ADVANCED SEMINAR IN RELIGION AND SCIENCE – FALL 2016
EXPLORING THE BOOK OF URBAN NATURE
Chaired by Dr. Lea Schweitz
Monday Evenings 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM, September 12, 2016, through December 5, 2016
Room 201, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 1100 East 55th Street, Chicago, IL 60615

Urbanization is one of the inescapable forms of life in, through, and under which contemporary life takes place. Population models report dramatic growth in the numbers and percentages of urban dwellers in the last half-century. By 2050, it is predicted that two-thirds of the world’s population will be located in urban centers. The urban context is a permanent aspect of our social imaginaries and an inevitable feature of our planning for futures that nurture living cities. And, yet, both Christian thought and the philosophy of nature have a conflicted relationship with the city.

In this course, we will explore the book of urban nature through an interdisciplinary, action/reflection pedagogy. We will draw on urban nature writing, natural history, studies in urban ecology, theology, and the philosophy of nature to reveal the realities of urban nature, and we will cultivate experiences in urban nature through case studies, spiritual practices and nature writing.

This interdisciplinary course aims to give learners the resources to reclaim the urban context for thinking theologically about nature in order to expand our vision of nature, of God’s creative activity, and of ourselves as created co-creators.

Offered by the Zygon Center for Religion and Science, the Advanced Seminar in Religion and Science is designed as a research seminar for faculty and graduate students. Course credit is available via registration through the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) or cross-registration through member schools of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS); the course number is T-672/CC-672. For more information, please visit www.zygoncenter.org.

Advanced Seminar Schedule - Fall 2016