2010-2011 Online Courses

Updated: 02/20/10

Please note: Early Registration is strongly advised.

Fall 2010 Early Registration: Apr. 12–23, 2010
Fall 2010 General Registration: Aug. 30–Sept. 3, 2010
Spring Semester 2011 Early Registration: Nov. 8-19, 2010
Spring Semester 2011 General Registration: Jan. 24–28, 2010

View the Academic Calendar for Online Education.

For fee information, see Course Fees.

(See archived Summer/Fall 2009 course listings)

Fall 2010

Introduction to Liberal Religious Education
Helen Bishop
This online seminar course provides a broad introduction to the theory and practice of liberal religious education, with an emphasis on Unitarian Universalist congregations. Topics include philosophy of UU religious education, teaching and learning, developmental theories, the congregation as an educating community, social justice visions for religious education, current approaches and innovations in religious education for all ages, collegial relationships and professional standards for religious educators, and curriculum resources. The course draws from on one by the same name developed by Betty Jo Middleton, Roberta M. Nelson, Eugene B. Navias, and Judith Mannheim with support from a grant by the St. Lawrence Foundation. / Dr. Helen Bishop holds an Ed.D in organizational leadership and has an extensive background working with Unitarian Universalist congregations, districts and affiliated organizations. She has designed, developed and taught online courses related to all aspects of lay leadership and congregational studies, including a pilot project for Unitarian Universalist lay leaders. She also served as director of The Mountain Learning Center for Leadership in Highlands, N.C., and as District Executive for Congregational Services for the UUA’s Central Midwest District. She received the Angus MacLean Award for Service to Religious Education in October, 2008.
ED-8465 3 Units
Minimum 8 Limit 15 Pin Required: Yes
Click for Sample Syllabus
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

UU Journey Toward Wholeness
Sean Parker Dennison
The Unitarian Universalist Association has been on the Journey Toward Wholeness since delegates at the 1997 General Assembly created a committee to monitor and assess the “transformation of the UUA into an authentically anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural association.” In this class we will explore the JTW initiative, its successes and failures. We will pay special attention to the theo/alogical aspects of the program itself and the debates surrounding it. What is the theological point of our journey? What is our Unitarian Universalist vision of “wholeness”? How might we ground the work of countering oppression in UU sources and history? How might we inspire our predominantly white, privileged congregations to own the necessity, importance and transformative possibility of this work? / The Rev. Sean Parker Dennison has been a Unitarian Universalist minister since 2000. He is a graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry and currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Trustees. Sean is passionate about writing, educating to counter oppressions and create just and sustainable communities, computers and emerging online communities, and his family.
EDRS-8460 3 Units
Minimum 8 Limit 18 Pin Required: Yes
Syllabus forthcoming
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

Transcendentalism: Religion and Social Action
Rudra Dundzila
Transcendentalism featured a flowering of idealism among a small community of New England Unitarian intellectuals, educators, writers, and reformers. They embraced spirituality, social responsibility, and ethical pluralism. Their ideas and actions stretched beyond European thought and dared to speak new truths that many of their contemporaries found both disturbing and revolutionary. The course will focus on Transcendentalist thought, experiments, social reform, and social action. / Dr. Vilius Rudra Dundzila is a Unitarian Universalist minister in preliminary fellowship and Professor of Humanities and Comparative Religion for Harry S. Truman College (City Colleges of Chicago). He has conducted spiritual direction, groups, and retreats for Gay men. He currently serves as the director of the Illinois Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry.
HSST-8430      3 Units
Minimum 5       Limit 20            Pin Required: Yes
Syllabus forthcoming
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

Spiritual Practice for These Times
Chris Fry
This is not a time to live without a practice. . . . Whether we reach this inner state of recognized divinity through prayer, meditation, dancing, swimming, walking, feeding the hungry or enriching the impoverished is immaterial. We will be doubly bereft without some form of practice that connects us, in a caring way, to what begins to feel like a dissolving world. ~Alice Walker This year-long, online course will support students in developing or strengthening their spiritual practice in order to meet the challenges of life and ministry in these times. The class will be experiential and multi-religious, drawing on the wisdom and practices of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, as well as science and deep ecology. Fall semester will focus inward on meditation, gratitude and sabbath-keeping. Spring semester will focus outward on compassion, kindness and service. Taken together, these ancient, intersecting practices will assist students in finding a rhythm of being and doing ~ in their personal lives and their ministries ~ that is healthy, joyful and sustainable. It is expected that students will take both semesters. / The Rev. Chris Fry is a grateful graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry (‘96). An Adjunct Faculty member for more than five years, Chris has taught courses on poetry, illness and pastoral care; forgiveness; compassion and moral repair; and religious education. She offers “Write for Health” groups and spiritual direction, coordinates her church’s small group ministry, and is active in an interfaith shelter program in her hometown of Davis, CA. Her daughter, Esumi, was born during Chris’ second year at SKSM and is now a high school junior. Her husband, Isao Fujimoto, is a community organizer and professor at UC Davis.
SPFT-8400 1.5 Units
Minimum 5 Limit 16 Pin Required: Yes
Syllabus forthcoming
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

Unitarian Universalist History
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 current state of Unitarianism in Europe. Then we cross the ocean to examine the emergence of Unitarianism from developments within Puritan Congregationalism. We explore the uniquely North American institution of Universalism as response to the same cultural setting. Next: the major themes and developments of North American Unitarianism through its classical age, the Transcendentalist development, and the various crises of identity and purpose that develop into and through the late 19th and 20th centuries. 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. / The Rev. Dr. Susan Ritchie has served as the minister of the North Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Lewis Center, Ohio since September of 1996. During that time, the congregation has more than doubled in size, purchased not only its first building but a religious education center, and added three professional staff positions. Ritchie is published widely on the topic of Unitarian Universalist history and identity, and also religious cultural studies. Her research demonstrating religious toleration to be an outgrowth of Islamic-Unitarian cultural exchange has been published in the Journal of Unitarian Universalist History, the Journal of the Zaytuna Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies, and has been republished in Turkish. Ritchie’s work on “The Promise of Postmodernism for Unitarian Universalist Theology” was published by the Journal of Liberal Religion, and was also translated into Hungarian.
HSFT-8422 3 Units
Minimum 8 Limit 26 Pin Required: Yes
Click for Sample Syllabus
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

Buddhist Traditions of South Asia
Lisa Grumbach
Introduces the Buddhist traditions as they originated in India and develop throughout South and Southeast Asia. First half of the required year long introductory survey of the entire Buddhist tradition. Usually offered each fall semester. Course format: Online discussion. Evaluation method: Participation/Term paper. This course is co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry and the Institute for Buddhist Studies.
HR-8152 3 units
No Limit NO PIN Required
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

History of the Pure Land Tradition: Premodern
Galen Amstutz
The Shin Buddhist tradition traces its origins to the works of Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, T’an-luan, Taoch’o, Shan-tao, Genshin, and Honen. This course examines their contributions to the development of Shin Buddhism. Required of ministerial aspirants. HRPH 1614 Introduction to Shin Buddhist Thought recommended as background. Course format: Online discussion. Evaluation method: Participation/term paper. This course is co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry and the Institute for Buddhist Studies.
HRHS 8307 3 units
No Limit NO PIN Required
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

Topics in Buddhist Thought: Women, Family, Dharma
Lisa Grumbach
This course challenges several generalized notions about Buddhism (e.g., that it is largely male, monastic, and requires the practice of individual meditation) by examining the roles women have played in the development and spread of Buddhism and by looking at the family as the locus of practice. Women in the history of Buddhism will be a focus of the course, but we will also examine men’s issues as well as children and the Dharma. Topics will include women’s roles in the formation and continued success of Buddhism; the relationships of nuns/monks to their families; the role of marriage in Buddhist “monasticism”; gender symbolism and gender-shifting; and practice within the family. Prerequisites: Assumes some knowledge of Buddhism. Course Format: Online “lecture” and online discussion. Evaluation method: Participation/term paper. This course is co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry and the Institute for Buddhist Studies.
HRPH-8455 3 units
No Limit NO PIN Required
Next Registration Period: Apr. 12–23, 201 0

Spring 2011

Organizational Systems Thinking for Religious Leaders
Helen Bishop
This course is designed to promote understanding among religious leaders of how organizations operate on the systems level. “Systems thinking” is a methodology linking understandings of how individuals, small and large groups of people interact with the structure, policies, practices, and culture of an organization. Participants will read materials on various aspects of organizational life, examine the ways in which components interact, discuss emotional and family systems theories and their implications for congregational systems, use systems analysis and thinking to investigate congregational leadership, analyze case studies for evidence of organizational frames, and prepare a case study demonstrating systems thinking. References and examples of working to counter oppressions are foundational to this course. / Dr. Helen Bishop holds an Ed.D in organizational leadership and has an extensive background working with Unitarian Universalist congregations, districts and affiliated organizations. She has designed, developed and taught online courses related to all aspects of lay leadership and congregational studies, including a pilot project for Unitarian Universalist lay leaders. She also served as director of The Mountain Learning Center for Leadership in Highlands, N.C., and as District Executive for Congregational Services for the UUA’s Central Midwest District. She received the Angus MacLean Award for Service to Religious Education in October, 2008.
FT-8404           3 Units
Minimum 8       Limit 20            Pin Required: Yes
Click for Sample Syllabus
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Our Theological House: An Introduction to Theology for Unitarian Universalists
John Buehrens
Traversing the classical topics of systematic theology (the nature of God, humanity, Christ, Spirit, sin and salvation, and the purpose of the church), this online course will introduce Unitarian Universalists and interested fellow travelers to the distinctive theological perspectives that give our theological house its shape and character. The course will include readings in the history of theology and contemporary sources, combined with online discussions and reflection papers. The goal is to deepen Unitarian Universalist theological competency and creativity in our emerging post-modern context. / The Rev. John A. Buehrens is Minister of the First Parish in Needham, MA. President of the Unitarian Universalist Association from 1993 to 2001, he is author of Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals [Beacon, 2004] and co-author, with Forrest Church, of A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism [Beacon, 1989, 1997]. He was a Visiting Professor of Ministry at Starr King in 2001 and is currently an adjunct instructor and counselor at Harvard Divinity School.
ST-8402           3 Units
Minimum 8       Limit 15            Pin Required: Yes
Click for Sample Syllabus
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Spiritual Practice for These Times
Chris Fry
This is not a time to live without a practice. . . . Whether we reach this inner state of recognized divinity through prayer, meditation, dancing, swimming, walking, feeding the hungry or enriching the impoverished is immaterial. We will be doubly bereft without some form of practice that connects us, in a caring way, to what begins to feel like a dissolving world. ~Alice Walker This year-long, online course will support students in developing or strengthening their spiritual practice in order to meet the challenges of life and ministry in these times. The class will be experiential and multi-religious, drawing on the wisdom and practices of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, as well as science and deep ecology. Fall semester will focus inward on meditation, gratitude and sabbath-keeping. Spring semester will focus outward on compassion, kindness and service. Taken together, these ancient, intersecting practices will assist students in finding a rhythm of being and doing ~ in their personal lives and their ministries ~ that is healthy, joyful and sustainable. It is expected that students will take both semesters. / The Rev. Chris Fry is a grateful graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry (‘96). An Adjunct Faculty member for more than five years, Chris has taught courses on poetry, illness and pastoral care; forgiveness; compassion and moral repair; and religious education. She offers “Write for Health” groups and spiritual direction, coordinates her church’s small group ministry, and is active in an interfaith shelter program in her hometown of Davis, CA. Her daughter, Esumi, was born during Chris’ second year at SKSM and is now a high school junior. Her husband, Isao Fujimoto, is a community organizer and professor at UC Davis.
SPFT-8400       1.5 Units
Minimum 5       Limit 16            Pin Required: Yes
Syllabus forthcoming
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Aging and Religious Leadership
Devorah Greenstein
This online course will explore the complexities of growing old in our contemporary United States. Course readings and discussion will include topics from the personal to the societal: from individual pastoral issues, to community involvement, to institutional and societal oppression. Using an analytic framework of ageism and its manifestations, we will study aging and: spiritual development; congregational support structures; pastoral relationships with caregivers and elders who have disabilities including dementias; implications of role changes (e.g., role loss associated with retirement); movement from independence to dependence/interdependence; gerotranscendence. We will seek strategies we can use to help elders successfully navigate these age-related changes. / The Rev. Dr. Devorah Greenstein serves the Unitarian Universalist Association as the Program Coordinator in the Office of Accessibility Concerns in the Identity-based Ministries staff group. In this capacity, she educates and provides resources for religious professionals, lay leaders, and other individuals and groups who are engaged in anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multicultural transformation work. She also develops resources and educates congregations, districts, and the UUA about how to confront institutional and cultural ageism, ableism, racism, classism, and heterosexism. Her educational training, which includes a a M.Div. from Starr King School for the Ministry; M.S. degree from Cornell University in Family Studies; Ph.D. from Cornell University in Developmental Psychology; and a M.S. degree from Syracuse University in Counseling, has given her a contextual theoretical perspective in which she grounds her anti-oppression work. Her work has always been along side of, and on behalf of, people from historically marginalized communities ~ at different times working with elder communities; farm-worker families; people with disabilities.
SPFT-8430       3 Units
Minimum 8       Limit 15            Pin Required: Yes
Syllabus forthcoming
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Congregational Polity
Mark Harris
This is a course in the history and development of Congregational Polity in the Unitarian Universalist tradition. How did Congregational Polity evolve and what were the differences in the Unitarian and Universalist approaches to governance? How have we handled issues of centralized authority and bureaucracy? We’ll look at how religious communities make decisions, support their leaders and define ministry. With ministry we will ask about power, gender and ethics, the call, and the meaning and context for worship and rites of passage. / The Rev. Mark Harris is in his 15th year in parish ministry in Watertown, MA. He has served congregations in Massachusetts, and in England, was Director of Information for the UUA and received his seminary training at Starr King. He has also taught history classes for Meadville Lombard, and serves as an adjunct professor in church history at Andover Newton Theological School.
FT-8420           3 Units
Minimum 5       Limit 15            Pin Required: Yes
Click for Tentative Syllabus and Booklist
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Universalism: History, Theology, and Practice
Jeff Wilson
In many congregations, Universalism seems to be the unknown half of UU denominational heritage. This course will help contemporary Unitarian-Universalists better understand the history of their Universalist ancestors and discern how Universalism lives on within and beyond the combined denomination. We will discuss early Christian Universalism, Universalist ideas among the Unitarians, the creation and history of the Universalist Church of America, Universalist themes within other major religions, and much more. The focus will be on historical development, theological issues, and shared praxis. Students will read widely from important primary sources, as well as being introduced to major secondary resources. / Dr. Jeff Wilson is an assistant professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies at Renison University College, University of Waterloo, in Ontario. Raised in one of the last surviving large, historically-Universalist churches in New England, Dr. Wilson’s specialties include liberal religious history and practice, with particular attention to the role of Universalism. In addition to teaching the course on Universalism, he has contributed to the SKSM online courses World Religions and Our Theological House.
HSST-8424      3 Units
Minimum 5       Limit 20            Pin Required: Yes
Syllabus forthcoming
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Survey of Zen Buddhism
Taigen Leighton
This course will survey the historical and philosophical development and practices of Zen, as it is called in Japan, or Ch’an in Chinese, Son in Korean. We will read and discuss writings from dynamic major figures in the tradition from China, Korea, and Japan, such as Bodhidharma, Hui-neng, Pai-chang, Chao-chou, Tung-shan, and Yun-men in China, Chinul in Korea, and Dogen, Ikkyu, Hakuin, and Ryokan in Japan. We will examine the religious import of their colorful teaching stories, as well as how these stories were used in Zen practice. Related to these figures we well explore major themes such as monastic set-ups, societal influences, and ritual enactments. We will explore major practices including strategies for meditation, with instruction in experiential engagement in some of these practices. We will also look at the historical and cultural impact of Ch’an /Zen, including the development of the Way of Tea and its associated arts and Samurai Zen in Japan. We will conclude with some consideration of modern developments and Zen's popular importation to the West. Course format: Online Lecture. Evaluation method: Participation/Term paper. This course is co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry and the Institute for Buddhist Studies.
HR-8305    3 units
No Limit           NO PIN Required
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Buddhist Traditions of East Asia
Lisa Grumbach
Introduces the Buddhist traditions as they originated in India and develop through south and southeast Asia. Second half of the required year long introductory survey of the entire Buddhist tradition. Course format: Online Lecture. Evaluation method: Participation/Term paper. This course is co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry and the Institute for Buddhist Studies.
HR-8152    3 units
No Limit           NO PIN Required
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Psychological Aspects Buddhism I
Gordon Bermant
An examination of the development of psychological theories in the abhidharma, Yogacara and tathagatagarbha systems of thought, particularly through the reading of primary sources in translation. May be repeated for credit when different primary texts are being studied. Course format: Online discussion. Evaluation method: Participation/term paper. This course is co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry and the Institute for Buddhist Studies.
HRPS-8320    3 units
No Limit           NO PIN Required
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Topics in Buddhist Thought: Japanese Buddhism through Personal Perspectives
Lisa Grumbach
This course introduces Buddhism in Japan not by looking at the great sweeps of history but by focusing on the personal writings (in translation) of a limited number of figures in various time periods. Through these personal perspectives, the major aspects of Buddhism will be explored, from the advent of Buddhism to Japan, through the great changes in doctrine and practice of the medieval period, and the profound transformation of Japanese Buddhism in the Meiji period. Figures include, among others, the “Father of Japanese Buddhism” Prince Shotoku, the great founders Kukai and Saicho, the medieval monk Myoe, the courtesan Lady Nijo, the chronicler Muju Ichien, and the Meiji-era reformer Kiyozawa Manshi. Prerequisites: None, but some knowledge of Japanese religions, history and/or language may be helpful. Format: Online lecture and discussion. Evaluation: Participation and paper. This course is co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry and the Institute for Buddhist Studies.
HRPH-8455 3 units
No Limit NO PIN Required
Next Registration Period: Nov. 8-19, 2010

Early Registration is strongly advised. Fall 2010 Early Registration: Apr. 12–23, 2010. Fall 2010 General Registration: Aug. 30–Sept. 3, 2010. Spring 2011 Early Registration: Nov. 8-19, 2010; General Registration: Jan. 24–28, 2011.

Click for “How to Register for an Online Course.”

Click to see all 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 Starr King School for the Ministry courses.