MB508/608: Sexuality, Culture, & Ministry (4 units)

Sherwood G. Lingenfelter PhD, Provost and Senior Vice President, and Professor of Anthropology, Judith E. Lingenfelter PhD, Visiting Professor of Anthropology
Spring 2007 Pasadena

DESCRIPTION:

Human sexuality is an aspect of social interaction that is especially volatile in the practice of cross-cultural ministry. The sexual drive and emotional needs of persons engaged in ministry relationships and the differing cultural expectations about the regulation and control of courtship, marriage, gender roles and sexual behavior create a potentially explosive blend of interpersonal and social expectations. This course will examine the ways in which people across cultures seek to regulate sexual behavior, and provide biblical and comparative cultural perspectives on the topic. Assignments will guide students toward understanding themselves and understanding others on this topic. The course will help students begin the process of reflection on sexuality, the grace of God, and constructive social and spiritual disciplines that may lead to effective cross-cultural ministry.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of the course students will be able to:

• Practice research to describe courtship, marriage, gender roles, and the social regulation of sexual behavior in a culture different from their own;
• Compare biblical and contemporary cases on courtship, marriage, gender and sexual behavior, and consider the theological implications of this comparison;
• Discover strategies to discern and disarm unwanted sexual advances from someone from another cultural context;
• Learn and practice spiritual disciplines to break gender role and sexual habits that threaten your spiritual life and ministry.

COURSE FORMAT: Class will meet one evening each week for 3 hour sessions. Class sessions will include lectures, discussions, and small group exercises.

REQUIRED READING: If you have previously read any of the required texts, please select an alternative text from the recommended reading list or a book approved by the instructor.

Arterburn, Stephen and Fred Stoeker. Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2000.
Pasternak, Burton, Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember. Sex, Gender, and Kinship: A Cross-cultural Perspective. Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 1997.
Stone, Linda. Kinship and Gender: An Introduction. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2006.
Winner, Lauren F. Real Sex: the naked truth about chastity. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2005.

RECOMMENDED READING: The following novels explore issues of sexual drives, emotional needs, temptation and destructive choices of people in ministry. You will be asked to read ONE of these novels, and write a reflection essay.

Klima, Ivan. The Ultimate Intimacy. New York: Grove Press, 1996.
Howatch, Susan. Absolute Truths. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1994.
Hawthorne, Nathanial. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Random House Inc. 2000.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Conduct four ethnographic interviews (a person from another continent and culture) on topics of culture, gender, and sexual behavior and write a report of your findings for each interview;
2. Comparative Reflection (3 member team research project): Do an analysis of courtship, social control of sexual behavior, marriage, and gender roles in Ruth/Samuel, and in I Corinthians and compare these case studies with data from ethnographic interviews and texts.
3. Reading/reflection on gender, sex, and spiritual disciplines (Winner and novel) that is expressed in one of the following: essay – 6 pages, poem – 2 pages/500 words, drama – class performance, painting – class exhibit.

PREREQUISITES: None. Professors reserve the right to change this ECD in the final syllabus.

RELATION TO CURRICULUM: Elective course.

FINAL EXAM: None.

Last Date Edited: December 18, 2006