Units timetabled for 2013 and 2014 are provisional only, and details of semester and time will change. The official timetable for each year is released on 1 September of the prior year.

Archived unit descriptions for 2011 are available here.

The Dynamism of Story in Communicating Faith

Unit Code: 
DP470
RTI: 
United Faculty of Theology
Unit Value: 
15 points

Story-telling, both fictional and non-fictional, myths, journaling and other narrative forms have enabled human beings to make some sense of their search for meaning in both the order and chaos of the human condition. This course, through interdisciplinary analysis of human narratives, examines the transforming power of stories and their contribution to our understanding of God’s saving acts in God’s providential plan for creation.

Learning Outcomes: 

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate their understanding of the significance of personal and communal narratives informing spiritual development
  2. Demonstrate awareness of the impact of integrative and interdisciplinary approaches to ministry in contemporary ministerial and educational contexts
  3. Demonstrate greater awareness of the transforming or limiting potential of personal or communal stories in parish, educational or pastoral ministerial settings 
Lecturer/s: 
Maryanne Confoy
Timetabling
Semester: 
Year-long
Day: 
Thursday
Time: 
5:00 - 8:00
Location: 
Jesuit Theological College
Unit Frequency: 
Biennial
Years Offered: 
2010
Notes: 

In 2010 this unit will be taught in two blocks of six weeks. Both blocks must be completed in 2010. Students must enrol no later than 11 February 2010. Classes will be on Thursdays from 5 PM - 8PM at JTC on Mark 4, 11,18, 25; April 15,22; September 2, 9, 16, and October 7,14,21

Unit Fields
Courses: 
Master of Arts (Theology)
Courses: 
Master of Theological Studies
Courses: 
Postgraduate
Disciplines: 
Pastoral Theology and Ministry Studies
Department Name: 
Department of Moral and Practical Theology
Prerequisites: 

At least 30 points of study in one of Pastoral Studies, Religious Education, Spirituality or equivalent.

Mode of Teaching: 
Semester
Teaching Methods: 

12 x 3 hour seminars, six in semester one, six in semester two

Workload
Number of timetabled hours per week: 
3
Expected personal study hours per week: 
9
Total workload hours per week: 
12
Total workload hours for unit: 
144
Assessment
Assessment TypeWeightingLearning Outcomes Assessed
Assessment Type: 

1 x 3000 word essay

Weighting: 
50%
Assessment Type: 

1 x 3000 word essay

Weighting: 
50%
Recommended reading: 

* = set texts recommended for purchase

  • Bruner, J. Making Stories: Law, Literature, Life. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003.
  • Bruner, J. Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987.
  • Coles, R. The Call of Stories: Teaching through the Moral Imagination. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
  • Conn, W. Christian Conversion. A Developmental Interpretation of Autonomy and Surrender. New York: Paulist, 1986.
  • Conn, W. The Desiring Self: Rooting Pastoral Counselling and Spiritual Direction in Self-transcendence. New York: Paulist, 1998.
  • Crossan, J. D. The Dark Interval: Towards a Theology of Story. Santa Rosa: Polebridge Press, 1988.
  • Haughton, R. The Transformation of Man: A Study of Conversion and Community. New York: Paulist Press, 1967.
  • Moore, S. Let This Mind Be in You: The Quest for Identity through Oedipus to Christ. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1985.
  • Shea, J. J. Finding God Again: Spirituality for Adults. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
  • Tilley, T. Story Theology. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2002. 

© United Faculty of Theology, 2008-2012.