This course is an introduction to theological reflection on economy and ecology in a globalized world. The Greek word for household is oikos, which means the words ecology (oikos-logos, the studied knowledge of our planetary household), economy (oikos-nomos, the management of the household), and ecumenicity (oikou-menikos, an openness to the worldwide household) all share a basic orientation to “home.” There is growing awareness that the interconnected households we inhabit are increasingly marked, not by the kind of sustaining relations on which home life depends, but by various forms of injustice and degradation. There is also a growing recognition that the ecological and economic crises facing people worldwide are mutually constitutive and that singular, disconnected responses are therefore inadequate. The goal of this course is to draw upon diverse theological and ethical resources in thinking critically about the economic and ecological crises facing our common global household and constructively toward a more charitable, just, and sustainable future.
Course Texts
Chang, Ha-Joon, Economics: The User’s Guide. Bloomsbury Press, 2014 (ISBN: 9781620408124).
Gorringe, Timothy and Beckham, Rosie, Transition Movement for Churches. Canterbury Press Norwich, 2013 (ISBN: 978-1848255074).
Keller, Catherine. Cloud of the Impossible: Negative Theology and Planetary Entanglement. Columbia University Press, 2014 (ISBN: 978-0231171151).
Meeks, M. Douglas, God the Economist: The Doctrine of God and Political Economy. Fortress Publishers, 2000 (ISBN: 978-0800623296).
Shiva, Vandana. Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace. South End Press, 2005 (ISBN: 978-0896087453).
Wirzba, Norman. The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age. Oxford University Press, 2007 (ISBN: 978-0195333503).
Wolff, Richard. Democracy At Work: A Cure for Capitalism. Haymarket Books, 2012 (ISBN: 978-1608462476).