The Meaning of Syllabi

By Dr. Douglas Groothuis

I wrote my first syllabus in 1980 for a class I taught the University of Oregon (Eugene) called, The Twilight of Western Thought: A Christian Response. I probably have it in a file somewhere. Although I was only twenty-three-years-old with but a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, I was allowed to teach a three credit, upper division sociology course through a special program called SEARCH. No one could remember what the acronym stood for. This allowed community people to teach classes at the university if they were approved by an academic department. We had a connection with the head of the Sociology Department, Professor Benton Johnson, a kind man, who specialized in the sociology of religion, and who was a liberal in the classical sense. He wanted a diversity of views to be taught on campus and thought I was qualified to teach this course. I co-taught this class with a mentor for one year, then taught it for most of the next four years. It was taught each quarter throughout the year. Our main text for the first two quarters was by James Sire, The Universe Next Door. The third quarter dug into Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace.

Since then, I have designed many syllabi, most of which were during my years as a Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary (1993-2024). However, I also taught at several secular schools and a few other schools during this time. During my tenure at Denver Seminary, I designed three academic programs and taught many different courses. Every course has a syllabus which is both the constitution of the class and schedule of reading and assignments. Syllabi vary, but they all state the purpose of the course, stipulate class conduct, list the required reading, give a class schedule, and list assignments. My syllabi also offer recommended readings. Syllabi can be quite long—as most of mine have been—or can be cut to the bone. They should be a window into the knowledge of a topic that matters. They articulate values and set an agenda for achieving them. (In recent years, my syllabi were weighed down with official statements about policies…)

Now that I have left Denver Seminary for a new position, I realized that I will not be teaching some of these classes ever again. Mind you, I have not retired, and I am teaching at least two classes per semester at Cornerstone University and Seminary. However, they will not typically be the same courses. Thus, it occurred to me that people might benefit from my many years of syllabi, given the wealth of information offered about the topics addressed. Most of the syllabi offered here are from Denver Seminary, but a few are from other schools. My hope it that these syllabi will help you to come to a deeper knowledge of God and how Christianity relates to the intellectual life.

You can find downloadable copies of the syllabi on the home page.