Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2024-2025
Module THEO2381: TOPICS IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS
Department: Theology and Religion
THEO2381: TOPICS IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS
| Type | Open | Level | 2 | Credits | 20 | Availability | Available in 2024/2025 | Module Cap | Location | Durham |
|---|
Prerequisites
- None.
Corequisites
- None.
Excluded Combination of Modules
- None.
Aims
- To introduce some major practical issues in contemporary theological ethics.
- To identify the principal biblical, theological, philosophical, ethical and social scientific resources for addressing them.
Content
- This module provides an introduction to a number of major practical issues in contemporary theological ethics.
- It investigates the biblical, theological, philosophical, ethical, and social scientific resources which are available to inform the church's social witness, and also includes perspectives from comparative religious ethics.
- Topics may vary from year to year, but are likely to focus on a limited number of specific issues such as the ecological crisis; justice and the economy; race and racism; digital lives; bodies and gender; and death and frailty
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge:
- A knowledge and critical understanding of some major topics within Christian social ethics, environmental ethics, and ethics of the body.
- An understanding of the specific contribution made by theology to topics in practical ethics.
Subject-specific Skills:
- An ability to analyse topics in practical ethics with intellectual rigour.
- A capacity to draw on and integrate a wide range of intellectual disciplines in order to inform this critical analysis.
Key Skills:
- Skills in the acquisition of information through reading and research, and in the structured presentation of information in written form.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Lectures convey information and exemplify an approach to the subject-matter, enabling students to develop a clear understanding of the subject and to improve their skills in listening and in evaluating information.
- Seminars enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding both through preparation and through interaction with students and staff, promoting awareness of different viewpoints and approaches.
- The summative essays and optional formative essay develop subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the acquisition of information through reading and research, and in the structured presentation of information in written form.
- Examinations assess subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the structured presentation of information in written form under time constraints.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total/Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 20 | 2 per week in one term | 1 hour | 20 | ■ |
| Seminars | 5 | 1 per fortnight week in one term (in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 of the term) | 1.5 hours | 7.5 | ■ |
| Preparation and Reading | 172.5 | ||||
| Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
| Component: Examination | Component Weighting: 60% | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
| Examination | 2 hours | 100% | |
| Component: Summative Essay | Component Weighting: 40% | ||
| Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
| Summative Essay | 2,500 words | 100% | |
Formative Assessment:
Opportunity for a formative essay will be offered to students, but is not compulsory.
■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University