Religion 336
Latin American Liberation Theologies
Instructor: David Castillo Mora, MTh.
Credits: 4
Augsburg University General Education Requirements: Augsburg students who take this course will receive credit for LAF (Liberal Arts Foundation) in the Humanities, as well as credit for the Critical Thinking (CT) skill requirement.
Humanities Liberal Arts Foundation (LAF) Statement
This Humanities Liberal Arts Foundation (LAF) will help you explore the range and possibilities of human experience. Depending on the course, you may investigate the diversity of human nature and culture, our forms of communication and persuasion, our powers of reason, sympathy, and imagination, our needs as individuals and roles as citizens, and our relationship to the beautiful, the transcendent, and the divine. As the philosopher Martha Nussbaum has written, however, all Humanities disciplines have something in common: they help students use reason and imagination to enter broader worlds of cultures, groups, and ideas.
Augsburg’s Humanities departments are Communication Studies, English, History, Modern Languages, Philosophy, and Religion. These six disciplines engage human experience from different perspectives using different modes of discourse, but they share a common goal of rigorous inquiry into the ways written and spoken language can record, discover, and creatively express the truths of human experience.
Course Rationale and Purpose
It would be nearly impossible to truly understand issues of peace, justice, and social change in Latin America without developing an understanding of Latin American liberation theologies and their relationship to community-based movements for social change. These important theologies began with the premise that God is a God of liberation who helps communities liberate themselves from political and economic oppression, and today are extended to other forms of oppression such as sexist and heterosexist oppression and environmental injustice. Therefore, the purpose of this course is to develop a profound understanding of Latin American liberation theologies.
During this course you will meet with people who are deeply involved in the struggle for justice, including some who have played significant roles in the development and practice of Latin American liberation theologies. Your reading will give you a theoretical framework as well as historical background for understanding the emergence of liberation theology.
Throughout the course, you will also be encouraged to reflect upon your own religious and/or philosophical beliefs and to deepen your appreciation of religious values and theological perspectives that differ from your own. In addition, special attention will be given to critical thinking, which is defined as “an investigation whose purpose is to explore a situation, phenomenon, question, or problem to arrive at a hypothesis or conclusion about it that integrates all available information and that can therefore be convincingly justified.” (Kurfiss 1988, 2) The goal is for you to continue to develop skills of analysis, critique, and evaluation, and to present your own beliefs, viewpoints, and positions to others.
Upon completion of the course, you should be able to demonstrate proficiency in each of the following critical thinking skills: 1) the identification, knowledge, and comprehension of other people’s theological claims, beliefs, and assertions, as well as political and sociological claims regarding the role of religion; 2) the analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of other people’s claims; 3) the assessment of competing claims; 4) the development of your own claims; and 5) the presentation of your own claims. Please note that you who seek to use this course to fulfill your Critical Thinking skill requirement at Augsburg College must obtain an average of at least 73% for the Critical Thinking Exercises and for the final course grade.
Course Bibliography
Required Text:
Miguel de la Torre, Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press. 2013. ISBN10: 0664238130, ISBN13:9780664238131.
The book attempts to be an overview of some basic historical, methodological and theological features of Latin American Liberation Theologies. Complementary and more in depth readings are available at the Library as well as in a dossier prepared for the class.
Other Selected Readings:
Galeano, Eduardo. Las Venas Abiertas de América Latina. México: Siglo XII. 2009
Boff, L and Boff, C. “A concise History of Liberation Theology” in Boff L, and Boff, C, eds., Introducing Liberation Theology. New York: Orbis Books, 1987.
Gutiérrez, G. An Introduction to Liberation Theology. New York: Orbis Books, 1990.
Rowland, C., and Corner, M. Liberating Exegesis: The Challenge of Liberation Theology to Biblical Studies. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989.
Ruether, RoseMary. “The Liberation of Christology from Patriarchy” in Loades, A., ed., Feminist Theology, A Reader. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1990.
Gebara, Ivone. “Women doing theology in Latin America” Tamez, E., ed., Through her Eyes: Women Doing Theology in Latin America. New York: Orbis Books, 1989.
Mosala, Itumeleng. Biblical Hermeneutics and Black Theology in South Africa. Miami: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989.
Dube, Musa. Other Ways of Reading: African Woman and the Bible. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001.
Richard, Pablo. “Biblical Interpretation from the Perspective of Indigenous Cultures in Latin America (Mayas, Kunas, and Qechuas)” in Brett, M., ed. Ethnicity and the Bible. Boston/Leiden: Brill Academic Press, 2002.
Mena, Maricel. “Globalization and Gender Inequality: A Contribution from a Latino AfroFeminist Perspective” in The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theology. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Andiñach, Pablo. “Liberation in Latin American Biblical Hermeneutics” in Roland Boer and Fernando Segovia, eds., The Future of the Biblical Past: Envisioning Biblical Studies on a Global Key. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012.
Cardoso, Nancy. 2012. “Paper is Patient, History is Not: Readings and Unreadings of the Bible in Latin America” in Boer, R. and Segovia, F., eds., The Future of the Biblical Past: Envisioning Biblical Studies on a Global Key. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012.
Tamez, Elsa. Struggles for Power in Early Christianity, A Study of the First Letter to Timothy. New York: Orbis Books, 2007.
Pixley, George. “Liberating the Bible: Popular Bible Study and its Academia Allies” in Boer, R. and Segovia, F., eds., The Future of the Biblical Past: Envisioning Biblical Studies on a Global Key. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012.
Gutiérrez, Gustavo. On Job: God Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent. New York: Orbis Books, 1987.
Croatto, Severino. “Reading Genesis 3 from a Utopian Perspective” in Journal for Latin American Hermeneutics, 20048/1, 111.
Hanks, Thomas. Sexo, Sufrimiento, Sabiduría y Mujeres. Buenos Aires: Editorial Epifanía, 2014.
Cañaveral, Anibal. 2002. El escarbar campesino en la Biblia. Quito: Verbo Divino, 2002.
Cardenal, Ernesto. The Gospel in Solentiname. New York: Orbis Books, 2010.
Dreher, Carlos. The Walk to Emmaus. Sao Leopoldo: Centro de Estudios Biblicos, 2004.
Spring Hill College’s “Theology Library” has articles or article abstracts on liberation theology that will be very useful: http://theolibrary.shc.edu/liberation.htm
Learning Objectives/Outcomes
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1. Identify and explain the history of the development of Latin American liberation theologies, especially within the economic and historical context of Latin America.
2. Define Latin American liberation theologies and some of its key concepts.
3. Identify the methodologies used by Latin American liberation theologies Analyze the social, economic, political, and gender implications of Latin American liberation theologies.
4. Articulate the ways in which your own theological and/or philosophical beliefs about God(s), your own vocation have been affirmed, challenged, and/or changed as a result of what you have learned about Latin American liberation theologies.
Teaching Methodology, Pedagogy, and Ethics
Teaching strategies include lectures; small and large group discussions of required readings and experiences; field trips to churches, and church-related organizations; and guest lectures and conversation with community activists.
Given that at least half of your course time is spent in excursions and/or listening to guest speakers, you are encouraged to develop your strategic questioning and listening skills. It is very important that you ask informed questions and share your own interests, opinions, and experiences with speakers so that you are not just educational consumers but partners in a common quest to learn more about social change. It is also essential for you to take notes during and/or after all guest speakers and excursions so that you can incorporate quotes and examples into your assignments. These sessions are an integral and essential part of the course.
During the classroom discussion sessions (those not involving guest lectures or excursions), we will “process” the readings and field experiences, as well as inputs by the professor. Since the group is small, the tone will be informal and we will share together our learnings, questions, and observations.
Course Design
This course is taught intensively for one month in Costa Rica. It is the only course you will take during that time. You will typically have several class sessions involving speakers and excursions, plus 10 classroom sessions. You will be given more detailed information about required readings, class discussion topics, and assignments as the course progresses.
Program of classroom sessions:
Objective / Contents / Reading / AssignmentIntroduce the students to the task of the curse and the context where Liberation theology emerges / · Introduction to the class session
· Context of emergence of Liberation Theology
· Images of theological expressions within Liberation Theology
· Mohamads Ali’s video / Galeano, Eduardo. Open Veins of Latin America, 158.
Introduce the context of emergence of Liberation Theology emerges / Political and economic context of Liberation Theologies in Latin America / · Boff and Boff, “A Concise History of Liberation Theology,” 18.
· De la Torre, M., “Liberation Theology,” 140
Introduce the main questions and propositions made within liberation theology from a feminist perspective / Feminism in Liberation Theology / · Tamez, E. “Women’s Rereading of the Bible,” in Feminist Theology and the Third World, 190201
· Ivone Gebara, Women doing theology in Latin America, in Feminist Theology and the Third World, 4759.
Guest Speaker: Karoline Mora
Discuss economic and political aspects of liberation theology
Analysis of the Christological discourse within religious music in Latin American Liberation Movements / · The socioeconomic and the political in Liberation theology
· Christology and economics: “Vos sos el Dios de los pobres” / · Gutiérrez, G. An Introduction to Liberation Theology, 5174
· De la Torre, M., “Liberation Theology,” 4182
· Godoy, Mejía. Songs “Vos sos el Dios de los pobres” and “El Cristo de Palacaguina” / Hand out electronically the first segment of reflexive diary via email.
Identify the questions and theological constructions of black and indigenous theology / Indigenous and black theology / · Mosala, Itumeleng. Biblical Hermeneutics and Black Theology in South Africa, 1342.
· Dube, Musa. Other Ways of Reading. African Woman and the Bible, 145158
· Richard, Pablo. “Biblical Interpreting from the Perspective of Indigenous Cultures in Latin America (Mayas, Kunas, and Qechuas), in Ethnicity and the Bible,” 297314.
Introducing the usage of the Bible in Latin American Liberation Hermeneutics / Biblical Hermeneutics of Liberation: Introduction / · Andiñach, Pablo. “Liberation in Latin American Biblical Hermeneutics,” 137148.
· Pixley, Jorge. “Liberating the Bible: Popular Bible Study and its Academia Allies,” 167178.
· Cardoso, Nancy. “Paper is Patient, History is Not: Readings and Unreadings of the Bible in Latin America (19852005)” 149166
Introduce the economic and feminist question to the Bible in Latin American Biblical Hermeneutics / The economic and the feminist in Biblical Hermeneutics of Liberation / · Gutierrez, Gustavo. On Job: God Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent. 3950.
· Croatto, José. Severino. “Reading Genesis 3 from an Utopian Perspective,” 111.
· Tamez, Elsa. Struggles for Power in Early Christianity, 2656.
Discuss the content of latin American liberation theology from Queer and Gender theology / Queer and
Gender Theology / · AlthausReid, Marcela. “Queer I stand,” 100108
· AthausReid, M., “Queering the Cross,” 289301.
· Stone, K. “The Garden of Eden and the Heterosexual Contract,” 5170
Guest Speaker: Karoline Mora / Hand out electronically the second segment of reflexive diary via email.
Introduce the main methods and presuppositions that characterize Popular Reading of the Bible. / Bible (popular reading) within Liberation Theology / Dreher, C., The Walk to Emaus.
Cardenal, E. The Gospel in Art by the Peasants of Solentiname
Un tal Jesús
Introduce the main methods and presuppositions that characterize Popular Reading of the Bible. / Bible (popular reading) within Liberation Theology0 / · West, Gerald. Contextual Bible Study. 750
· Reading Genesis 47.1326 from the perspective of liberation hermeneutics / Hand out electronically the third segment of reflexive diary via email.
Final presentations group educational projects
Course Requirements: (100%)
1. Class Participation (10%): Effective class participation includes not only regular attendance but also active participation in class sessions involving guest lectures and excursions, internal class sessions, and group sessions. This means you need to take notes during guest lectures and excursions, as well as during internal class sessions. You should arrive to class having completed the course readings, reviewed the themes and objectives for the week, and be prepared to ask probing questions, share your own insights, and relate assigned readings to guest speakers and excursions. Because participation is essential to the learning process, if you miss class activities for any reason you must make arrangements prior to class to complete a short assignment. You are also responsible for obtaining notes, handouts, and announcements from others if you arrive late to class or miss a class session. Absences for personal travel or visits from family or friends are not excused absences.
2. Group Educational Project and Oral Presentation on Current Social Issues in Costa Rica and Contemporary Liberation Theologies (30%): Given that Latin American liberation theologies are contextual theologies that seek to foment human liberation from oppression, near the end of the course, you will divide into pairs or small groups, each of which will be responsible for conducting research, including interviews, regarding issues such as: 1) the current socioeconomic situation; 2) church-state relations; 3) environmental issues; 4) tourism; 5) immigration and basic rights; 6) gender concerns, including women´s rights and the rights of gays and lesbians. Your group is responsible for reading at least three articles or book chapters by contemporary liberation theologians that address your topic and then developing your interview questions, conducting the interviews, and discussing the results and how they relate (or fail to relate) to the articles or book chapters you read. You will then design a creative project involving a 30minute oral presentation that will enable you to educate others back home about this issue from both a social and theological perspective. As you design it, think about specific audiences with whom you can share this when you return to the United States. You should treat your presentation to the class as a dress rehearsal for a presentation that you can share when you return to your own school/community.