RELIGIONS AND ECOLOGY

The course is part of the interdisciplinary activities of the Master’s Degree Program in Environmental Humanities and the Master’s Degree Program in Religious Studies (inter-university, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of Padua).

Students who complete this course will be able to:
1) Demonstrate knowledge of the major themes and perspectives that exist at the intersection of Christianity and ecology. Students will also be able to identify the key figures and movements that comprise the study of ecotheology.
2) Be able to recall, and critically assess, the history and development of Christian thought on the environment both as it has unfolded over time and also as it spans multiple disciplines, denominations, and geographic borders.
3) Communicate and debate developments and problems within the history of Christianity and its relationship with the environment;
4) Develop the writing, research, and speaking skills needed to critically engage with academic discourse on Christianity and ecology.

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This course explores how Christianity has started responding to environmental degradation and the present-day ecological crisis. Environmental problems pose not just new challenges at the intersection of religion and science, or where humans connect with nature, but they also give rise to new social and spiritual problems as well. The environmental crisis raises, in other words, economic, social, biological, legal, moral, and theological concerns. This course interprets Christian responses to ecological problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, although the historical approach is the predominant one: we will draw upon insights from theology, ethics, the history of religion, the sociology of religion, and philosophy. While we will examine the role that religious ideas and values play in shaping Christian attitudes and actions towards the environment, we will also consider the lived-experiences of Christians facing environmental problems. Since Christianity, and the responses to environmental issues that it generates, are diverse and constantly evolving, we will read broadly not just in terms of academic disciplines, but also ecumenically and globally. This course will introduce students to the major theologies and strategies for action that Christians are creating (theoretical aspect) while simultaneously assessing the effectiveness of such strategies and examining the growth of pragmatic, on-the-ground responses (practical aspect).

An essay will be assigned almost for each topic covered during lectures.
A list of readings for the seminar format will be provided every week on Moodle.

Written and oral exam. Students are expected to complete the following:
• Research Paper (30% of final grade);
• In-class presentation and active participation in class discussions (30% of final grade);
• Oral exam on the reading list and class notes (40% of final grade).
The highest grade obtainable is 30/30 with honors (cum laude).

The course features discussions and critical thinking. Every class consists in a short lecture by the professor and a student presentation followed by class discussion and reflection on a weekly assigned primary source, written or visual, using a seminar format. During lectures, the professor will provide backgrounds and suggestions with which students can interpret the sources. Active learning tools (quizzes, short videos, polls, etc.) will be used while in class, as well as the flipped classroom method. It meets once per week and is worth six credits.
Reading Responses and Presentation: Students are expected to post a weekly reading response to Moodle forum. Each response should be a critical engagement with the concepts and schools of thought explored in that particular week’s readings (approximately 300 words recommended). Your task is not to summarize the readings, but rather to explore the theoretical frameworks that they present. Then, read the posts of your classmates and comment on the posts of one or two other students in a thought-provoking or insightful way. The reading responses are due two days before class meets (Saturday) and comments on the posts of your peers are due the day before class (Sunday). Students should come to class prepared to discuss their posts and responses.
Each week, 1-2 students will be assigned to do a short in-class presentation. The presentations are an extension of the reading responses. As such, rather than completing a short reading response for the week in which they are presenting, students should instead prepare a class presentation on the week’s topic (~15-20 minutes), also based on the “in-depth” readings. These students will also take a leading role in discussion following their presentation along with the professor and therefore should come prepared with a strong grasp of the week’s readings (visual/written presentations could be emailed to the professor by Sunday on the day before class).
Optional. Every week the professor will suggest on Padlet a small “weekly task” (i.e., comment on a database; draw a conceptual map; watch a small video, etc.) that can be completed in order to enrich your experience. These tasks will be posted on Tuesday and it is not mandatory.
Research Paper: Each student is required to write a research paper on the topic of their choosing (with the professor’s approval) which is due at least one week before the exam. You may organize your paper around a particular Christian environmental issue, but the main task of your paper is to report on a particular way of thinking about religion and the environment, to critically examine it, and to draw it into conversation with the broader themes and theories presented in this course. It could be an in-depth analysis of a set of primary sources, such as archival material, oral interviews, websites and videos or an investigation of a case study (teamwork is also possible, but individual contributions should be evident). Papers should be 5-10 pages, in the form of a Word document, use 12pt. font, 1,5-spaced, and should also have a cited list in addition to the paper following preferably the Chicago style. Additional instructions will be provided in class.

English

Consistent attendance is an important element for comprehending course materials and developing critical thinking during discussions. If students miss a limited number of classes – 13/15 classes to be considered an attending student –, they can replace the classwork by writing an agreed number of response papers (a response paper is a response to the readings assigned for seminars. Response papers should be 2-3 pages, 1,5-spaced).
Non-attending students should contact the professor to arrange a suitable list of readings in order to prepare for the exam.

written and oral