his works Elements of the Philosophy of Right and Phenomenology of Spirit. We will explore the political and social conditions of human experience through the lens of what Hegel calls “objective spirit,” focusing in particular on how our freedom as self-conscious beings is enabled and supported by the domains of ethical life, law, and civil society. We will also explore Hegel’s account of the human engagement in “absolute spirit,” here attending to the distinctive practices of art and religion, and to how these practices are interwoven with social and political life. We will also consider Hegel’s role in the historical construction of the modern West’s category of religion, and on what is involved in thinking about religion and religious difference (and Hegel’s philosophy itself) beyond Eurocentrism.

Dr. Andrew Tebbutt

ICS 153303 / 253303 S24

Intensive, May 7 - June 20, 2024

Remote (Online Synchronous)

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1 pm - 3 pm ET

(MWS, MA, PhD)

Syllabus

Enrolment Notes:

To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register May 3, 2024. Maximum enrolment of twelve (12) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.

*Attention TST students: if you are interested in taking this course for credit, you must petition your college of registration to count the course credit toward your degree program.

What's Christian About Christian Education?: Reformational Philosophy

This course will offer you an opportunity to reflect about what it means to teach or educate “Christianly.” It will situate a Reformational understanding of Christian education within two distinct types of “context”: first, the “spirits of the age” that are at work influencing our shared modern, Canadian society; and second, the local context of the school you work at. The ‘spiritual’ context will help us see Christian education as an alternative, not simply to “secular” education, but to other patterns of spiritual formation, like consumerist education or workaholic education. The ‘local’ context will then allow us to discuss how Christian education can be ‘put to work’ in your day-to-day activities as a teacher or administrator. The goal is to give you time, space, and resources to develop a clearer understanding of how faith impacts education in general, and how your faith shapes what you do as an educator more specifically.

Dr. Neal DeRoo

ICS 1107AC / 2107AC S24

Remote (Online Synchronous)

Dates/Time TBA

(MWS, MA, PhD)

Syllabus

Enrolment Notes:

To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register April 19, 2024. Maximum enrolment of twelve (12) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.

*NOTE: Approved for Area 2 of the CSTC

Art, Religion, and Theology (ART)

ART in Orvieto is an advanced summer studies program in art, religion, and theology located in Orvieto, Italy, a magnificent hill town 90 minutes north of Rome. The program offers an ecumenical exploration of Christian understandings of the arts. It provides a three weeks residency designed for artists, graduate students in relevant fields, and other adult learners interested in engaging the intersection of art, religion, and theology.

For further details, please see the dedicated ART in Orvieto webpage.

Intensive, July 14 - August 3, 2024

Orvieto, Italy

(MWS, MA, PhD)

Art, Religion, and Theology: Theologies of Art in the Christian Tradition

Dr. Rebekah Smick

ICS AiO 120102 / 220102 S24*

ICH3350HS / ICH6350HS L4101**

For some, the idea of an expressly Christian art is a literal impossibility in the contemporary art world context. According to such a view, the sheer notion of a “Christian art” defies the very nature of art as we understand it. It suggests that art is a form of propaganda rather than the free expression of an individual artist. Yet, explicitly Christian art dominates the walls of most Western art museums. Further, much of this art is thought to represent the height of Western art practice. What is this puzzling history able to tell us about the relationship of art to Christianity? How have Christians understood are to function religiously and what relation does it have to how art is conceived in the modern context? 

This course will examine the art traditions of the three main branches of Christianity in their historical contexts with a view to understanding the relationship of Christianity to art today. It will consider the art histories of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christianity, the theology pertinent to their understandings of the religious image, and what contemporary Christian philosophers and theologians have to say about the possibilities for Christian art in modern society. Taking full advantage of our setting in Orvieto, we will explore the art of the area as well as in Rome, Assisi, and Florence. The methodology used in the course will be a mix of lecture and class discussion on assigned readings.

Syllabus (forthcoming)

Experiential Learning in Faith and the Arts: Artists' Workshop

Dr. Rebekah Smick, and David Holt

ICS AiO 1501VAA / 2501VAA S24*

ICP3851HS / ICP6851HS 0101**

The goal of this studio residency is to help practicing artists make substantial progress with a particular body of work. Participants will develop their artworks through various stages, from initial inspirations, ideas, and studies to more fully realized visual forms, while exploring relevant religious, theological, and art historical dimensions. Although we will emphasize the process of the creation of the works more than their final completion, there will be opportunities to display work produced during the residency. 

Works in a variety of media will be encouraged and supported. Practicing artists of all levels of experience are welcome and guidance will be tailored to meet individual needs, including help with regard to materials, techniques, and design issues; assistance with furthering technical skills; and direction in concept development, research, and interpretive methodologies. In addition to ongoing individual consultation, weekly sharing of one’s progress with the group will provide valuable opportunities for informed feedback and support.

Our well-equipped studio will be within the beautiful large space of a former 13th-century convent, which will allow everyone a dedicated personal workspace as well as space for group work, discussions, and shared displays of artwork. Open access to the studio will ensure ample time to work individually or together with other participating artists. A list of basic supplies will be sent to participants upon registration.

Syllabus (forthcoming)

Enrolment Notes:

Instructions on how to apply are available on the program page. March 31, 2024 is the application deadline for courses in the ART in Orvieto summer program. ICS reserves the right reject applications when the maximum capacity has been reached.

*NOTE: Each course is approved for Area 4 of the CSTC

**Attention TST students: you have to contact the ICS Registrar to complete your registration

Lead From Where You Are: Making a Difference in the Face of Tough Problems, Big Questions, and Organizational Politics

Leadership is not about personality, authority, position, influence, or power as such. Leadership is an art, a craft, a practice, to which everyone is called sometime or other, in widely different situations. Leadership can be practiced with varying degrees of authority, from any position, at varying scales of influence, and with varying access to different sources of power. Leadership is the work of motivating a group of people to act in certain ways as they shape what they share. 

In this course we will explore how to contribute leadership when we have a particular, recognized position of authority in a group, and also regardless of our position in a group. We will learn how to contribute leadership when our group has clear, commonly agreed-upon procedures and goals, and when there are not (or not yet) clear, commonly agreed-upon procedures and goals (so that we must practice imaginative discernment). We will learn how to contribute leadership both to make beneficial change happen and to ensure needed maintenance.

Dr. Gideon Strauss

ICSD 132504 / 260003 S24*

Blended (Online Asynchronous/Synchronous)

(MWS, MA-EL)

Syllabus

Enrolment Notes:

To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register April 19, 2024. Maximum enrolment of twelve (12) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.

*NOTE: Approved for Area 2 or 4 of the CSTC

Called to Teach: Formation and Learning

This is a course that will inspire and support K-12 educators in their own personal journey of learning and teaching. Participants will consider a deeply Christian vision for their lives as educators and reflect on teaching in light of faith and spiritual practices. It is intended to guide educators on an inner journey as they pursue a path of refreshment and renewal in their work within Christian education as they consider the learning and formation of students.

This course seeks to answer the following questions:

• What is my calling as an educator?
• How should I intentionally live out my calling to teach/lead?

Dr. Edith van der Boom

ICSD 260001 S24*

Blended (Online Asynchronous/Synchronous)

(MA-EL)

Syllabus

Enrolment Notes:

To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register April 19, 2024. Maximum enrolment of twelve (12) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.

*NOTE: Approved for Area 4 of the CSTC

Issues in Phenomenology: Spirituality

This semester’s version of the “Issues in Phenomenology” course will centre on the issue of spirituality. Drawing on its German roots in Hegel and Husserl, the phenomenological notion of spirituality [geistigkeit] is understood to be a (perhaps THE) constitutive factor in all human social activity. The course will look at the introduction of this notion of spirituality in Hegel and its crucial re-development in Husserlian phenomenology. It will then trace the development of that term through Derrida’s reading of Heidegger in Of Spirit and into Michel Henry’s use of spirit in his notion of a “barbaristic” culture that he finds to be currently dominant in Western culture. We will end by examining the implications of this account of spirituality for our understanding of religion and of oppression (especially sexism and racism). 

Dr. Neal DeRoo

ICS 223001 W24

Remote (Online Synchronous)

Thursdays, 2pm - 5pm ET

(MA, PhD)

Syllabus

Enrolment Notes:

To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register January 12, 2024. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.

*Attention TST students: if you are interested in taking this course for credit, you must petition your college of registration to count the course credit toward your degree program.