SCHOOL OF DIVINITY, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY
ACADEMIC SESSION 2015-2016
DR551Q: GREAT THINKERS IN THEOLOGICAL ETHICS
30 Credits, 12 weeks duration
PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY:
The full set of school regulations and procedures is contained in the
Undergraduate Student Handbook which is available online at your
MyAberdeen page. Students are expected to familiarise themselves not only
with the contents of this leaflet but also wi
th the contents of the Handbook. Therefore, ignorance of the contents of the
Handbook will not excuse the breach of any School regulation or procedure.
You must familiarise yourself with this important information at the earliest
opportunity.
COURSE CO-ORDINATOR/COURSE TEAM
Dr. Michael Mawson
Office: KCF 11
Hours: Monday 11-12am or by appointment
Phone: 272521 [or ext. 2521]
DRS Course Guide 2015-2016
Email: m.mawson@abdn.ac.uk
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Discipline Administration:
Mrs Claire Hargaden
50-52 College Bounds
Room CB001
01224 272366
divrs@abdn.ac.uk
TIMETABLE
Friday 9am – 10am, KCS15 (King’s College)
Friday 2pm – 4pm MR268 (MacRobert)
Students can view their university timetable at
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/infohub/study/timetables-550.php
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course introduces students to major thinkers in the field of Christian
ethics. The focus is on carefully reading and discussing major texts by master
practitioners in this discipline, with the aim of assisting students in
understanding and participating in the theory and practice of ethical
deliberation and action.
INTENDED AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
 to become familiar with the most important works of major thinkers
through a close reading and discussion of primary texts
 to begin to understand the main theological motives, intentions and
moves in these thinkers, and how these fit together
 to begin to grasp the significance and relevance of theological claims
and convictions for ethical thought and action
DRS Course Guide 2015-2016
SEMINARS
Students are required to prepare for the seminar meetings in advance. This
includes carefully reading the indicated texts and preparing questions and
points for discussion.
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TIMETABLE AND READINGS
Week 1 (22rd Jan)
Stanley Hauerwas, ‘How Christian Ethics Came to Be’ [1997], pp.37-50, The
Hauerwas Reader (PDF)
Hauerwas, ‘On Keeping Theological Ethics Theological (1983), The Hauerwas
Reader, pp.51-74 (PDF)
Week 2 (29th Jan)
Walter Rauschenbusch, A Theology for the Social Gospel, 1-22, 69-94, 131-66,
240-79
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ‘Memorandum: The Social Gospel,’ DBWE 12, pp.236-43
(PDF)
Week 3 (5th Feb)
Reinhold Niebuhr, An Interpretation of Christian Ethics (Westminster John
Knox, 2013), pp.1-61, 103-136
Week 4 (12th Feb)
Karl Barth, ‘Church and State’, pp.303-315. (PDF)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ‘State and Church’, DBWE 16, pp.502-528 (PDF)
Week 5 (19th Feb)
John Howard Yoder, ‘The Possibility of a Messianic Ethics’, pp.1-20, The
Politics of Jesus (PDF)
Yoder, ‘The Constantinian Sources of Western Social Ethic’ The Priestly
Kingdom, [1976] pp.135-147. (PDF)
Yoder, ‘Why Ecclesiology is Social Ethics: Gospel Ethics versus Wider Wisdom’,
[1980] pp.102-126
Week 6 (26th Feb)
Stanley Hauerwas, After Christendom, pp.13-112, 133-152
DRS Course Guide 2015-2016
**Book review due Monday 29th February**
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Week 7 (4th Mar)
William Cavanaugh, Theopolitical Imagination (London: T&T Clark, 2002),
pp.1-122
Week 8 (11th Mar)
Oliver O’Donovan, Ways of Judgment (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), pp.ix124
Week 9 (18th Mar)
O’Donovan, Ways of Judgment, pp.125-242
Week 10 (25th Mar)
Jean Porter, Ministers of the Law (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), pp.xiii-142
Week 11 (1st April)
Porter, Ministers of the Law, pp.142-351
**Final Essay Due Monday 2nd May**
ASSESSMENT DEADLINES
Final Essay Due Monday 2nd May
Book review due Monday 29th February
READINGS
All PDFs will be available through MyAberdeen. In addition, there are six
books that will need to be purchased for this course. These have been placed
on Heavy Demand in the Duncan Rice Library and are also available from the
Divinity library:
 Walter Rauschenbusch, A Theology for the Social Gospel (Louisville:
Westminster, 1997)
 Reinhold Niebuhr, An Interpretation of Christian Ethics (Westminster
John Knox, 2013)
 Stanley Hauerwas, After Christendom (Nashville: Abingdon, 1991)
 William Cavanaugh, Theopolitical Imagination (2003)
 Oliver O’Donovan, Ways of Judgment (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005).
 Jean Porter, Ministers of the Law: A Natural Law Theory of Legal
Authority (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010)
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*Note that there are older editions available of some of these texts. Students
may use any edition.
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ASSESSMENT
PLEASE NOTE: In order to pass a course on the first attempt, a student must
attain a Common Grading Scale (CGS) mark of at least E3 on each element of
course assessment. Failure to do so will result in a grade of no greater than
CGS E1 for the course as a whole.
ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
Book review (20% of grade)
Two 15 minute oral presentations (10% of grade each [i.e. total 20%])
A 5000-5500 word essays (60% of grade)
Click to view the University Level Descriptors (ANNEX A).
Click to view the University Assessment Scale Band Descriptors (ANNEX B).
BOOK REVIEW
The book review is due on Monday 29th February. This will be on a book on
(or in the area of) Christian ethics. It will not be one of the books read in the
course (but it could be another book by or about one of the thinkers who we
are covering). All books must be approved by the course coordinator no later
than Friday 19th February.
CLASS PRESENTATIONS:
The dates of the class presentations will be organised at the beginning of the
semester. These will be fifteen minutes and provide an overview of the
readings for the week in question.
ESSAYS
The 5,000-5,500 word essay will be on a topic worked out in agreement with
the course coordinator. It must engage thinkers or material covered in the
course. All topics must be approved by the course coordinator by 1 April.
DRS Course Guide 2015-2016
SUBMISSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESSAYS AND BOOK REVIEWS
Please submit by the deadline ONE paper copy (cover sheet required) PLUS,
ONE official electronic copy (no cover sheet required) as follows:
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Hard Copy:
One hard copy typed and double spaced, together with an
Assessment cover sheet, – this should have your ID
number CLEARLY written on the cover sheet, with NO
name and NO signature but EVERYTHING ELSE filled in –
and should be delivered to the Drop-off boxes located in
CB008, 50-52 College Bounds.
Electronic Copy:
One copy submitted through Turnitin via MyAberdeen.
(for instructions please see
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/eLearning/turnitinuk/students/ )
Students are asked to retain the Turnitin receipt so they
are able to provide proof of submission at a later date if
required.
Both copies to be submitted by 3.00pm on the due date
Failure to submit both an electronic copy to Turnitin and a hard copy to the
school office, by the stated deadline, will result in a zero mark.
DRS Course Guide 2015-2016
N.B Turnitin doesn’t accept Mac documents in Pages. If using a Mac please go
to File and export work as a Word document.
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