BIBLE
471: CHRIST AND CULTURE
Milligan
College, Fall 2009
Philip
D. Kenneson
Office: FOB #112 Office
phone: 461-8797
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-11:00
am; TuTh 2:00-3:30 Home
phone: 926-3096
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Catalog
description:
"An examination of how contemporary Western cultures shape how
Christians understand and embody their faith, and an exploration of how
Christians might respond to these challenges."
Christ and Culture is what has
conventionally been called a "capstone course." The purpose of such a
course, taken during the last year of one's undergraduate work, is to provide a
forum for integrating much that has been learned in separate disciplines.
Because the goal is to integrate, the course is necessarily interdisciplinary.
Moreover, because Milligan strives to integrate learning and the Christian
faith, most of our efforts in this course are aimed at reflecting on how what
we have learned and what we believe might fit together to form a unified vision
of the Christian life.
This is an enormous and difficult task,
and not one which can be realistically achieved in a single semester. Our goal
is to begin asking some key questions that will encourage a life of reflection
and integration. Because our goal is not so much to answer every question that
arises, but to develop and/or sharpen the skills necessary to work through such
questions in critical and faithful ways, good questions will often be more important to us than quick or easy answers.
STUDENT LEARNING
OUTCOMES
As a result of their work in this course (and by the grace
of God and the work of the Holy Spirit), students will be able to:
1. Deepen their desire to love God and
neighbor with all that they are and do, as well as understand more concretely
what such love entails in daily life.
2. Articulate and begin to internalize both
what it means to be a Christian and the vital role God has given the church in
embodying the gospel in the midst of the world.
3.
Identify and analyze some of the challenges to and opportunities for living out
the gospel of Jesus Christ in all areas of contemporary life.
4. Listen more attentively to God,
Scripture, Christian tradition, other people, and the world around them.
5. Communicate more effectively and
confidently with other people (both orally and in writing) about matters of
Christian faith and practice.
6. Analyze carefully and critically some
of the formative desires, assumptions, stories, practices and institutions of
contemporary life in light of the central convictions of the Christian faith.
7. Evaluate their own lives, including
their vocational goals and aspirations, in light of God’s deepest desires for
all of creation.
APPROACH
As suggested above, this course has specific
aims that build on your work in other courses but which remain unique to this
course. Different aims call for different strategies for accomplishing them.
For this reason, much about this course may seem somewhat unconventional. As
the semester progresses, some of the reasons for proceeding in these different
ways should become more evident. For example, this course is designed to
encourage the class to function as a community of learning. In such a
community, each person is both student and teacher. Although some students
may have thought more about some of these issues than others, and some may seem
better equipped with the skills required to probe these matters deeply, each
person is capable of contributing for the benefit of all.
REQUIREMENTS
AND EVALUATION
To accomplish the above learning
outcomes, we will be reading and discussing together a number of texts,
watching several videos, and engaging in considerable writing. You are expected
to complete all required reading and journal writing by the assigned date.
Because an enormous amount of our work takes place during class, in both small
and large group discussions, it is imperative that you be present each time the
class meets. There is no way to make up a missed discussion. You should also
realize that if you are absent, the discussion that does take place will be a
different (and usually less-interesting) discussion than if you were present.
Hence, when you are absent you are not the only one affected. If you believe an
absence is necessary, it is your responsibility to inform both the professor
and your small group (ahead of time if possible). It is also your
responsibility to make sure that the journal rotation is not disrupted by your
absence.
Please
note: one half percentage point is automatically subtracted from the small
group participation grade for each absence—regardless of the reason. Attendance
is also factored into the large group discussion grade. No one with seven or more absences for the semester can earn a final
semester grade above C. No one with ten or more absences will pass
the class.
Following are the six components of the
class that will be evaluated and their relative weight in your final semester
grade. Each of these components offers
significant opportunities for students to make progress toward the learning
outcomes. [Listed in brackets are the criteria on the basis of which you are
being evaluated for each component.]
1) Small
group participation (15%). [Faithful attendance and active participation]
2) Group
journal (30%). [Consistent, thoughtful, and sensitive
engagement with readings and peers; insight; punctuality. A full grading
rubric is available online through Angel.]
3)
Other required written assignments (10%; 5% for Hiking Report and 5% for
Stewardship of Gifts essay) [Following assigned directions; quality of written
expression; insight.]
4) Large
group discussions (5%). [Faithful attendance, active
listening, insight, ability to comment for the good of all.]
5) Small
group project (15%). [Sensitivity, level of insight, participation and
excellence in all three components of the project: planning/research/interview
(5%), written report (5%) and oral presentation (5%). A full grading rubric is
available online through Angel.]
6) Final
exam (25%). [Insight, ability both to analyze and synthesize,
quality of written expression, persuasiveness.]
Here is the grading scale for the
course:
A
94% and above C 74-77%
A- 91-93% C- 71-73%
B+ 88-90% D+ 68-70%
B 84-87% D 64-67%
B- 81-83% D- 61-63%
C+ 78-80% F 60% and below
Please note: We will not talk much about grades during the
semester because our focus will be on more important matters. If, however, you
ever want to know how I think you’re doing, please don’t hesitate to ask; I’ll
be happy to sit down with you and talk about it. I also post assessments to Angel on a regular
basis for those of you who want to see how you are doing.
SMALL GROUPS
AND GROUP JOURNALS
You will be assigned to a small group
for the entire semester and most days will have some time set aside for directed
small group discussions about the assigned readings. In addition to these
discussions, another series of conversations is carried on at a different pace
in the group journals. As you might expect, this kind of journaling is rather
different, primarily because our goals and purposes for doing so are different.
Some of these goals and purposes are as follows:
1) To
encourage more thoughtful reading by requiring each student to reflect upon the
readings in the journals.
2) To
encourage a broader, deeper, slower and more sustained conversation than is
possible in the small group discussions by requiring students to respond in the
journals not only to the readings but also to each other. Some small group
members have actually found themselves (accidentally, no doubt) discussing some
of the questions raised by this course outside of class time.
3) To
encourage students to hold one another accountable for the quality of their
thinking.
4) To
encourage students to engage one another at a critical level without alienating
each other.
The mechanics of the group journals and
their rotation are a little odd at first, but will be explained thoroughly
during the first two weeks of the semester. Please remember: group members
are responsible for responding both to the readings for the next class period
and to all those who have written in that journal since they last had it
(usually 3 people). These reflections on and response to the thoughts of
your peers must of necessity be selective (you won’t be able to respond to
everything), but they should show evidence that you have thoughtfully
considered what your peers have written. This means you will need to say more
than "I liked (or did not like) what you wrote." If you find yourself
agreeing or disagreeing with one of your peers, do your best to articulate what
you understand the basis of this agreement (or disagreement) to be.
CHRIST AND CULTURE “LABS”
Since there is much about American
cultures and the Christian faith that cannot be explored adequately from the
safe confines of the classroom, you are required to participate in two “lab”
experiences outside of class time with your small group. The first “lab” involves taking a hike
together with your small group sometime during the first month of the semester.
Instructions for the hike and the hiking report may be found on Angel and
through links on the online daily schedule.
The second lab requires your small group to arrange a conversation
with a small group of people (ideally 2-3) in the community who are in some way
different from you. Again, detailed
instructions for this second exercise and the reports associated with it are
available on Angel
and through links on the online daily schedule.
EXTRA CREDIT: IN-CLASS BULLETIN BOARDS AND ONLINE DISCUSSION
FORUMS
A total of
100 points (worth up to 2.5% added to your final grade) of extra credit may be
earned during the semester by making insightful contributions to the in-class
bulletin boards (up to 50 pts) and online discussion forums (up to 50
pts). These available points are distributed
evenly throughout the semester into five blocks with the following due dates: Sept.
3, Sept. 22, Oct. 13, Nov. 3, Nov. 24. To be considered for credit, you must submit
to me by the above dates anything that you would like to post on the in-class
bulletin boards. Contributions to the online discussion forums must be posted
no later than 11:59 p.m. on the above dates. Please note: I am not responsible
for the reliability of the computer network; please do not wait until the last
minute to post contributions. Additional
guidelines for posting material in-class or online can be found in the
“Assignment Guidelines” section of Angel.
One additional opportunity for extra
credit is available during the semester.
Students may attend the Senior Forum on Christ and Culture (Thursday
evening, Oct 22, 5:30-7:00 pm) and earn 10 points (toward their 100 points
available for the semester).
CELL PHONE AND
LAPTOP POLICY
One important habit we are trying
to cultivate daily in this course is the practice of truly being present to
each other. This isn’t easy,
particularly given the distractions we have all around us. Scientific research has demonstrated that the
human mind can only fully attend to one thing at a time. For these reasons, I insist that all cell
phones and laptops must be turned off during class unless I have granted
permission for their use (this includes during story time, small group, videos,
etc.). Students whose phones ring/vibrate
audibly or who are observed texting, emailing, web-surfing, etc., any time during
class will be marked absent for that session.
ACCOMMODATIONS
REQUIRED TEXTS
The Bible (Any translation; no
paraphrases, please.)
Joan Chittister, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living
the Rule of St. Benedict Today
(HarperCollins, 1990).
Numerous articles and readings
available electronically via the Online Daily Schedule and Angel.
ONLINE DAILY
SCHEDULE
The Online Daily Schedule is the
official site for all reading assignments.
Here you will find listed all the assigned readings for a given day in
addition to links to those that are available electronically. You will also find journal prompts here that
may help you write about the readings for the day.
The Online Daily Schedule is designed
to be dynamic; that is, it allows me the ability to tailor the readings to our
discussions as they unfold during the semester.
Nevertheless, all assigned readings will be posted no less than two
weeks ahead of their due dates so that you have adequate time to secure access
to those that are available only electronically. Please note: you are responsible for securing
access to these readings in a timely manner, so please do not wait until the
last minute and then blame whatever problems you have on your tools (i.e.,
technology).
The Online Daily Schedule—as well as
all assignment guidelines—can be accessed both through my home page (www.milligan.edu/bible/pkenneson/kenneson.htm) and through Angel (http://angel.milligan.edu).
DAILY
SCHEDULE
(Below is a list of topics and due
dates for written assignments; links to readings for each day are online.)
PART ONE:
LISTENING AS A PATH TO
SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND MATURITY
Aug 20 Introductions: "Listening to
Strangers."
Aug 25 Learning
to Listen (1)
Aug 27 Learning
to Listen (2)
Sept 1 Learning
to Listen (3)
PART TWO:
LEARNING TO GET A
HANDLE ON THE BIG PICTURE
Sept 3 What's
the Story? (1)
Sept 8 What's
the Story? (2)
Sept 10 What's
the Big Picture? (1)
Sept 15 What's
the Big Picture? (2)
Sept 17 Who is a "Christian"? What is the
"Church"? Turn in Hiking Report
Sept 22 What's
Going On? (Or Not Going On . . .)
PART THREE:
LEARNING TO BE STEWARDS OF GOD'S GOOD GIFTS
Sept 24 Learning
to Participate in God's Economy
Sept 29 Learning to be a Community of Faith
Oct 6 Learning to be a Community of Worship (1)
Oct 8 Learning
to be a Community of Worship (2)
Turn in Small Group Project Proposals
Oct 13 Learning to be a Community of Reconciliation (1)
Oct 15 Learning to be a Community of Reconciliation (2)
Oct 20 Learning to be a Community of Forgiveness (1)
Oct 22 Learning to be a Community of Forgiveness (2)
Oct 27 Learning to be a Community of Hospitality (1)
Oct 29 Learning to be a Community of Hospitality (2)
Nov
3 Learning to be a Community of Care and Generosity (1)
Nov
5 Learning
to be a Community of Care and Generosity
(2) Turn
in Stewardship of Gifts Essays
Nov 10 Learning to be a Community of Good Work
(1) Turn in Small Group Project Written Reports
Nov
12 Learning to be a Community of Good Work (2)
Nov
17 Learning to be a Community of Good Rest
Nov
19 Small Group Oral Reports
Nov
24 Small Group Oral Reports
Distribute Final Exam
Questions
Dec
1 Small Group Oral Reports
Dec
3 Small Group Oral Reports
Dec 7 FINAL EXAM
Monday, 10:30 am—12:30 pm (Second Floor Derthick Hall; 207-210)
Additional
Guidelines for Extra-Credit Submissions
A. Guidelines for In-Class
Bulletin Board Submissions
The in-class bulletin boards, entitled “Windows
on American Cultures,” are designed to be precisely that: windows into the
cultures in which we live. Material
posted on these boards, along with accompanying commentary on them, should help
us see something about American cultures to which you think we need to pay
greater attention. Such material might
include: news stories, advertisements, cartoons, song lyrics, pictures you’ve
taken, etc.
You can receive up to 5 points for each item
submitted. (Points are awarded on the basis of how illuminating I take the item
to be). You can also receive up to 5
points for each commentary on or analysis of your own (or another’s) item.
(Again, points are awarded on the basis of how insightful I take your analysis
to be). You may submit as many items and commentaries as you would like, though
you can only earn a maximum of 10 total points of extra credit for the in-class
bulletin boards during each of the five periods of the semester. Please see syllabus for due dates. [50 points
total for semester]
Please submit your items to me before or after
class, making sure that your name is either on the front or back of your
contribution.
I reserve the option not to post any item or
commentary that I regard as inappropriate, though I imagine that these
occasions will be rare. The material on
these bulletin boards is not intended to make us comfortable; quite the
contrary. It is intended to help us
understand a little more clearly the cultures in which we are immersed, since
these cultures have tremendous power to shape our lives and the lives of our
neighbors.
B.
Guidelines for Online Discussion Forum Submissions (Angel)
The online discussion forums are designed to
facilitate discussions about important matters outside of class time and across
different Christ and Culture sections.
You can receive up to 5 points for each
submission to the discussion forums. (Points are awarded based on how
insightful—and respectful of the views of others—I take your submission to be).
You may contribute to these discussion forums as frequently as you like, though
you can only earn a maximum of 10 total points of extra credit for the online
discussion forums during each of the five periods of the semester. Please see
syllabus for due dates. To receive credit, submissions must be posted to Angel
by 11:59 p.m. on the due dates. [50 points total for the semester]
Please be considerate and respectful of others
on the discussion forums. These are difficult matters to discuss and nearly
everyone has deeply-held views. Please
do your best to honor the views of others even (or especially) when you
disagree with them. I reserve the option
to remove any posting that I consider to be inappropriate, though I hope the
need to do this will never arise.