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Through the critical reading of primary and secondary resources, students will be examine how happiness is understood in the Christian tradition as a way of life grounded in Scripture and faith; where the reality of God as revealed in Christ is seen as the ultimate context for human flourishing.  The module will invite the students to further develop their understanding of human well-being by drawing three areas of cutting-edge Christian theology (feminist theology; aesthetic theology and ecotheology). 

The module will be contextualized in the cross-disciplinary ancient and contemporary enquiry into human happiness.  The will enable students to explore the relationship of that enquiry’s historical, psychological and philosophical findings on happiness to the biblical account(s) of human flourishing as the state of grace, blessedness or joy.  Biblical exegesis will be expanded by study of three interrelated dimensions identified by contemporary theologians as required for human well-being.  The first is gender justice, where students will study feminist and queer theology’s critical engagement with Scripture and the tradition as both marginalizing or oppressing those who deviate from the masculinist norm, as well as providing grounds for the relational empowerment and self-fulfillment considered necessary to happiness. The second dimension is the aesthetic, where, for aesthetic theologians, art has become a distinctive locus theologicus and beauty and the imagination are ascribed a central role in spiritual well-being.  Thirdly, students will examine the contribution of ecotheology in casting the natural world as the "household" of God's creation as a place for the healthy growth of a diverse biological and cultural ecology, rather than the mere backdrop of salvation history.

On completion of the module MTh students should be able to:

• critically engage with, and demonstrate mastery of, different scholarly viewpoints within the theological and (where relevant) contemporary secular discourse on human flourishing;
• reflect theologically on the nature of the whole person in the image of God (paying attention to both Testaments) and to evaluate whether texts and experiences are detrimental or beneficial for human flourishing;
• interpret the complex inter-relation between personal and collective transformation whereby one is empowered to cultivate and sustain life in its fullness;
• analyse, synthesise and critically evaluate the contribution of feminist, aesthetic and environmental theologies from a range of sources as they contribute to a theology of human flourishing.
• compare Christian notions of human flourishing with those obtaining in other religious and philosophical traditions;
• develop strategies for dialogue with viewpoints different from their own;
• conduct advanced research through the use of specialized online and printed resources to inform assignments and for participation in online discussions;
• demonstrate skills of research and independent learning;
• communicate their knowledge and ideas through a carefully constructed assignment using the required scholarly conventions and appropriate research methodologies;
• reflect on how their own faith or worldview has developed through their theological study.

200 hours consisting of Staff/student contact time of 25 hours (study days 10 hours; online discussion and tutorials 15 hours) plus 175 hours of student directed learning.

The module will be delivered via a series of online mini-lectures supported by Windows Live Movie Maker.  There will also be two face-to-face study days and provision of various online interactive documents, digitised texts and ongoing discussion including email tutorial guidance for students and two weeks dedicated to online Q&A sessions with staff.  All online material will be delivered via the VLE.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.