Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics TRS5105

  • Academic Session: 2023-24
  • School: School of Critical Studies
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: No

Short Description

This course focuses on practices of reading and interpreting biblical texts in the context of sermon preparation. It explores the relationship between the literary form and function of biblical texts and how this is related to homiletical form and function. It develops reflexive skills in considering the hermeneutic(s) we deploy in our practices of reading and interpretation and considers how we relate practices of reading and preaching to the variety of liturgical and life contexts encountered in a preaching ministry.

Timetable

4 x 5hr seminars as scheduled on MyCampus

Requirements of Entry

Standard entry to Masters at College level

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Research Essay (50%) 2500 words

Critical Reflection (50%) 2500 words

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ Develop literary critical 'close reading' skills and apply them to reading biblical texts.

■ Explore how the application of particular hermeneutics influences our modes of attention to the form and content of texts.

■ Enable experimentation with and reflection on a range of homiletical forms.

■ Develop understanding of how liturgical occasions shape practices of reading and preaching.

■ Develop awareness of how attention to pastoral, cultural and political contexts shapes practices of reading and preaching.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Evaluate and deploy literary techniques of close reading in ways which inform sermon construction.

■ Critically reflect on registers of speech and expression, integrating rhetorical and pastoral/contextual judgments

■ Analyse the theological dynamics of sermons and their pastoral implications and effects.

■ Critically evaluate and provide constructive feedback on peers' practice.

■ Incorporate peer and tutor feedback into reflective assessment of their own preaching practice.

■ Make effective use of biblical commentaries and other hermeneutic literature in sermon preparation.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.