Courses

2018 Summer Courses

BTI 503 Old Testament Genre

Course Description

This course is an introduction to Old Testament scripture from the perspective of its literary genres. Students examine six major genres: theological history, law, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, and apocalyptic writing. The characteristics of these genres are discussed and students are exposed to extra-biblical examples of each type. Application of the insights from this approach to the study of the Old Testament, to contemporary life, ministry and mission will be included.

BTI 521 Using the Bible in Social Injustice & Transformation

Course Description

This course will explore the use of the Bible in relation to contemporary social issues. Participants will examine issues such as racism, poverty, sexism, gender violence, sexual orientation in light of a Christocentric Theological Anthropology. Students will identify how a Biblical themes of abundance, embodiment and peacemaking, can do justice in the world.

BTI 523 Post-colonial Theory & Biblical Hermeneutics

Course Description

BTI 530 Textual Synthesis I: Examination of the Book of Ruth

Course Description

An introduction to exegetical methods and tools commonly used in the study of the Hebrew scriptures. An eclectic selection of biblical texts will be used to illustrate the various approaches. Students will prepare brief reports on texts and produce a final project that synthesizes the history of a text’s reception with their own contemporary location and commitments.

CSL 503 Professional Ethics: Honoring the Other

Course Description

Prerequisites: CSL 528, CSL 551, CSL 552 and CSL 542 The student receives an overview of professional ethics and Washington State law as applied to counseling. Students are encouraged to examine their ethical decision-making processes in light of the difficult decisions facing the professional counselor. The course provides instruction regarding widely accepted ethical norms as well as common legal regulations. Additional topics will include professionalism, licensure, and common practice issues.

CSL 509 Multicultural Perspectives: Race & Culture

Course Description

This course is designed to provoke, challenge, and engage the student in the compelling call to live and face the other. Students, through learning and experience, will gain an understanding and appreciation of diversity among individuals and groups and how such differences impact the theory and clinical practice of counseling.

CSL 512B Substance Abuse: The Nature of Addictions

Course Description

Prerequisites: CSL 527, CSL 528, CSL 544, and CSL 551 This course is designed to provide foundational concepts to understand addictive processes and provide appropriate therapy. The course explores existential, theological, and biological foundations and provides instruction in assessment and treatment of those who are drug or alcohol addicted. Individual, family, and community issues surrounding addictions and abuse are covered.

CSL 512C Substance Abuse: The Nature of Addictions

Course Description

CSL 516B Research: the Dialogical Context of Knowledge

Course Description

This course is an introduction to psychological research. The student is introduced to quantitative and qualitative research designs and statistical methodologies. Research is studied in its dialogical context: researcher to subject, researcher to interpretation, and researcher to the community within which the research is relevant. Students will also receive guidance and practice in the use of research to inform their therapeutic work.

CSL 516C Research: the Dialogical Context of Knowledge

Course Description

CSL 524 Introduction to Counseling Children & Adolescents

Course Description

This course utilizes a didactic and experiential format in which to explore therapeutic work with adolescents. Through reading, class-time, and role-play, this course provides a foundation to facilitate the growth and development of the student's clinical work with adolescents. Clinical work with adolescents will be considered from a bio-psychosocial perspective with special emphasis on developmental, attachment, and systemic issues as relevant to the adolescent culture.

CSL 575B Special Topics

Course Description

Human Sexuality Human Sexuality is designed to ask questions about the nature of biological sexuality, sexual preference, sexual identity, and desire. The course will seek to explore multiple perspectives to attempt to understand such questions from scientific research, developmental theory, cultural influences, and relational experience. Contemporary scholarship from psychoanalytic literature will be assigned to formulate the bases for class discussion. Students will consider several ways of understanding and working with sexuality in their personal lives and in clinical settings, equipping them to think critically and work effectively in various cultures and systems

RLM 510 Leadership in Organizations I: Personal Influence in the Service of Transfo

Course Description

This course focuses on the personal influence gained by understanding dynamics of style and preference as the leader seeks to build relationships. It explores the theological influence on personal and interpersonal dynamics of leadership and on the concept of self as instrument.

SFD 522 C.S. Lewis: Theological Perspectives for Spiritual Formation

Course Description

This course will examine the literary legacy of one the twentieth century's foremost Christian authors. More specifically, it will explore the theological perspectives of C. S. Lewis, perspectives that speak of God, humanity, nature, love, heaven, hell, prayer, pain and suffering, and ethics. Students will critically reflect on how these insights might inform, nourish, challenge and support their own relationship with God and God's work in the world.

SLG Student Lifecycle Group

Course Description

TCE 510 Word & Sacrament: Theology of Spiritual Formation

Course Description

This course provides the historical, theological and biblical foundation of Christian spiritual theology its form and function as it is practiced in pastoral care, individual, group, and institutional settings.

TCE 520 Philosophy & Theological Thought

Course Description

This course builds philosophical foundations for graduate students in the interdisciplinary study of theology, philosophy, and culture. The course attends to relationships between philosophy and theology by looking at philosophers who have dealt with the theological tradition of the West and whose influence has affected the subsequent development of theology and of philosophy. While attending to western cultural and historical influences on philosophy that have in turn structured dominant Christian thinking, the course strives to remember that philosophy is a cultural product. Accordingly, this course seeks to understand western philosophy’s influence, its sources, its strengths, and its limitations even as students begin to think globally about Christian thought.

TCE 542 Christ & Church

Course Description

This course looks at the relationship between the Christian Church (ecclesiology) and Jesus Christ (Christology). At stake in this conversation is how our doctrines about the person and the work of Christ impacts how persons are formed in the practice of the Church and its liturgy. Doctrine, in this context, is not just an abstract exploration of proper belief about sin, atonement, soteriology, or ecclesiology, but, instead, the location of questioning, and sometimes reforming, how theory (theoria) and practice (praxis) are related to one another in the daily life of the body of Christ. The aim of this class is to show that all study of theology should lead to doxology (worship) and all doxology should lead to the fullness of life in Jesus Christ.

TCE 550 Engaging Global Partnerships

Course Description

The cross cultural course will be hosted by Guatemalan leaders serving Guatemala City communities impacted by poverty, lack of education, homelessness, addiction and gang violence. Students will participate pre-trip readings and film study focused on Latin American theology, history and culture and a one week cross cultural dialogue in Guatemala. Students will meet with local leaders to discuss, Gang Chaplaincy, street kids and human trafficking, gender violence, and advocacy, education, trauma informed care and community development.

TCE 575B Special Topics

Course Description

Fairy Tales, Disney, and Feminist Theory

2018 Fall Courses

BTI 502 Reading Practices: Engaging the Biblical Text

Course Description

2 credits This course is an introduction to practices of theological interpretation. Different critical approaches and their historical development, contributions and limitations are discussed. Students gain experience using the biblical story as a norm to reflect on culture and life. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is studied.

BTI 512 Introduction to Biblical Languages II: Opening the Greek Text

Course Description

2 credits In this course, the student learns the Greek alphabet, basic Greek vocabulary and morphemes, and is introduced to Greek syntax in order to make intelligent use of available Bible software. Scholarly Greek language study tools are used.

BTI 570 Integrative Project: Exploring the Future

Course Description

2 or 3 credits Prerequisite: Taken in last year of MDIV or MATC degree program An individualized learning experience that creates space for students to draw from their entire Seattle School experience as they look to their post-graduation ministry and their unique embodiment of text, soul and culture. Blending research methodology with the personal supervision of their advisor (at The Seattle School), students complete the writing of their final integrative project for the MDIV & MATC during their final year. This course is taught consecutively over two trimesters, with one credit earned in each of those terms. M. Div students also add another credit in Spring term.

BTI 571 Integrative Project Continuation

Course Description

Prerequisite: Taken in last year of MDIV degree program An individualized learning experience that creates space for students to draw from their entire MHGS experience as they look to their post-graduation ministry and their unique embodiment of text, soul and culture. Blending research methodology with the personal supervision of a MHGS advisor, students complete the writing of their final integrative project for the MDIV during their final year. This course is taught consecutively over two trimesters, with one credit earned in each of those terms.

CSL 502 History and Therapeutic Perspectives: Contextualizing the Interpersonal

Course Description

3 credits This course is designed to give students a historical and theoretical grounding in the major counseling theories and theorists. Current interpersonal theory is placed both historically and theoretically. The student will explore relational dynamic theory from both a psychological and theological vantage point.

CSL 510 Human Growth:The Interpersonal & Narrative Journey

Course Description

2 credits The course covers human development from a biopsychosocial perspective, which includes neurological, psychological, and interpersonal perspectives from conception to death. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the integrative functions of the mind as a key to meaningful growth across the human life-span.

CSL 513 Sexual Disorders

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisite: CSL 517, CSL 527, CSL 544, CSL 551, CSL 552 This class addresses the physical, relational, ethical and theological issues most often encountered in out-patient private practice and the local church that relate to clients struggling with their sexuality and addictive issues in general. The focus will be on understanding the symptoms in light of gender theory, addiction, and idolatry. The student will be better equipped to understand and treat a number of paraphilias, gender identity disorders, and normal sexual dysfunctions.

CSL 527 Faith, Hope, Love: Ultimate Relational Concerns

Course Description

2 credits This course considers the pursuit of meaning in the development of identity. The student will address the concept of maturity from a theological and psychological viewpoint especially in light of the New Testament letters of Paul. The course seeks to link mission and identity as a framework for considering ones calling and life.

CSL 530 Internship I

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: CSL 502, CSL 503, CSL 528, CSL 551, CSL 552, CSL 553, CSL 542, CSL 544, CSL 545, concurrent with CSL 543 (Recommended: CSL 510, CSL 524) The purpose of the Counseling Internship is to provide a clinical setting for the intern to gather clinical experience and to receive clinical supervision. During the gatherin of clinical experience, the intern has the opportunity to learn and to grow their "clinical mind." The clinical setting will provide the intern with supervised experiences in preparation for professional practice as a counselor. Supervision will include but not limited to administrative skills (fees, billing, etc.), case management skills (evaluation of lethality, level of care, etc.) and clinical skills (frame/perimeter, setting, transference, countertransference, documentation, assessment, case formulation, etc.). The Intern will have an opportunity to develop and practice these skills in a variety of clinical settings under the guidance of an on-site supervisor. In addition, the student will participate in a supervised Case Conference seminar at The Seattle School. Please also see the Internship Handbook on the website.

CSL 543 Therapy II: Psychotherapy in Clinical Practice

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: CSL 542, CSL 544, CSL 551, CSL 552, and CSL 553; concurrent with CSL 530 This advanced course follows Therapy I and continues to explore the use of the self in the interpersonal aspect of therapeutic work. Focus is given to the clinical process by learning to develop treatment strategies and interventions.

CSL 544 Psychopathology I

Course Description

3 credits Prerequisites: CSL 527, CSL 528, and CSL 551 This course provides a theoretical foundation in understanding clinical psychopathology. The class addresses developmental and biological categories of mental disorders as well as theological underpinnings of development. The student will explore theoretical material regarding clinical disorders and disorders of the self. The class addresses diagnostic categories of psychopathology, assessment, treatment, understanding, and the use of current Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V.

CSL 551 First Year Practicum Part I: Story & Foundations of Interpersonal Dialogue

Course Description

2 credits This introductory practicum provides the foundation for counseling training by means of group interaction with a faculty supervisor. The practicum provides training in listening and feedback skills. It also presents the opportunity for each student to consider personal matters that may impede or enhance their work as a counselor, pastor or ministry leader. In addition, the student meets six times per trimester with a practicum facilitator.

CSL 553 Second Year Practicum

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: CSL 551 & 552 Concurrently taken with: CSL 542 and CSL 544 This course provides advanced counseling training and builds upon the training experiences of First Year Practicum. It provides a supervised training experience with a practicum supervisor as well as peer feedback. Practicum II emphasizes therapeutic conversations, supervised practice counseling with fellow students, and personal exploration as it related to the practice of counseling.

CSL 560A Psychopharmacology

Course Description

2 credits This overview course in psychopharmacology builds upon the theoretical foundation in Psychopathology I and II which includes the biological, psychological (intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts and anxieties), and the social model. This course covers the the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacology of medications of abuse, pharmacology for special populations (child, adolescent, geriatric patients as well as suicidal, and violent patients), and a synthesis of psychopharmacology and psychological therapies in the care of the patient. From a biopsychosocial model, there is an emphasis on understanding how the ethnic and cultural background of patients influence development, disease expression, the patient-therapist relationship, diagnosis and treatment variations across the globe. Each class of medication will be explored, specifically: the history, mechanism of action, pharmacology, indications with specific clinical syndromes, effects on synonyms, adverse effects, drug interactions, medication compliance, and future directions of the particular classes of medications. Through a representative selection of clinical scenarios, cases will be used to illustrate how to apply the concepts in clinical practical settings.

CSL 563 The Battle of Shame

Course Description

2 credits This course utilizes a didactic and experiential format in which to further explore the topic of shame. Shame is often kept hidden and leads us to experience the core human fear of being left and abandoned. The class attempts to discern the origins of shame, examine how shame permeates human relationships and provide insight into how shame can be addressed within a therapeutic context.

FI Frameworks and Intersections

Course Description

RLM 503 Life Together I: Ancient-Future Focus for Church and Worship

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: Concurrent with RLM 530 Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of relational ethics, pastoral care and their own philosophy of ministry. Students will present in oral and written form their theory of pastoral engagement in praxis.

RLM 530 MDiv Practicum II: Embodying Christ

Course Description

1 credit Prerequisites: CSL 551, CSL 552, concurrent with RLM 503 This course provides advanced ministry practice building upon the experiences of Counseling Practicum I with a focus on vocational Christian ministry. MDiv Practicum II explores the incarnational and relational ministry affording students the opportunity to further discern their unique calls to ministry.

SFD 501 Prayer I

Course Description

To provide a solid foundation for spiritual enrichment, this course examines the theological and practical dynamics of prayer.

SFD 519 Evil, Abuse & Spiritual Warfare

Course Description

This course addresses egregious intentional psychological and physical harm of another (evil) and the resultant effects on personality, relationships, and encounter with God. The class will consider interventions that engage the trauma of evil through spiritual warfare.

SFD 526 Celtic Spirituality

Course Description

This is an introduction to a period of history in which Christianity developed somewhat differently in the British Isles and somewhat independently from the Church on the Continent. The "Golden Age of Saints and Scholars" which characterized the 5th-8th centuries in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany, Cornwall and Isle of Man continues to have impact on the Church today. We will examine the ethos, worldview, and values of the Christian culture of that era, and how it speaks across the centuries to the Christian communities today.

TCE 501 Critical Social Theory: Bridging Church & Community

Course Description

The class is designed for mid-year to advanced students who are in need of a solid and deeper background in the theoretical understandings of professional critical social theorists. We will examine critical theory, postmodern philosophies, feminist theory, multiculturalism, queer theory, masculinity studies, cultural studies, critical race social theories, and religion. We will compare critical theories, critical social theories, and their responses in the context of the current religious nationalism occurring in the United States. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the discussed approaches in respect to textual interpretation, social analysis, and the development of social movements? What are (or should be) the community church's response to questions raised in these conversations?

TCE 507 Church History II: From Enlightment to the Present

Course Description

This course examines the continuing narrative of Christianity from the Protestant Reformation to the present. Emphasis is placed on the part Christians and Christianity played in the larger Western social history of each era. It seeks to integrate doctrinal, intellectual, liturgical, and ecclesiastic history with an understanding of how Christians lived their daily lives.

TCE 513A Advanced Seminar

Course Description

An individualized learning experience, which creates spaces for students to draw from their entire Seattle School experience as they look to their post-graduation ministry and their unique embodiment of text, soul, and culture. Blending research methodology with the personal supervision of a Seattle School advisor, students complete the writing of their final integrative project for their MDiv & MATC during their final year. MDiv & MATC students must complete an Integrative Project in order to graduate. Through active participation in this guided self-study, students are expected to synthesize their cumulative Seattle School coursework, readings, and research as they missionally articulate their understanding and integration of text, soul, and culture as relating to their future ministries. Each student will produce either a major paper or report of a major project as the articulation of his or her synthesis.

TCE 517 Cultural Identity & Locatedness

Course Description

Prerequisities: concurrent with CSL 551 & TCE 517R We are all cultural beings. How we feel, act, relate, and structure our lives exposes the irreducible reality that we are shaped by complex cultural systems. Theses cultural forces often become invisible to those living within a given context, often contributing to the inability to recognize power and its abuse. This core class at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology explores both the "Why?" and the "What?" of culture while helping students craft the necessary lenses for seeing and encountering the culturally Other and grow in awareness of their cultural identity. Importantly, we will consider the critical necessity of understanding cultural context as a foundation for the work we do. In addition, this course will explore the influences of culture that have helped shape our identities as cultural beings.

TCE 517R Cultural Identity & Locatedness Reading Group

Course Description

Prerequisites: concurrent with TCE 517 This Reading Group is meant to be a companion class to The Seattle School first term core classes. This course introduces the student to what it means to know and to learn within the context of graduate school. The main task is to explore how loving perception is crucial to the process of knowing. Learning is not simply gathering and memorizing facts, instead it is a journey (pilgrimage) of discover.

TCE 528B Biblical Theology, Narrative and Social Ethics

Course Description

2 or 3 credits Biblical theology is an integrative and unitive discipline that seeks to bridge the gap between biblical exegesis and interpretation and theological, practical and ethical application of the Bible in context of contemporary cultures. While remaining alive to the differences and discontinuities between both Testaments, Biblical Theology also endeavors to look for continuities and connections between them as these apply to the life of scholarship, the life of faith and discipleship and the mission of the church.

TCE 543 God, Gender & Sexuality

Course Description

This course explores the interaction between the theological concepts of God, Gender, and Sexuality. The goal of this class is to survey, compare and contrast, and evaluate various perspectives on God, gender, and sexuality from the depth and breadth of the Christian tradition, with special reference to critical social theory around gender and sexual identity. This class will examine the doctrine of God and Theological Anthropology, while engaging with how to critically examine doctrine through such lenses as feminist theology, queer theology, and liberation theology. This is a contextually oriented class that seeks to articulate and re-contextualize the various loci of theology such as prolegomena, the Triune God, sin, human persons, sexuality, and gender.

WW Writing Workshop

Course Description

The Writing Workshop provides a foundational understanding of the writing process and of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology’s academic writing standards. This seminar-style class is an opportunity to become familiar with different types of writing required at The Seattle School, learn the appropriate use of academic sources, and receive feedback about your writing. In addition, you’ll review the basics of thesis statements, evidence, paper organization, revision, library research, citation style, and sentence style and grammar. Peer review and small- and large-group discussion will be used extensively in this workshop; thus, the Writing Workshop is appropriate both for the novice academic writer as well as the experienced one.

2019 Spring Courses

BTI 504 Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: A New Testament Survey

Course Description

3 credits This course is a survey of selected books of the New Testament considering them as narrative witnesses to the identity of Jesus and the formation of the Church. The Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, selected Pauline and general epistles, and the Apocalypse of John are studied, attending to both their content and their literary form.

BTI 511 Introduction to Biblical Languages I: Opening the Hebrew Text

Course Description

3 credits This course (with BTI 512) introduces students to the Greek and Hebrew languages so that they are prepared to use the wealth of computer-based resources available for study of the biblical text. The student is introduced to the linguistic structures used to describe languages (phonology, grammar, morphology and syntax, and semantics). In BTI 511 the student learns the Hebrew alphabet, basic Hebrew vocabulary and morphemes, and is introduced to Hebrew syntax in order to make intelligent use of available Bible software. The use of scholarly Hebrew language study tools is introduced.

BTI 528 Gospel of Mark

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisite: BTI 504 The Gospel of Mark bears witness to a God who has invaded the cosmos, but in an enigmatic way. This course will use a variety of critical approaches (including but not limited to historical, narrative, ideological, theological, etc.) to study Mark’s gospel as a particularly apt witness for Christian faith in a post-modern world.

BTI 540 Textual Synthesis II - Book of Galatians

Course Description

2 Credits Prerequisites: BTI 501, BTI 502, BTI 511, BTI 512 An exegetical and interpretive study of the book of Galatians based on the Greek text and computer-based resources for study of the Biblical text. Various textual and hermeneutical strategies are used to understand the meanings of the Epistle to the Galatians. The history of the interpretation of the Epistle to the Galatians is considered. Students prepare a final project that synthesizes both the church's historic engagement and their own personal engagement with the biblical text.

BTI 575B Special Topics

Course Description

A full course description is available on individual course syllabi and is particular to each course.

CSL 511A Vocational and Occupational Direction

Course Description

2 credits The course will examine theories of career selection and development. The course is also a consideration of the necessary tension between vocation and occupation and introduces several assessments tools as it explores lifestyle and career decision-making issues. Career counseling models and technique will also be examined as the student considers their career choice as a vocational call.

CSL 517 Marriage and Family

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: CSL 527, CSL 528, CSL 551 Students study the imprint of the primary relational contexts of marriage and family. The course provides discussion of the impact of these formative relationships and it covers a range of marital and familial issues that bear upon the work of counseling.

CSL 528 Interpersonal Foundation: Dialogue and Presence

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: Concurrent with CSL 551 This course considers the incarnational relationship and what it means to be present in the face of the other. It seeks to develop a paradigm of listening and relating that is dialogical in its intent. The course will focus on theological and psychological paradigms of relationship.

CSL 531 Internship II

Course Description

Prerequisites: CSL 530 The course is a continuation of the internship experience.

CSL 538 MACP Practicum III

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: CSL 542, CSL 544, CSL 545, CSL 551,CSL 552, CSL 553 (can be taken concurrent with CSL 530) This practicum functions as a synthesis of the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. It provides an observed therapeutic experience with a senior therapist followed by class and faculty feedback and evaluation. The student interacts with issues of interviewing, assessment, diagnosing and treatment, as well as the use of therapeutic relationship to address client concerns. The course draws on the theoretical categories presented throughout the degree as well as the training experiences in practicum and internships.

CSL 542 Therapy I:Interpersonal Theory & Practice of Ther.

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: CSL 502, CSL 517, CSL 527, CSL 528, CSL 551, CSL 552, CSL 544 Students are provided an introduction to theological, philosophical, and psychological categories as they inform the practice of counseling as an essentially interpersonal pursuit. There is an emphasis on anthropology (human design), etiology (the development of problems), and treatment strategy. The course explores fundamental therapeutic categories such as transference and counter-transference and the use of such categories in the therapeutic process.

CSL 545 Psychopathology II

Course Description

3 credits Prerequisite: CSL 544 This second course in psychopathology builds upon the nosology and theoretical foundation in Psychopathology I. A multidisciplinary approach, specifically the bio-psycho-social model of disease are presented. This course covers the use of the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as related to assessment, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment modalities of personality disorders. Developmental and intrapsychic perspectives are discussed with an emphasis on the treatment of the particular mental spaces and disorders of the self. The course addresses diagnostic categories of psychopathology of personality through mental status examinations and assessment instruments, as well as objective, achievement, neuropsychological, and projective instruments. An overview of the purposes and functions of testing, assessment, screening, problem-solving, counseling, rehabilitation, and progress evaluation is covered.

CSL 561 Interpersonal Neurobiology

Course Description

2 credits This course allows the student to further integrate theory and practice. The course will introduce and explore the expanding date from Neuroscience and Interpersonal Neurobiology and address how this information can be used to enhance the practice of psychotherapy and the movement toward wholeness and integration that can only take place within the context of relationship. The course will also provide experiential learning and practice opportunities in a pro-seminar format.

RLM 504 Life Together II: Relational Ethics for Church and Leadership

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: RLM 503, concurrent with RLM 531 As the second of a two-part course combining praxis-focused field experience, classroom instruction, and intentional community, this course considers applied relationality for church and leadership with a focus on pastoral ethics and intentional, creative care for the faith community. Students will be expected to develop a personal philosophy of ministry.

RLM 520 Being the Word on the Street: Developing Intercultural Competency

Course Description

2 credits This course prepares the student to engage and embrace culturally diverse contexts. Through the development of an anthropological understanding of culture this course considers new ways to navigate differences between the self and the "other". Students will examine unique interpersonal (social bias) and sociological (power) dynamics in diverse settings. This exploration will assist students in serving the church and community in culturally responsive ways.

RLM 531 MDiv Practicum III: Embodying Christ

Course Description

1 credit Prerequisites: CSL 551, CSL 552, RLM 530, concurrent with RLM 504 Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of ethics, pastoral care and their own philosophy of ministry. Students will present in oral and written form their theory of pastoral engagement in praxis.

SFD 521 The Artist's Way

Course Description

WEEKEND RETREAT IN LEAVENWORTH This course is about discovering and recovering your creative self. It is for anyone interested in practicing the art of creative living. It is about both being creative and putting that creativity into practice. We will explore what it means to BE an artist and a Christian and how the arts can inspire and transform humanity's relationship to God, community and scripture. We will also discover how creativity can enliven our understanding and communication of Counseling, Theology and Scripture.

SFD 523 Spirituality and the Arts

Course Description

This course provides an overview of contemporary art worldview and examines its implications for a Christian's engagement with culture. Each participants will be encouraged to examine his/her role in being God's masterpieces (poiema) given cultural stewardship over all culture.

SFD 575A Special Topics

Course Description

A full course description is available on individual course syllabi and is particular to each course.

SFD 601 Spiritual Formation: Prayer, Presence & Practice

Course Description

This course is intended to enable exploration of approaches to prayer, including various s (piritual practices for individuals and group practices. We will examine how Christians are formed as individuals and in community, and will see vvalues and practices from a range of sources, including the desert fathers and mothers, Benedictines, Franciscans, Celts, Eastern Orthodox and Jesuits. Our practices will provide an introduction to the soul feast available to feed and nourish the student for a lifelong relationship with the Trinity for the benefit of the world in which we live. (Designed for MDIV and MATC students)

TCE 502 Mission as Faithful Presence

Course Description

This course explores Christian mission and missional leadership as faithful presence in the way of Jesus in relationship with the church, with others, with place, with the leader's own story, and with the Shalom of God. Christian mission as faithful presence emerges from Triune mission dei theology marking a 20th century paradigm shift in the understanding and practice of mission from a task to complete, to a holistic way of being for both the person and the community of Christ.

TCE 513A Advanced Seminar

Course Description

An individualized learning experience, which creates spaces for students to draw from their entire Seattle School experience as they look to their post-graduation ministry and their unique embodiment of text, soul, and culture. Blending research methodology with the personal supervision of a Seattle School advisor, students complete the writing of their final integrative project for their MDiv & MATC during their final year. MDiv & MATC students must complete an Integrative Project in order to graduate. Through active participation in this guided self-study, students are expected to synthesize their cumulative Seattle School coursework, readings, and research as they missionally articulate their understanding and integration of text, soul, and culture as relating to their future ministries. Each student will produce either a major paper or report of a major project as the articulation of his or her synthesis.

TCE 513B Advanced Seminar

Course Description

Students read and discuss texts related to the topics of philosophy, theology, and psychology. This second year advanced course allows the student to further develop and integrate theory and praxis.

TCE 544 The Triune God & Creation

Course Description

This course will explore the work and being of the Triune Creator (with special reference to the work of the Holy Spirit) and how understanding the Triune Creator helps to shape a dynamic eco-theology. The goal in this class is to survey the growing theological literature around the care of the earth. The lens of eco-theology intersects with the Doctrine of God and creation, Pneumatology, feminist theory, creation care, theology of place, agrarian theology, food, liberation theology, poverty and justice issues, etc. This class will weave context and doctrine together, moving back and forth between the Missio Dei to love and perfect all persons and things in the world and attending to the call of the earth toward love, justice, mercy, and humility for all of the created order

TCE 570 Book of Job

Course Description

Wisdom is seldom viewed in the Scripture as the mere acquisition of knowledge. Wisdom is knowledge applied to the vexing and complex situations of life far more as art than science. Nevertheless, wisdom is not solely subjective or a matter of random, self-referential choice. It is often said, "Beauty is in they of the beholder" to imply there is no universal or essential consistency to the aesthetic impulse. The same is often assumed regarding wisdom. It is individual, subjective, and not essentially related to something greater than itself. Wisdom as found in the book of Job requires us to see the limits of wisdom, the necessity of relational dialogue, and an openness simultaneously to wrestle and submit to the work of our redeemer God. Therefore, this course will consider the role of wisdom in the contexts of therapy, pastoral service and social advocacy. Specifically, this class will look at how one develops wisdom and we may use it for critiquing various approaches to conflict, therapy and community.

TCE 575B Special Topics

Course Description

2019 Summer Courses

BTI 503 Old Testament Genre

Course Description

3 credits This course is an introduction to Old Testament scripture from the perspective of its literary genres. Students examine six major genres: theological history, law, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, and apocalyptic writing. The characteristics of these genres are discussed and students are exposed to extra-biblical examples of each type. Application of the insights from this approach to the study of the Old Testament, to contemporary life, ministry and mission will be included.

BTI 522 Feminist/Womanist Biblical Hermeneutics

Course Description

The semi-seminar course studies feminist and womanist theories and their application to biblical interpretation. We will examine feminist theoretical works with special attention to complex relationship between sexism and other binary modes of "isms" such as racism, heterosexism, and (neo)colonialism and then explore various strategies for applying theoretical insights to ethical biblical interpretation.

BTI 530 Textual Synthesis I: Examination of the Book of Ruth

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisites: BTI 502, BTI 511 An introduction to exegetical methods and tools commonly used in the study of the Hebrew scriptures. An eclectic selection of biblical texts will be used to illustrate the various approaches. Students will prepare brief reports on texts and produce a final project that synthesizes the history of a text’s reception with their own contemporary location and commitments.

CSL 503 Professional Ethics: Honoring the Other

Course Description

3 credits Prerequisites: CSL 528, CSL 551, CSL 552 and CSL 542 The student receives an overview of professional ethics and Washington State law as applied to counseling. Students are encouraged to examine their ethical decision-making processes in light of the difficult decisions facing the professional counselor. The course provides instruction regarding widely accepted ethical norms as well as common legal regulations. Additional topics will include professionalism, licensure, moral responsibility and issues of power.

CSL 509 Multicultural Perspectives: Race & Culture

Course Description

2 credits This course is designed to increase students' cultural competence by deepening their awareness of self and how they have been socialized to think about groups who are culturally similar and different from them. Students develop in their understanding of racial tensions that exist across cultures by examining their own stereotypes, attitudes, values, preconceived notions, behaviors and assumptions. Power, privilege and race are explored as well as their impact on racial minorities. Lecture, class discussions, video, reading and interactive group activities are used as a catalyst to promote personal and professional growth.

CSL 518A Group Therapy: The Healing Context of Community

Course Description

2 credits This course considers group psychotherapy from a relationally based theoretical and theological perspectives and is informed by theological paradigms. The course covers group development and common group dynamics as well as techniques of intervention and leadership principles appropriate to various group stages.

CSL 518B Group Therapy: The Healing Context of Community

Course Description

This course considers group psychotherapy from relationally based theoretical and theological perspectives and is informed by theological paradigms. The course covers group development and common group dynamics as well as techniques of intervention and leadership principles appropriate to various group stages.

CSL 524 Introduction to Counseling Children & Adolescents

Course Description

2 credits Prerequisite: CSL 510 This course utilizes a didactic and experiential format in which to explore therapeutic work with children and adolescents. Through reading, class-time, and role-play, this course provides a foundation to facilitate the growth and development of the student's clinical work with children and adolescents. Clinical work with children and adolescents will be considered from a bio-psychosocial perspective with special emphasis on developmental, attachment, and systemic issues as relevant to today's children and adolescent culture.

CSL 575A Special Topics

Course Description

1 or 2 credits A full course description is available on individual course syllabi and is particular to each course.

RLM 510 Leadership in Organizations I: Personal Influence in the Service of Transformation

Course Description

3 credits This course will examine the importance of Christian Leadership with regard to personal leadership in multiple contexts - primarily the church, parachurch and non-profit settings. It will explore the importance of character, discover different leadership styles, explore gender issues and give a theological framework for leadership. Recognizing that leadership while anchored in some principles exists in context, the student will learn to discern their place in leadership within specific environments.

RLM 512 Leadership In Organization III: Leading Institutions

Course Description

2 credits This course will look at the dynamics of organizations as living systems, by exploring systems theory, emotional intelligence and models of organizational transformation. Participants will explore organizational ethos, the critical elements of organizational change, managing change, and the unique dynamics of socio-technical systems in church, para-church, entrepreneurial and ministry organizations. Organizations today must adap and respond to a myriad of changes globally and locally, and this requires shifting the systems, structures and leadership of our institutions to work in more distributed, dialogic and engaged ways. For many years, our culture and the language that shapes our institutions has been influenced heavily by the industrial age and the worship of machine. The leadership and organizational structures of our churches, corporations, non-profits, and all our institutions have been fashioned from the mechanistic mental models we have inherited.

SFD 502 Readings in Spirituality

Course Description

This course provides a historical overview of the development of Christian spirituality and faith practice. Saints throughout the ages have modeled what it means to grow in Christ-likeness. This course equips the student with an understanding of the value of prayer, meditation, and service. How does the Christian change and grow? Into what, and why? And how might our contemporary culture give us glimpses of the inclination toward spiritual things?

TCE 501 Critical Social Theory: Bridging Church & Community

Course Description

The class is designed for mid-year to advanced students who are in need of a solid and deeper background in the theoretical understandings of professional critical social theorists. We will examine critical theory, postmodern philosophies, feminist theory, multiculturalism, queer theory, masculinity studies, cultural studies, critical race social theories, and religion. We will compare critical theories, critical social theories, and their responses in the context of the current religious nationalism occurring in the United States. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the discussed approaches in respect to textual interpretation, social analysis, and the development of social movements? What are (or should be) the community church's response to questions raised in these conversations?

TCE 503 Our Religious Impulse: Encountering Religious Otherness in a Multi-faith Co

Course Description

In this course we will explore the religious impulse. We will look into how religious ideologies fill the void for power, control, security, peace, and give voice to joy and pain. We will create a working definition for faith and be introduced to the process of faith development. Students will become familiar with the primary world religious and how they connect to our Christian narrative. We will also analyze the six basic streams of Christian spirituality. We will wrestle with what it means to be Christian in the world and what is Good News in a pluralistic society.

TCE 504 Philosophy I: Plato to Kant

Course Description

This course surveys and synthesizes the classical and early modern legacy of Western philosophy as a preface to postmodernism. Rather than following an historical chronology of philosophical ideas, the course focuses on the close reading of seminal texts, including: Plato's Symposium, Augustine's Confessions, Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles, Descartes Meditations, and Kant's Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. The course will highlight the interplay between the history of philosophy and the theological tradition.

TCE 545 Beauty, Brokenness & The Cross

Course Description

This class will explore the concept of beauty. This exploration will be shaped by a theology of the cross (which encompasses the whole of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus) that not only leads us to a Christian understanding of beauty but to an understanding that beauty, to be true beauty, must have the power to identify, confront, and redeem that which is most ugly – even death itself. It is in this redemptive motion that we are brought to worship, which emerges from our acknowledgment of God’s redemptive power within our lives.

TCE 575A Special Topics

Course Description

A full course description is available on individual course syllabi and is particular to each course.

TCE 575B Special Topics

Course Description