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Course Synopses
T101-3 Human Sexuality and HIV/AIDS
In this course the following issues will be covered: Sacredness of human life; various forms of human sexuality; cultural views on human sexuality; biblical views on human sexuality and morality; cultural and biblical perspectives on STI’s; the link between STI’s and HIV/AIDS; behavioural change and safer sex practices; responsibility for health; sexual and reproductive life. Facts about HIV/AIDS. Impacts of HIV/AIDS on marriage and conjugal intimacy.
T110-3 Religious Pluralism
We live in a religiously pluralistic society. The course, therefore, helps students to appreciate the reality of religious diversity and its challenges; the importance of ecumenical spirit; the virtue of religious tolerance; religious co-operation and unity of humankind.
T120-3 HIV/AIDS Pandemic and Humankind’s survival
In response to challenges posed by HIV/AIDS, the course deals with the following issues: God’s purpose in creating humanity; sacredness of human life; the reality of HIV/AIDS in Africa and its socio-economic implications; pastoral implications of HIV/AIDS; the plight of HIV/AIDS patients; cultural vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS; prevention and control of HIV/AIDS; treatment and care for those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
T130-3 Theology of Suffering and Death
Life and death are facts of life. But the mystery of death poses more questions than life itself. The course studies the following issues: theological understanding of life and suffering; concepts of sin and grace; freedom of human will; repentance and forgiveness; faith and healing; humankind’s ultimate happiness; the mystery of death; salvation and hope.
T140-3 Principles of Pastoral Care and Counselling
The course covers the following: definition of Pastoral care and counselling; relation between pastoral care, pastoral counselling and pastoral psychotherapy; theological basis of pastoral care and counselling; pastoral counselling transaction; the role, motivation, vulnerability, ethics and burnout of a counsellor; the counselee (features of dependent, hostile-aggressive, self-assured characters and how to deal with them).
T150-3 Essentials in Caring Service Delivery
The course deals with the essence of caring services under the following: qualities of an effective carer; strategies for helping; client rights and choices; the right to receive anti-discriminatory/anti-oppressive care, the right to confidentiality and privacy; the right to have individual rights and personal choices respected; the right to have personal beliefs and identity acknowledged and acted upon; the right to support through effective communication; institutional care; rehabilitation; development and sustainability; community mobilization skills
T160-3 Health Care Theological Ethics
The course covers the following aspects: health care; what does it mean to be human; personal health in community; politics of health care; priorities in human needs and values; concepts of health and disease; the person and healing; preventive medicine and lifestyle; stewardship and creativity; forming a prudent conscience and informed consent; patient’s rights; difficult bioethical decisions; moral principles in ethics; conception control, contraception and natural family planning; pastoral approach to sexual problems; ethical problems of treating the mentally ill; pastoral care and ethical decisions.
T201-3 Liturgy
The course is designed to present the principles that have moulded and continue to direct publish worship of a Christian worshipping community. The course is two-pronged: the first part focuses on the form and function of worship and the underlying historic-theological principles. The second part focuses on the importance of the context and culture in worship, hence contextualization/inculturation. The role of music in worship will also be discussed.
T202-3 Theology of
The course traces the development of the notion of mission from the New Testament to the present day theological trends. Different paradigm shifts in the theology of mission within cultures and denominations will also be explored.
T207-3 Historical Books/Pentateuch
The course deals with the arrangement and theological teaching of each book. It also focuses on the main personalities found in these books, namely, David, Solomon, Deborah, Maccabees. in addition, the course covers the following issues: the literary form of the Pentateuch literature, creation accounts, the story of Joseph, the exodus narrative, and the leadership of Moses.
T208-3 Introduction to Old Testament Literature
This course introduces students to the world of the Old Testament. This entails the study of the formation of the Old Testament, its peoples, its beliefs, its customs and its values. The course prepares students for a critical reading of the Old Testament. To achieve this, a brief introduction to the exegetical methods commonly used in the Old Testament, will be given.
T209-3 Introduction to New Testament Literature
In this course students are introduced to the world of the New Testament. This entails the study of the formation of the New Testament books, their nature and purpose. Special attention is given to the historical and religious background of the New Testament. The course prepares students for a critical reading of the New Testament. To achieve this, a brief introduction to the exegetical methods commonly used in the New Testament, will be given.
T210-3 Conflict Management and Resolution
The course is meant to equip learners with skills for handling conflicts as they occur in various social settings. It introduces them to different strategies of resolving problems. The course discusses such issues as expressing feelings; resolving conflict; assertive and responsive behaviour; inter-group conflicts.
T212-3 Theological Anthropology
This course focuses on the following: Dignity of the human person; the human person as made in the image of God and as the possessor of inalienable rights; the makeup of humanity (body and soul); the dignity of the mind; truth; wisdom; the dignity of the moral conscience; the excellence of liberty; the value of human activity.
T213-3 Theology of Pastoral Care and Counselling
The course will introduce students to Practical theology: its definition; operational fields; epistemologies and the debates on the relevance of the empirical methods for theology. Emphasis will be placed on pastoral counselling as an operational field of practical theology; counselling transaction; person of a counsellor; person of a counselee.
T219-3 Sacramentology
The course is designed to equip students with knowledge on the Sacraments, their Scriptural foundation, theology as well as their recognition and function within different churches and denominations.
T220-3 Project Management
The course focuses on the following: defining and planning the project; writing of a project proposal; implementing the plan; project monitoring; project evaluation; project maintenance; fund raising skills; needs assessment techniques; networking; reporting skills.
T221-3 Introduction to Caring Services
This course examines the historical development of caring service’s knowledge base and the philosophical foundations upon which it is based. Attention is focused on the notion of the "helping professions" and particularly on the historical and philosophical evolution of the caring profession and the scientific, political, social, religious and economic forces which influenced its development.
T222-3 Societal Problems
The course focuses on the current problems as experienced by society today and how they impact on the psychological and moral well being of the same society. Topics to be covered will among others include: Domestic violence against women; Domestic violence on children; plight of street children; sex workers; alcoholics.
T223-3 Attachment/Loss and Grief
The course is meant to help students understand the human grief process as resulting from attachment and loss. Both normal and complicated grief will be considered mainly from religious perspective. in addition, students will also be exposed to the psycho-dynamics of grief. The traditional grieving process of the Basotho will also be explored.
T224-3 Marriage and Family
This course examines the evolution of marriage from a traditional to a contemporary institution and its impact on its (marriage) stability. The interface between the modern religion’s and the legal structures’ administration of this institution will also be explored. The effect of the HIV/AIDS phenomenon on this institution will be explored in the light of the bill of human rights, the sexual offences Act, 2003 as well as their moral implications.
T228-3 Christology
The course focuses on an in-depth study on: the person of Jesus the Son of God; His deity; incarnation; his mission and work.
T229-3 Ecclesiology
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the following: the nature of the Church, its origin, function and mission.
T230-3 Leadership and Management Skills
The course introduces students to: leadership in general; a critical analysis of various models of leadership; challenges of leadership; virtues and qualities required for effective leadership; management principles; strategic planning; mobilization of resources; work related stress; enforcing change; successful time management.
T240-3 Pastoral Care and Counselling in Context
The course focuses on the following: crisis counselling; bereavement counselling; Counselling in HIV/AIDS and other chronic ailments situations; marriage counselling; counselling in an African context; in-class group case study applications.
T250-3 Topical Social Issues
The course is a study of selected social issues which are of importance to counselling students. Topics include but are not restricted to: substance abuse (drugs and alcohol), violence, rape, incest, child abuse, discrimination and crime. The course aims at equipping students with necessary skills in order to handle situations caused by or related to the issues mentioned above.
T260-3 Directions in Pastoral Counselling
The course looks at the ecumenical orientation of modern Pastoral counselling. Particular attention is paid to global ecumenism; clinical ecumenism; pastoral counselling and social change; ethical and legal implications of a pastoral counselling profession.
T270-18 Practical work Placement
The practical placement is an essential ingredient of all health and social care, counselling, social work and community care courses. Therefore, this programme being mainly about preparing students for work in welfare settings will have a practical work placement as one of its chief components. Such placements are meant to give students the opportunity to see the type of work they feel they would like to do and a chance to practice some of the skills learned during the course of their studies at the University.
T301-3 Moral Responsibility in Public Service
In response to rampant corruption and lack of accountability in society at large, the course focuses on the following: moral responsibility as required at different levels of community life; nature of society; responsible use of authority; nature and functions of the family; nature and origin of the state authority; duties of citizens; socio-cultural instruments for promoting ethical behaviour; watchdog bodies for combating unethical behaviour; criminal justice as a strategy for promoting ethical behaviour.
T302-3 Religious Response to HIV/AIDS Pandemic
Among the many responses to the pandemic, the course focuses on the religious dimension of HIV/AIDS under the following: the problem of evil; the concepts of life, health, healing and sexuality from the perspective of Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion; the relevance and efficiency of ‘ABC’ from a religious and moral point of view; contribution of African world-view towards prevention, education and counselling in HIV/AIDS situations.
T305-3 Biblical Exegesis: New Testament
The course consists in the delineation of the theology of each evangelist. It also looks at the features proper to each evangelist and the exegesis of the selected passages from the Synoptic Gospels and Acts with the aid of the information gathered from the introductory course on the New Testament.
T306-3 African Traditional Religion
The course deals with the following: Definition of ATR: Sources for the Study of ATR; features of the ATR; the Nature of ATR; Inappropriate nomenclature used in describing ATR; Belief in God, Names of God in different African communities. Attributes of God; control and maintenance of the Universe; the Divinities; The nature and purpose of the Divinities; Categories of Divinities; The cult of God and the Divinities; Spirit beings; Categories of Spirits; Rites of Passage; The ancestors and the ancestral cult; Cultic functionaries.
T307-3 Contextual Theology
The following is the scope of the course: the rise of the new Religious movements as a worldwide phenomenon; related developments in Southern Africa with special reference to Lesotho; causes of proliferation of the movements; types, features and practices of the movements; special study of the Prophet-Healing type movement in Lesotho; the quest for an African Theology; Contextualization or Inculturation of Christianity; characteristics of African Theology; some theologies: Black theology in America; Black Theology in Apartheid South Africa; Political Liberation Theology; Latin American Liberation Theology; Feminist Theology.
T309-3 Biblical Exegesis: OT/Historical Books
The course consists in the exegesis on selected passages from the Historical Books in an attempt to understand the message and relating it to contemporary situations. in addition, it looks at the major personalities and their leadership qualities, e.g. Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, and Deborah.
T310-3 Theology of ST. Paul/John
The course focuses on the main letters of
T311-3 Pneumatology/Pentecostalism
The course is designed to provide students with an in-depth study of the nature and function of the Holy Spirit within individuals and Churches. Charismatic movements and Pentecostalism are Spirit related phenomena whose proliferation reveals something that needs to be explored.
T312-3 Philosophy of Religion
In this course students will be exposed to such issues as: nature of religion; arguments for and against God’s existence; humankind’s knowledge of God; the problem of religious language; validating religious truth claims; the problem of evil; life beyond death.
T313-3 Homiletics
The course consists of both theoretical and practical parts. Theoretical part: theology of the word and preaching; models of preaching in the New Testament; definition of preaching; kinds of preaching; the person of the preacher; audience. Practical part: using voice and body language; preparing and delivering a homily.
T314-3 Religious Education
The course prepares students for the multifaceted nature of teaching that they have to carry out as parents, teachers and pastors. Principles and methods basic to Religious education at different levels (child, youth, adult) will be explored.
T318-3 Pastoral Coucelling II
The course focuses on supportive counselling; crisis counselling; bereavement counselling and their applicability in different contexts; marriage enrichment and marriage crisis counselling; counselling in HIV/AIDS and other Chronic ailments situations; counselling in an African context; in-class group case study applications.
T321-3 Health and Healing in Africa
This course deals with issues of heath and healing seen mainly from the African perspective and the challenges they pose for a professional counsellor. The following are some of the issues to be covered: the concept of health in Africa; concept of healing in Africa; care for the Sick and dying.
T322-3 Social Policy and Morality
The course examines in depth approaches to policy making and critically analyses selected welfare policies and subject them to theological moral scrutiny. It further focuses on application of social welfare policy to caring agencies; current changes in welfare, health, and civil rights policy and their impact on its clientele. Diversity, social justice, and international policy issues will also be touched upon.
T323-3 Introduction to Scientific Research
This course introduces students to a scientific way of carrying out research. Topics to be covered include: Types of research; nature of research in the caring services; special issues in human service research; steps in conducting research; research proposal structure; ethical issues in research and a guide to the library.
T324-3 Caring for the Elderly
This course provides an overview of the social changes old people go through from late middle age to more advanced aging as well as how to counsel the aging clients and promote the necessary community resources required to meet their needs. The knowledge of the "generalist" practice approach will be applied to this course taking into account the specific needs of the old people.
T325-3 The Art of Reframing in Pastoral Care and Counselling
This course exposes students to the reframing theory and techniques as developed by the Brief Therapy Centre of the Mental research Institute in California. Techniques such as paradoxical intention, dereflection, confusion, advertising, the belloc ploy, benevolent sabotage, worse alternative, relabeling, pre-empting, prescription, surrender tactic will be described and illustrated through case material. The relevance of each of these techniques to the local context will be tested.
T401-3 Themes in Biblical Theology
There is plethora of biblical themes. The course helps students appreciate the following central themes in both testaments, such as marriage, salvation, redemption, liberation, atonement; critical view of women’s position and role in the Old and New Testaments.
T402-3 Prophets
The course includes a general introduction to prophetic literature and a specific study of the Major Prophets, namely, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Ezekiel, Hosea; their vocation and mission.
T403-3 Comparative Study of Religion
The course is geared towards teaching: the reality of religious diversity and its challenges in modern world; importance of ecumenical spirit; the virtue of religious tolerance; religious co-operation and unity of humankind. Six Religions, namely: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Baha’i Faith will be discussed under the following aspects: Conceptual dimension of religion; Performative dimension of religion and Social dimension of religion.
T405-3 Demonology
The course is designed to help students grasp Scriptural teaching on angels. Satan and demons are angels whose nature and work impact adversely on the salvific process. The recent resurgence of demon and Satan related phobia is put and studied in its proper perspective. The Church’s ministry of healing and deliverance from evil forces will also be discussed.
T406-3 Community formation
The course focuses on issues such as: the nature of the Church; the Church as community in mission; principles of the New Testament ecclesial edification; leadership and the Church; Church administration; definition and principles of group dynamics.
T408-3 Ecumenical Studies
In the spirit of dialogue and irenism the course looks at the legacy of our religious divisions and their causes. Rebuilding of unity through dialogue, sharing of mutual riches and the necessity and importance of learning to live together are also covered.
T407-3 Economic Empowerment in Civil Society
The content of the course is as follows: Christian evaluation of work; moral duties in work and profession; the right to work and just recompense; the right to organize and to strike; promotion of worker participation; meaning and basis of private property; acquisition of proprietary rights; nature and end of social economy; market economy at the service of human needs; economic role of the state; economic co-operation on the international level.
T413-3 Gender Issues and Morality
This course introduces Students to gender issues in general. It also critically examines some of the main viewpoints on the moral justifiability of different treatments based on gender and a critical look at the Gospels based on gender hermeneutics.
T415-3 Ethical Caring Service Delivery
The focus of the course is on the following issues: Caring service centres; qualities of an effective carer; strategies for helping; client rights and choices; the right to receive anti-discriminatory, anti-oppressive care; the right to have individual rights and personal choices respected; the right to have personal beliefs and identity acknowledged and acted upon and the right to support through effective communication.
T417-3 Pastoral Care and Counselling III
In this course students are exposed to different approaches to counselling: Humanistic approach: person-centred counselling; reality counselling; transactional counselling. Existential approach: existential counselling; logo therapy. Behavioural approach: behavioural counselling theory and practice. Cognitive approach: rational emotive behaviour counselling; cognitive counselling. Eclectic approach: multimodal counselling; Life skills counselling.
T421-3 Professional and Ethical Issues in Pastoral Counselling
This course examines the philosophical foundations and pastoral and practical implications for professional and ethical issues in Pastoral Counselling. It critically looks at the various codes that govern the profession of Pastoral counselling under the following aspect: care of the public; clients’ rights; human rights issues; informed consent; confidentiality; disclosure; care for Pastoral counsellor education and training.
T422-3 Development of a Human Person
The course introduces students to physical and psychosocial development of a human person. Issues to be discussed include: Totality of the human person; dignity of the human being; vocation of the human person; stages of person’s development
T423-3 Childhood and Adolescence Development theories
The course outlines different childhood and adolescence development theories as follows: Life cycle theory; structural-development theory; faith development theory. The course will also draw on the latter two theories on its discussion of the different types of crisis which characterise childhood and adolescence namely: developmental crisis; situational crisis; crisis of social pathology; vocational crisis.
T424-3 Turning Crisis into an Opportunity
This is a critical reading of a publication of the partnership of the Government of Lesotho and the expanded theme group on HIV/AIDS, and its challenges to society and the church viewed from a theological perspective.