2012-2013 Intersession Intensive & Immersion Courses
Early Registration: Nov. 5-16, 2012
General Registration: Jan. 2-31, 2013
Early Registration is strongly advised. Courses may be cancelled after pre-registration if there is insufficient enrollment.
Starr King Tuition and Course Fees.
Students enrolled in a degree program at Starr King School (or any other Graduate Theological Union school) should follow the registration processes outlined by their school’s registrar. Starr King’s processes are listed in the Starr King Student Handbook .
To register for a course if you are not in a degree program at Starr King or the GTU, please see "How to Register for a Starr King Course".
Immersion | January Week One | January Week Two | January Week Three | January Week Four | Fieldwork
No Immersion courses scheduled for Intersession at this time.
Immersion | January Week One | January Week Two | January Week Three | January Week Four | Fieldwork
Unitarian Universalist History
9:00am - 5:00pm, 7 – 11 January, 2013
Susan Ritchie
The course begins with an examination of the (alleged) antecedents to Unitarianism and Universalism in pre-Reformation Europe. We move on to trace the theological and then institutional emergence of Unitarianism out of the Radical Reformation. The Unitarian churches in Poland, Transylvania, and England will be considered in detail with attention to issues of sameness and difference in their development and declines. Special focus will be given to the relationship of these communities to their Jewish and Islamic contemporaries. We will also look at the universalism of 18th century England, and the uniquely North American institution of Universalism. Then we turn our attention to Universalist ascendency, decline, and then consolidation with Unitarianism (perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of Unitarian/Universalist history). Careful attention will be paid throughout to the Unitarian/Universalist social location in relationship to class, race, and gender identities, and how these sometimes enabled and sometimes impaired social justice advances. Students will need to read David Robinson’s The Unitarians and The Universalists, pages 9-185, before class. An electronic version of this text will be made available to students as they register.
HSHR 4017 3 Units
Minimum 5 Limit 20 PIN Required: Yes
CDSP classroom B (map of CDSP campus)
Immersion | January Week One | January Week Two | January Week Three | January Week Four | Fieldwork
Bioethics
9:00 - 5:00, 14 - 18 January
Megan Dowdell
Health and medicine lie at the intersection of
thea/ologies, morals, and our bodies. This
course draws from theological, philosophical, and
sociological perspectives to examine the
foundations of bioethics and the complexities of
health, illness and health care. Through
analyzing ethical principles, moral questions and
clinical cases, the course will address key
issues in bioethics, such as death and dying,
access to health care, medical research,
reproductive justice, and social movements for
health. Special attention will be paid to
cutting edge discussions of social determinants
of health and the perspectives of historically
marginalized communities. Through this
interactive course that maximizes the use of
exciting web and multimedia resources, religious
leaders and scholars will equip themselves with
the biopolitical knowledge and skills to reflect
on the sacred-and the controversial-with their
faith communities. This is a hybrid course,
including four online modules (approximately
15-20 total hours of online webinar/discussion) as
well as a live, 5-day intensive seminar that can
be completed on-line or in-person in Berkeley. It
is recommended, but not required, for students to
have taken an introductory ethics, philosophy or
sociology course.
CE 4704 3 Units
Minimum 5 Limit 25 PIN Required: Yes
Fireside Room
~ NEW COURSE ~
Leadership, Liturgy and Learning: Embodied Ritual
Berkeley Immersion
Sunday-Friday, January 13-18 - request syllabus for schedule details
Michelle Favreault
In this 3-credit course, we will explore the design, experience and leadership of multigenerational worship and ritual in for congregational contexts, emphasizing the role of liturgist as leader of faith formation in religious community. Texts, field trips, video and story will be drawn from the work of artists, performers, clergy and thinkers who guide our work in the study and creation of transformational ritual and liturgical forms. There will be dancing, there will be poems, there will be food, there will be song, there will be art-making and picture taking.
Please note the first class meeting is on Sunday, January 13. Request the course syllabus from the instructor mfavreault@sksm.edu for schedule details.
LS-4014 3 Units
Minimum 6 Limit 25 PIN Required: Yes
Fireside Room
Graceful Leadership III
9:00AM - 5:00PM, 19 - 20 January
Guy Sengstock
This 2-day intensive workshop marks the middle of a nine-month course sequence in which students will develop quality leadership as a spiritual practice. We will spend class time in exploratory discussion around our personal and professional boundaries and the concept of intrinsic self-legitimacy in order to ground distinctions in our own physical and emotional experiences – and doing experiential exercises to practice those distinctions. Students will be expected to read and watch assignments prior to the first day, and to complete a brief writing assignment immediately after. Students will be evaluated based on their engagement in the coursework. [PIN code required; prerequisites: Summer and Fall portions; postrequisites: Spring and Summer portions]
FTSP 4083 1 Units
Minimum 5 Limit 20 PIN Required: Yes
Fireside Room
Immersion | January Week One | January Week Two | January Week Three | January Week Four | Fieldwork
~ NEW COURSE ~
Problems and Practices in Parish Ministry
9:00 am – 1:00 pm, Monday-Friday, January 21-25, 2013
John Buehrens
Students will begin to learn to apply systems thinking to pastoral care and congregational problems, to research ministerial best practices in leading change, and to use case studies to explore a variety of common challenges in parish ministry. Advance reading and submission of a case for study are required. Final project papers will involve both research and interviews with experienced practitioners of parish ministry, especially in Unitarian Universalist or other progressive congregations.
View the course syllabus.
RS-4354 3 Units
Minimum 5 Limit 20 PIN Required: Yes
Fireside Room
~ NEW COURSE ~
Troubling Parables For Today
1:30pm-5:30pm, Monday-Friday, January 21-25, 2013
Dorsey Blake
Utilizing Clarence Jordan's Cotton Patch Version of the Scriptures, the class will examine how to read the parables of Jesus in the context of today. Jordan's parables were written during a time of great racial division and conflict. How do we re-contextualize the revolutionary message of Jesus to empower today's needs and insurrections? Who are the players today? The course is particularly relevant for preachers, religious educators, and leaders of secular movements. Students are required to read and bring to the first class a 5 page reflection on “Cotton Patch Parables of Liberation” by Clarence Jordan and Bill Lane Doulos. A final 5 page paper or a project will be required within two weeks of the final day of class.
SPRS 4260 1.5 Units
Minimum 5 Limit 12 PIN Required: Yes
Fireside Room
Immersion | January Week One | January Week Two | January Week Three | January Week Four | Fieldwork
Congregational Fieldwork Winter
Kurt Kuhwald
Fieldwork in Unitarian Universalist congregations includes teaching a religious education class for children or adults, working with a youth group, participating in a stewardship campaign and more. Please arrange with the professor.
FE 4051 1 to 5 Units
Minimum 1 Limit 25 PIN Required: Yes
Community Fieldwork January
Gabriella Lettini
Field work describes an involvement in community work for up to 15 hours a week with the ongoing support of a mentor. Community Fieldwork includes work in gender, racial and economic justice, queer activism, disability advocacy, immigration issues, environmental responsibility, civil liberties protection, HIV response, youth at risk, peace building, participating in a fundraising campaign for a non for profit or grassroots organization, chaplaincy, teaching and more. Students should discuss the field work opportunity with their advisor before making arrangements with the professor. Student and community mentor should discuss and sign a learning agreement before the official beginning of the field work experience. Midterm and final student and mentor evaluations will also be required by midterm and the last day of SKSM classes. All forms available from the professor at the beginning of the semester and subsequently on the SKSM Student Handbook.
FE 4061 1 to 4 Units
Minimum 1 Limit 25 PIN Required: Yes
Immersion | January Week One | January Week Two | January Week Three | January Week Four | Fieldwork
2012-2013
Fall / Intersession / Spring / Summer / Online
2011-2012 (archived course listings)
Fall / Intersession / Spring / Summer /
Click to view the Starr King catalog in PDF format. (Note: Seminary for the Laity certificate program is no longer offered.)