Last modified: 24 Jul 2025 14:46
This course explores primary themes in Practical Theology around inclusion. How has the Christian tradition understood questions of disability, suffering and difference in what it means to be human? Can insights from historical theology offer perspectives on contemporary practice? We will explore these questions through a survey of the historical tradition reflecting on attitudes to those who might have been deemed disabled. These historical works can provide a dialogue with contemporary questions as we think about inclusion in the church and society.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This course explores primary themes in Practical Theology around inclusion. How has the Christian tradition understood questions of disability, suffering and difference in what it means to be human? This historical survey may cover thinkers like the following: the Church Fathers, Augustine, Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, the Reformers, Bonhoeffer, Barth, Reinders, Eiesland, and Hauerwas.
The course will look at inclusion and personhood from a theological viewpoint. This will include historical ideas about human creation and the imago Dei. We will consider questions of gender, disability and ethnicity. How have ideas around what it is to be fully human changed? How are humans different from animals or other non-humans? The historical writers may include the work of the Church Father’s, Augustine, Aquinas, Julian of Norwich as well as more recent theologians. By asking questions about what it means to be human, a theology of inclusion can be developed that impacts on contemporary practice
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 21 | Feedback Weeks | 24 | |
| Feedback |
1,500-word essay worth 60% of overall grade. Choose one title from the list. Readings for each topic can be found on MyAberdeen. |
Word Count | 1500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Reflection | Analyse | Demonstrate the ability to analyse theological perspectives on human identity. |
| Reflection | Apply | Explain how theological ideas about humanity impact contemporary views of gender, race and disability. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 21 | Feedback Weeks | 24 | |
| Feedback |
Students are asked to write at least one question or comment on the Tutorial reading each week to share with peers at the start of Tutorials. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Apply | Know how to read traditional texts to identify key theological ideas about humanity. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand the part that theological ideas have played in defining what it means to be human. |
| Reflection | Analyse | Demonstrate the ability to analyse theological perspectives on human identity. |
| Reflection | Apply | Explain how theological ideas about humanity impact contemporary views of gender, race and disability. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 15 | Feedback Weeks | 18 | |
| Feedback |
800-word essay worth 30% of overall grade. Write a reflection on one set of Tutorial reading-material. What are the issues raised in this reading to help us think about what it means to be human? |
Word Count | 1000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Apply | Know how to read traditional texts to identify key theological ideas about humanity. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand the part that theological ideas have played in defining what it means to be human. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Apply | Know how to read traditional texts to identify key theological ideas about humanity. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand the part that theological ideas have played in defining what it means to be human. |
| Reflection | Apply | Explain how theological ideas about humanity impact contemporary views of gender, race and disability. |
| Reflection | Analyse | Demonstrate the ability to analyse theological perspectives on human identity. |
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