Courses - Faculty of Arts
Theological and Religious Studies
Stage I
The Bible and Popular Culture
An exploration of biblical themes, images, and metaphors in contemporary film, music and cultural arts through which religion and culture intersect. It develops tools appropriate for analysing popular culture, as it moves from the local to the national to the global.
Restriction: THEOLOGY 101, 101G
Studying Religion: An Introduction
Introduces students to some of the central issues, questions, and debates in the contemporary study of religion. It guides students through a series of case studies, each focusing on a particular topic pertaining to religion, and introduces them to ways of thinking about these topics in an informed and critical way.
Islam and the Contemporary World
Since the religion of Islam has become a very significant aspect of contemporary global and local societies, this course seeks to introduce students to an understanding of key aspects of Islam and an analysis of its significant contribution to New Zealand society as well as to societies and cultures across the world.
Restriction: THEOLOGY 106, 106G
Stage II
A Major Religious Thinker
In-depth study of a figure whose thought has had a major impact on the development of one or more religious traditions. It includes the critical study of selected texts by the chosen thinker (where these have survived), and of texts and traditions related to the thinker. The figure chosen reflects the research interests of current staff.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I
Restriction: THEOREL 300
Religions in New Zealand
An exploration of living religions in contemporary New Zealand, surveying the beliefs, traditions and practices that are central to religious groups in New Zealand and their interactions with contemporary culture both locally and globally. The course will introduce students to the comparative study of religion, engaging in such topics as religion and ritual, exploring belief, and interfaith dialogue.
Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Theology or from the BA Schedule, or approval of Academic Head or nominee
Restriction: THEOLOGY 201, THEOREL 320
A History of the Apocalypse
An 'apocalypse' is a divine revelation about the shape of history. It is written for a society in crisis, often describing that society’s collapse before the coming of a better world. This course traces the development of apocalyptic thought in the religions of the West, from the ancient Middle East through to apocalyptic themes in modern cultures.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I
Restriction: THEOREL 302
Religion in Film and Television
Explores the ways that religious themes, myths, and imagery are expressed within the narratives of some classic and contemporary films and television dramas. Students will learn skills to identify the articulation of religious beliefs, narratives, and the sacred or transcendent within the medium of film and television, and to discuss critically this cultural engagement with religion.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I
Restriction: THEOREL 306
Christianity and Modernity, 1600-2000
A study of the history of the church from 1600 CE focusing on issues such as: church and society in seventeenth-century England, missionary expansion, the Evangelical revivals, relationship between church and state, the challenge of modernity, revivalism and fundamentalism, ecumenism, secularisation, and post-Vatican II Catholicism.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I
Restriction: CTHTHEO 255, 355, THEOLOGY 255, 355, THEOREL 307
Special Topic in Theological and Religious Studies
Study of a particular theme, religious tradition or set of texts from within the discipline of Theological and Religious Studies.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I from BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 308
Religious Texts of Terror
Explores the ways that various forms of violence are evoked and discussed within religious texts and traditions. Students will learn about the origins of these ‘texts of terror’, and then trace their ongoing influence throughout history and up to the present day across a range of socio-cultural contexts, both global and local.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I from the BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 301
Special Topic: Religion, Trauma and Suffering
An exploration of how recent insights into trauma and suffering intersect with theology and religion. Students will learn about ways in which religious narratives and practices have contributed to trauma and suffering, as well as possibilities for resistance and relief. The course will include engagements with trauma and suffering across a range of contexts.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I from the BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 318
Religion, Gender and Sexuality
Considers how gender and sexuality are articulated and debated within contemporary religious communities. Topics covered may include: gender and sexuality in religious texts and traditions; women in religion; sexualities and religion; gender, sexuality, and religion in popular culture; feminist, gender and queer theories in the study of religion; gender violence and religion; HIV/AIDS and religion.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I
Restriction: THEOREL 311
Special Topic: The Evolution and Psychology of Religion
Approaches religion as a dimension of human biology, psychology, and social life. We consider how approaches in the human sciences clarify patterns of individual and cultural variation in the expression of religion and spirituality. Topics include the evolution of religion and cooperation, social inequality, ecology, virtue, transformational experiences, collective rituals and the diverse social functions of religion.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I
Restriction: THEOREL 314
Danger and Desire: The Bible and Visual Culture
Explores how biblical themes of sexuality, gender, sin, and desire are represented in the visual arts, including fine art, advertising, and film. Students will learn how artists’ cultural contexts shape and inspire their visual interpretations of the Bible, and how these interpretations have influenced cultural discourses of gender and sexuality throughout history.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I from the BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 212, 312, 315
Early Christianity
Examines the history of Christianity from its origins in Palestinian and diaspora Judaism through to its official endorsement by the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century. Explores how various traditions about Jesus evolved, how Christians both accommodated and resisted the wider culture, and how norms for “orthodoxy” (correct teaching) gradually took shape.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I from the BA Schedule
Restriction: CTHTHEO 252, 352, THEOREL 316, THEOLOGY 104
Comparative Religion and Society
Provides an introduction to social theories of religion. An empirical approach to the study of religion, which constructs theories and arguments about its social forms and significance through the collection and analysis of data. Global case studies will be used to consider the power of religion both as a force for social cohesion as well as disruption and social change.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage I
Restriction: THEOREL 321
Stage III
A Major Religious Thinker
In-depth study of a figure whose thought has had a major impact on the development of one or more religious traditions. It includes the critical study of selected texts by the chosen thinker (where these have survived), and of texts and traditions related to the thinker. The figure chosen reflects the research interests of current staff.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II
Restriction: THEOREL 200
Religious Texts of Terror
Explores the ways that various forms of violence are evoked and discussed within religious texts and traditions. Students will learn about the origins of these ‘texts of terror’, and then trace their ongoing influence throughout history and up to the present day across a range of socio-cultural contexts, both global and local.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II from the BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 209
A History of the Apocalypse
An apocalypse is a divine revelation about the shape of history. It is written for a society in crisis, often describing that society’s collapse before the coming of a better world. This course traces the development of apocalyptic thought in the religions of the West, from the ancient Middle East through to apocalyptic themes in modern cultures.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II
Restriction: THEOREL 202
Religion in Film and Television
Explores the ways that religious themes, myths, and imagery are expressed within the narratives of some classic and contemporary films and television dramas. Students will learn skills to identify the articulation of religious beliefs, narratives, and the sacred or transcendent within the medium of film and television, and to discuss critically this cultural engagement with religion.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II
Restriction: THEOREL 206
Christianity and Modernity, 1600-2000
A study of the history of the church from 1600 CE focusing on issues such as: church and society in seventeenth-century England, missionary expansion, the Evangelical revivals, relationship between church and state, the challenge of modernity, revivalism and fundamentalism, ecumenism, secularisation, and post-Vatican II Catholicism.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II
Restriction: CTHTHEO 255, 355, THEOLOGY 255, 355, THEOREL 207
Special Topic in Theological and Religious Studies
Study of a particular theme, religious tradition or set of texts from within the discipline of Theological and Religious Studies.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II from BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 208
Directed Study 1
Provides students with the possibility of undertaking directed study of a topic in Theological and Religious Studies approved by the Academic Head and directed by a member of academic staff with relevant expertise.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II from the BA Schedule
Directed Study 2
Provides students with the possibility of undertaking directed study of a topic in Theological and Religious Studies approved by the Academic Head and directed by a member of academic staff with relevant expertise.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II from the BA Schedule
Religion, Gender and Sexuality
Considers how gender and sexuality are articulated and debated within contemporary religious communities. Topics covered may include: gender and sexuality in religious texts and traditions; women in religion; sexualities and religion; gender, sexuality, and religion in popular culture; feminist, gender and queer theories in the study of religion; gender violence and religion; HIV/AIDS and religion.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II from the BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 211
Special Topic: The Evolution and Psychology of Religion
Approaches religion as a dimension of human biology, psychology, and social life. We consider how approaches in the human sciences clarify patterns of individual and cultural variation in the expression of religion and spirituality. Topics include the evolution of religion and cooperation, social inequality, ecology, virtue, transformational experiences, collective rituals and the diverse social functions of religion.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II
Restriction: THEOREL 214
Danger and Desire: The Bible and Visual Culture
Explores the ways that biblical themes of sexuality, gender, sin, and desire, are represented in the visual arts, including fine art, advertising, and film. Students will learn how artists’ cultural contexts shape and inspire their visual interpretations of the Bible, and how these interpretations have influenced cultural discourses of gender and sexuality throughout history.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II from the BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 212, 215, 312,
Early Christianity
Examines the history of Christianity from its origins in Palestinian and diaspora Judaism through to its official endorsement by the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century. Explores how various traditions about Jesus evolved, how Christians both accommodated and resisted the wider culture, and how norms for “orthodoxy” (correct teaching) gradually took shape.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II in the BA Schedule
Restriction: CTHTHEO 252, 352, THEOREL 216, THEOLOGY 104
Special Topic: Religion, Trauma and Suffering
An exploration of how recent insights into trauma and suffering intersect with theology and religion. Students will learn about ways in which religious narratives and practices have contributed to trauma and suffering, as well as possibilities for resistance and relief. The course will include engagements with trauma and suffering across a range of contexts.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II in the BA Schedule
Restriction: THEOREL 210
Theory and Method in Religious Studies
Examines key theories and methods used in the multidisciplinary study of religion. Although dedicated to social-scientific theories of religion, it also covers textual, historical, feminist/queer, and psychological theories. It will provide students with a critical understanding of the diversity of approaches used in the field and raise awareness about the possibilities for framing their own research.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II from the BA Schedule
Religion in New Zealand
An exploration of living religions in contemporary New Zealand, surveying the beliefs, traditions and practices that are central to religious groups in New Zealand and their interactions with contemporary culture both locally and globally. Comparative study of religion in New Zealand, in such topics as religion and ritual, exploring belief, and interfaith dialogue.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II
Restriction: THEOLOGY 201, THEOREL 201
Comparative Religion and Society
Examines the social theories of religion. An empirical approach to the study of religion, which constructs theories and arguments about its social forms and significance through the collection and analysis of data. Global case studies will be used to consider the power of religion both as a force for social cohesion as well as disruption and social change.
Prerequisite: 30 points at Stage II
Restriction: THEOREL 221
