TH320

Title

TH320

Narratives of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth

Time

Thursday

3:00pm

5:30pm

Location

Instructor

Dr. R. M. Keelan Downton

kdownton[at]somerset.edu

732-356-1595 x1103

Description

An exploration of theological aesthetics as a way of imagining and embodying the reign of God. Focuses on biblical depictions of the abundant life God intends for human communities with attention to elegance, paradox, and complexity.

Relation to Mission and Vision

This course helps students reflect on the intersection of perception, morality, and knowledge (Upward Call), develop their spiritual capacities to perceive (Inward Journey) that provide a framework for faithful response to these gifts of God (Outward Move).

Prerequisites

TH101

TH201

EN101, 102

This template was created by R. M. Keelan Downton and licensed under

ISBN

Author

Title

Publisher

Year

List Price

Used Price

Link to Amazon

0814659233

Alejandro Garcia-Rivera

The Community of the Beautiful (Theology)

The Liturgical Press

1999

$27.95

$15.00

1556129068

Kevin M. Bradt S.J.

Story as a Way of Knowing

Sheed & Ward

1997

$17.95

$4.28

#

Action

Subject

Difficulty

1

discuss

perceptions of beauty, goodness, and truth

2

2

identify

stories that inform our ideas of beauty, goodness, and truth

2

3

differentiate

between things that are beautiful, good, and true

4

4

organize

abstract ideas in ways that can be understood by others

5

5

design

and present a major paper

5

Week Due

Date Due

Name

Description

Meets Objective

Possible Points

Days Remaining

weekly

Learning to Perceive Journal

Write a 500-600 word (approx. 1.5 pages) reflection about the beauty, goodness, and truth that you experience this week, focusing particularly on ways that assigned readings are enhancing your perceptions.

1, 3

150

2

4

Sep-25

Sensual Beauty Presentation

Make a 10-15 minute presentation of things that are beautiful including three components: a) something to see, something to hear, something to touch, something to smell, something to taste, and something to feel. b) for each object, a story or set of stories that informs your perception of its beauty. These can be personal, biblical, or even fictional. (Galileo might show a picture of the stars and talk about the Genesis account of creation. The prodigal son might discuss the smell of pig excrement in terms of its role in bringing him back to God.) c) reflection about how the beauty of the objects or the stories that inform them relate to each other. Note: You will lose points for going over time, using the same story for more than one object, or audio excerpts that last longer than 60 seconds.

2, 4

150

passed

7

Oct-16

Paper Proposal

Write a 250-500 word proposal for a paper on the nature of beauty, goodness, and truth using a book, chapter, theme or story from the Bible as a launching point. Some example topics: "Trees and Cities in Genesis and Revelation", "Pilate's Question and Jesus' Response", "Hospitality as a Window to Truth: The Visitation of Abraham and the Road to Emmaeus", "Atonement Images", etc.

3, 4, 5

100

passed

9

Oct-30

Annotated Bibliography

Submit a typed bibliography including a complete citation of at least FIVE scholarly sources, not including required textbooks (i.e. academic journals and books - save yourself a lot of points by asking before your assignment is due!) AND a 150 word summary of each source describing the significance of the source for your paper (this may be a single chapter out of a book or a single section of a commentary). See http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm for a more detailed description of annotated bibliographies.

4, 5

150

passed

11

Nov-13

Draft Presentation

In 10 minutes, present the current progress of your paper to the class for comment and critique. You must bring copies of a one-page outline for the professor and every member of the class. Full credit will be given for drafts that demonstrate reasonable progress.

1, 4, 5

150

passed

15

Dec-18

Final Paper

Write a 2500-3000 word paper on the nature of beauty, goodness, and truth using a book, chapter, theme or story from the Bible as a launching point. These will be presented on the final day of class, but only the written document will be graded. Points will be deducted if you are late or absent.

1, 3, 4, 5

300

17

TOTAL

1000

Week

Date

Topic

Reading

page_begin

page_end

amount

Assignment Due

I earned

out of

1

Sep-4

Syllabus

What I know essay

10

2

Sep-11

The Community of the Beautiful

7

38

31

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

3

Sep-18

The Community of the Beautiful

39

62

23

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

4

Sep-25

The Community of the Beautiful

63

90

27

Sensual Beauty Presentation

150

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

5

Oct-2

The Community of the Beautiful

91

118

27

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

6

Oct-9

Guest lecture on "magical realism"

"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

7

Oct-16

The Community of the Beautiful

119

154

35

Paper Proposal

100

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

8

Oct-23

The Community of the Beautiful

155

196

41

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

9

Oct-30

Story as a Way of Knowing

1

38

37

Annotated Bibliography

150

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

10

Nov-6

Story as a Way of Knowing

39

62

23

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

11

Nov-13

Story as a Way of Knowing

63

87

24

Draft Presentation

150

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

12

Nov-20

Story as a Way of Knowing

88

120

32

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

13

Dec-4

Story as a Way of Knowing

121

166

45

Learning to Perceive Journal

10

14

Dec-11

Story as a Way of Knowing

167

196

29

Learning to Perceive Journal

10