The Ground Of Be(com)ing/The Horizon Of Hope: Creation, Time, Eschatology

After being in eclipse for decades (and perhaps centuries), the doctrine of creation has become a live concern in contemporary theology. In conversation with the work of Jürgen Moltmann, and with reference to Herman Dooyeweerd’s distinction between the foundational and transcendental directions of time, we shall explore the gift and promise of an eschatologically open model of creation.

ICS220805 F12

Dr. Nik Ansell

Fridays 9:30am-12:30pm

MA, PhD

Syllabus

Community, Faith, and Judgment: Hannah Arendt and Religious Critique

This seminar will examine the role intersubjectivity plays in Hannah Arendt’s theory of judgment,in order to explore ways in which her insights might help us understand religious communities as communities of judgment. How do faith communities become sites from which to make critical judgments of society? How, in turn, can members of such communities learn from and respond to criticisms that come from outside their faith community?

ICS220502 F12

Dr. Ron Kuipers

Thursdays 1:30pm-4:30pm

MA, PhD 

Syllabus

The Aesthetics of Compassion

In light of the recent renewed interest in the meanings and mechanisms of empathy in such areas as ethics, visual studies, and the philosophy of mind, this course examines the place and role of compassion in the development of the Western aesthetics tradition. Considering a range of art theoretical texts, literature, and images for which the theme of compassion has been crucial, the course aims to clarify the ways in which the concept of compassion has been thought able to account for certain of the emotional and cognitive links that exist between an artwork and its audience.

ICS 220104 F12

Dr. Rebekah Smick

Thursdays 9:30am-12:30pm

MA, PhD

Syllabus

Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit

This course will consist in a close reading of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. We will pay special attention to the basic theme of the logical and historical relationship between individual and social self-consciousness. We will also address Hegel's significance in relation to both his philosophical context and ours.

ICS220603 F12

Dr. Shannon Hoff

Wednesdays 9:30am – 12:30pm

MA, PhD

Syllabus

Religion, Life & Society: Reformational Philosophy

An exploration of central issues in philosophy, as addressed by Herman Dooyeweerd, Dirk Vollenhoven, and the “Amsterdam School” of neoCalvinian thought. The course tests the relevance of this tradition for recent developments in Western philosophy. Special attention is given to critiques of foundationalism, metaphysics, and modernity within reformational philosophy and in other schools of thought.

ICS1107AC/2107AC F12

Dr. Robert (Bob) Sweetman

Tuesdays 7:00pm – 10:00pm

MWS, MA, PhD

Syllabus

Nietzsche, Foucault and the Genealogical Approach to the History of Philosophy

This seminar examines that philosophical approach to the history of philosophy that travels under the name of “genealogy”.  It does so in terms of selected texts of the tradition’s to major figures: its founder, Friederich Nietzsche and the presently ubiquitous Michel Foucault.  It examines the role that genealogical study of the history of philosophy has in the philosophical construction of its practitioners and what they think is truly first and deepest in the history they so study.

ICS120406/220406 F12

Dr. Robert (Bob) Sweetman

Tuesdays 9:30am-12:30pm

MWS, MA, PhD

Syllabus

Ways of Learning

Participants in the course will investigate and evaluate significant perspectives on the learning process in order to understand the assumptions of various theories and to interpret these from a biblically-informed standpoint. They will review current research into child development and learning (e.g. brain research, cognitive processes, multiple intelligences, learning styles) in seeking to develop a coherent understanding of the relationships between various learning theories, on the basis of a Christian view of the person and of knowledge. An action research project will enable participants to test an approach to learning in the context of their own classrooms.

ICSD120305/220305 F12

CSTC1540

Dr. Doug Blomberg

MWS, MA, PhD

Syllabus

Person, Family & Society

This course will reflect on the nature of the social world in a way that emerges from and is integrally linked with Christian faith. Challenging the common view that individuals are fully independent and self-made, we will look at the different kinds of communities that define us, in both restrictive and enabling ways: family, political society, religious community, and groups formed on the basis of other kinds of shared identities. We will look at the way in which we emerge as individuals only through these primary identifications, and at the conflicted way in which our individuality is essentially an attempt to understand and even overcome them. We will also explore the tensions that arise between these various communities and their claims upon us—between family and social membership, between religious community and political membership, between formal legal identity and concrete group identification, and so on. The course includes readings from diverse philosophical, religious, literary, and social-scientific texts. It aims to develop an existentially and philosophically rich Christian sensitivity to the complexity of the social relationships that shape us and make claims on us.

ICSD130609 F12 / ICS130609 F12
(This course is being submitted for accreditation for the CSTC)

Dr. Shannon Hoff

MWS



* Please note that this course is being offered both on-campus and via distance education. When registering be sure to indicate the desired mode of study in the course code (ICSD indicates distance while ICS indicates on-campus study)

Syllabus

Art, Theology and Religion

The course will explore significant ways that Christians have theologized the arts, artistry and art culture in Eastern and Western Christendom. The course will compare the varieties of theologies that have emerged from within the Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions. The study will involve looking at paintings, icons, altarpieces, and socially and culturally engaged works of art as well as pertinent theological writings. 

ICSD120102 F12 / ICS120102 F12
(This course is being submitted for accreditation for the CSTC)

Dr. Rebekah Smick

MWS

Syllabus (On campus)

Syllabus

* Please note that this course is being offered both on-campus and via distance education. When registering be sure to indicate the desired mode of study in the course code (ICSD indicates distance while ICS indicates on-campus study)

Biblical Foundations

This course will explore the Bible as the ongoing story of and for God and creation, paying special attention to the way in which God's story is intertwined with that of humanity and the world. In asking whether and in what way the Bible is also our story, we will attempt to identify which hermeneutical methods might help us discern its significance for present day life, including the academic enterprise.

ICS1108AC/2108AC F12
Dr. Nik Ansell
Mondays 7-10pm
MWS, MA, PhD

Syllabus

Introduction to Educational Leadership

Summer 2012

Redeemer University College, Ancaster, ON

Summer Institute


Enrolment Deadline: Friday June 1, 2012

The course is a study of leadership and practice in building school communities that promote learning for all members. The focus is on organizational and leadership theory, school mission and vision, collaborative problem solving and community building, and personal leadership qualities. Throughout, students will explore Biblical principles that guide educational leaders in schools.


ICS150310 S12
Dr. Albert Boerema
July 3-13 
8:30am - 3:30pm
MWS


Syllabus

Systematic Theology: Past, Present and Future

Systematic theology has often been an attempt to develop a theology for all times and all places. But systematic thinking can also be consciously situated in history. In time, our web of beliefs may become reconfigured and re-centred. This course will read selections of Calvin’s Institutes alongside a contemporary text in systematic theology (focussing on areas such as Divine sovereignty, election, grace and self-knowledge) in order to stimulate our own reflections on the best way to develop a theology in and for today.

ICS 220807 W12
Dr. Nik Ansell
Fridays 9:30am-12:30pm
MA, PhD

Syllabus

Beauty: Theology, Ethics, or Aesthetics?

Is beauty simply “in the eye of the beholder” or is it something more? Is it a way to God, a moral precept, or the specific locus for a unique kind of pleasure? This course examines a variety of subjective and objective views of beauty in the history of Western philosophy and theology from antiquity to the present (e.g. in the thought of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Kant, Weil, Barth, and Balthasar). It will also consider the implications of these views of beauty for the production of the visual arts, music, and literary culture in Western religion and society.

ICS 220105 W12
Dr. Rebekah Smick
Thursdays 9:30am-12:30pm
MA, PhD

Syllabus

Creative Communication: Culture, Art, and Politics

Everyone participates in the arts and culture, but who can say why? This course asks why the arts are important and addresses issues that face contemporary creators and interpreters of culture. Our aim is to develop imaginative, faith-oriented participation in the arts and culture. We will consider such topics as artistic freedom and social responsibility; communication through the arts and culture; the impact of globalization on cultural communities; the ethics of mass entertainment; the aesthetic quality of urban environments; and the role of the arts in worship and interreligious dialogue. In addition to class sessions, we will attend various events in the city.

ICS 130709 W12
Instructor: Allyson Carr
Wednesdays 6:00pm-9:00pm
MWS

Syllabus

Interdisciplinary Seminar: Plato on the Cultivation of the Soul

Plato’s texts are unique for their blending of subtle philosophical insight with complex literary form, and the drama of the dialogues is a rich philosophical dimension of these writings. The Lysis, Charmides, Laches, Symposium, and Gorgias are all exciting philosophical studies of the nature of the soul, its development, and its care, and each one is also a powerful portrayal of a complex and interesting interpersonal situation. As we move through a collaborative reading of these complex writings, we will be cultivating our own abilities at reading and appreciating them at the same time as we work through such issues as upbringing, character, aspiration, relationships, aging, truth, beauty, and justice that are raised both by the theoretical discussions of the nature of the soul and by the dramatic portrayals of the practice of living.

ICS 2400AC W12
Instructors: All Senior Members
Wednesdays 9:30am-12:30pm
MA, PhD

Syllabus

The Politics of Forgiveness

The concept of forgiveness is currently garnering much attention in the areas of ethics and social-political philosophy. It is both advocated and challenged as an alternative to justice as law, or to typical forms of legal justice and punishment. This course, while addressing current and practical discussions of the place of forgiveness in politics, will also dig more deeply into what could perhaps be called the “social-ontological” meaning of forgiveness, one that Hegel develops, for instance, to explain the relationship between individuals and the social body. We will read selections from the work of Hegel, Arendt, Jankélévitch, Derrida and Ricoeur.

ICS 220602 W12
Dr. Shannon Hoff
Tuesdays 1:30-4:30pm
MA, PhD

Syllabus

Individuality in the Franciscan Thought of John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham

This seminar will examine the doctrine of individuality (and individuation) developed by the two Franciscan thinkers John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham and the configuration of their thought as one or another form of discursive “individualism.” It does so against the backdrop of their participation within the Franciscan spiritual tradition on the one hand and the Aristotelianism of their university environment and training. In so doing, it explores a properly historical understanding of a philosophical figure’s choice of discursive type. Texts: Francis of Assisi, Collected Works; John Duns Scotus, Philosophical Writings, On Individuation; William of Ockham, Philosophical Writings

ICS 220404 W12
Dr. Robert (Bob) Sweetman
Tuesdays 9:30am-12:30pm
MA, PhD

Syllabus

Leadership: Vision and Mission

This course is designed to enable participants to understand, develop and encourage faithful leadership in Christian schools. School leaders are a vital link in the translation of parents’ hopes and priorities into the life of classrooms. The vision of Christian schooling that leaders seek to sustain, is not simply their own, but that of the supporting community. This is both exciting and challenging. Where does the vision come from? What are the components of an educational vision? How is a vision articulated? How does a vision inform the educational agenda? How does a vision grow and flourish through generations of parents, teachers and students?
Christian schools have developed a variety of management structures to support their vision for Christ-centred education. This course gives participants the opportunity to examine these structures critically in the light of:

• the school’s and their own educational focus and values
• the need to nurture Christian community
• the need to sustain a dynamic vision for Christian schooling.

[Note: This is a distance course.]

ICSD120304/220304 W12
Dr. Lee Hollaar
MWS, MA, PhD

Syllabus: View | Download PDF