Theologies of Liberation

Catalog description

Taught by JST. Beginning with the Latin American Catholic experience of liberation after the Second Vatican Council, this course offers students the theological method to examine liberative aspects within ecclesial movements such as comunidades de base. The North American, Asian, and African context will be examined in-depth with important social justice themes including marginalization, migration, trauma, etc. In the first part of the course, students will engage Latin American liberation thought through the works of Gustavo Gutiérrez, Jon Sobrino, Paolo Freire, and CELAM. In the second part of the course, students will engage the stages of development within a specific context-in order to critique as well as to construct-a spirituality of liberation. The final portion of the course allows students to further imagine the emergence of theologies of liberation by comparing movements from various regions of the world. A Spring Break immersion from March 23 to 30, 2019 to the El Paso, TX/Ciudad Juárez, Mexico border is part of the course requirements. Admission is limited to 10 students. Students will be expected to pay for their airfare; room and board expenses for JST students will be covered by the school budget. This course is suitable for all programs and can be upgraded if necessary.