Alpha 
Post by fretslider on Apr 1, 2016 15:46:45 GMT -5
And all done from within....
Theology students at Oxford will no longer be required to study Christianity throughout the course for the first time in 800 years after undergraduates complained about lack of diversity.
[Diversity?]
Changes are being made to the degree to mirror shifts in religious beliefs and culture in the wider British society, according to academics. Instead, those in second year will have the option to take papers which will include “feminist approaches to religion and theology” Johannes Zachhuber, professor of historical and systematic theology and the theology faculty’s board chairman, suggested students could avoid studying Christianity altogether and instead favour subject such as "Buddhism in space and time".
[Er, right...]
However, he said it was unlikely that many would choose to ignore all Christian elements of the degree. The changes had been instigated by students and lecturers, according to the academic. Professor Zachhuber said: "We recognise that the people who come to study at Oxford come from a variety of different backgrounds and have legitimately different interests. An Oxford University spokesman said: “Christianity is still compulsory in the first year of the course – in fact there are two compulsory papers on it. So all students on the course will study Christianity. “Christianity is still a major part of the course in second and third year, and it’s very unlikely that a student would choose options that do not cover Christianity in these years.”
Separately, Benjamin Thompson, associate professor of medieval history and coordinator of undergraduate history at Oxford, said that there have been similar shifts in history degrees. He told the Times Higher Education: "These changes are what students want, because a bigger world is affecting them. "The most obvious example is the rise of militant Islam, or how well the Chinese economy is doing. "With the Cecil Rhodes statue debate, this 'decolonisation' of the curriculum is now quite interesting."
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/04/01/oxford-theology-students-can-skip-christianity-lessons/
Barking mad!
Theology students at Oxford will no longer be required to study Christianity throughout the course for the first time in 800 years after undergraduates complained about lack of diversity.
[Diversity?]
Changes are being made to the degree to mirror shifts in religious beliefs and culture in the wider British society, according to academics. Instead, those in second year will have the option to take papers which will include “feminist approaches to religion and theology” Johannes Zachhuber, professor of historical and systematic theology and the theology faculty’s board chairman, suggested students could avoid studying Christianity altogether and instead favour subject such as "Buddhism in space and time".
[Er, right...]
However, he said it was unlikely that many would choose to ignore all Christian elements of the degree. The changes had been instigated by students and lecturers, according to the academic. Professor Zachhuber said: "We recognise that the people who come to study at Oxford come from a variety of different backgrounds and have legitimately different interests. An Oxford University spokesman said: “Christianity is still compulsory in the first year of the course – in fact there are two compulsory papers on it. So all students on the course will study Christianity. “Christianity is still a major part of the course in second and third year, and it’s very unlikely that a student would choose options that do not cover Christianity in these years.”
Separately, Benjamin Thompson, associate professor of medieval history and coordinator of undergraduate history at Oxford, said that there have been similar shifts in history degrees. He told the Times Higher Education: "These changes are what students want, because a bigger world is affecting them. "The most obvious example is the rise of militant Islam, or how well the Chinese economy is doing. "With the Cecil Rhodes statue debate, this 'decolonisation' of the curriculum is now quite interesting."
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2016/04/01/oxford-theology-students-can-skip-christianity-lessons/
Barking mad!
