Creation, Ecology, Technology

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Environmental degradation and climate change are among the most pressing scientific, economic, political, and social issues of our time. These problems seem to require technological solutions. But they also seem to be the result of the increasing technological sophistication of human societies. This means that the ecological crisis is inextricable from questions about the proper use of technology. This course will equip students to reflect on these interrelated challenges from a theological perspective. Drawing on scripture and other texts from the Jewish and Christian traditions (Genesis Rabbah, Augustine, Basil of Caesarea, Moses Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, and others), students will consider three distinct models of creation, the relationship between God and creation, and the place of human beings in creation. We will also reflect on the moral and theological significance of ecology and technology through some of the literary classics of the environmental movement (Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Wendell Berry). Finally, we will explore how local communities might develop virtues and practices that would constitute a theologically-informed response to our "eco-technological" crisis. By the end of the course, students will have deepened their capacity for theological reflection and will understand how theology provides a compelling framework for moral formation and collective action in response to some of today's most urgent global challenges.