Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies

Missiology
This synthesis of biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic studies acquaints students with the multidisciplinary demands of mission work. A collection of influential journal essays, research articles, book excerpts, and case studies shows how the simple methods of God, his direct approach to reaching people, his use of individuals in the process, and his use of groups comprise the bulk of successful mission outreach.

Second Language & Culture Acquisition
This course prepares students for the process of language and cultural acquisition while acquainting them with tools for developing insight into the worldviews of people groups. Students learn to identify and apply their own language and culture learning styles, manage language data, and use appropriate learning techniques while working with a native language speaker.

Advanced Cross-Cultural Leadership
This course provides a biblical overview of leadership models illustrated in Scripture with the focus on demonstrating how servant leadership is the preferred model. The course also establishes the basis for participants to begin building their own theological rationale for how they view and practice leadership, including an understanding of leadership emergence, leader empowerment, and team dynamics. The course also explores the dynamics of servant leadership and these same issues in cross-cultural settings and with multiple cultural representatives in team effort.

Cross-Cultural Church Planting & Growth
This course presents students with approaches for planting and growing missionally and culturally relevant churches in context. It establishes fundamental theory for planting faith communities across cultural boundaries as developed by experienced church planters. Actual case studies demonstrate approaches to various culture types and major world religions.

Critical Introduction to the Old Testament Translation
This course offers a study of the authorship, date, provenance, audience, occasion, purpose, and major themes of each of the Old Testament writings. Attention is given to the ways in which different schools of biblical interpretation attempt to answer these introductory questions. Students consider Jewish chronology, theories regarding the formation of the Pentateuch and the Deuteronomistic History, Second Temple Judaism, the Wisdom Tradition, Apocalypticism, the Old Testament canon, and other issues important for translators.

Critical Introduction to the New Testament Translation
This course offers a study of the authorship, date, provenance, audience, occasion, purpose, and major themes of each of the New Testament writings. Attention is given to the ways in which different schools of biblical interpretation attempt to answer these introductory questions. Students consider the Synoptic Problem, Pauline chronology, the Johannine community, the New Testament canon, and other issues important for translators.

The Gospel & Change Theory
This course uses cultural change theory in support of church planting for the sake of communities in their context. Students explore strategies of dynamic change using significant cultural change agents, including wisdom leaders. They examine opposition and opportunities for presenting the gospel toward the goal of transformed individuals and communities.

Intercultural Studies Integrative Project
Working in close conjunction with faculty, students engage in a self-designed project on a given field. Faculty interact with students to facilitate project planning, engagement, and management. This serves as a concrete assessment of the student’s ability to function in the field.

Foundations of Intercultural Studies
This course is a synthesis of the foundational areas of intercultural studies, including historical, cultural, and practical analyses. The student is acquainted with the multidisciplinary demands of intercultural studies.

Second Language & Culture Acquisition
This course prepares students for the process of language and cultural acquisition while acquainting them with tools for developing insight into the worldviews of people groups. Students learn to identify and apply their own language and culture learning styles, manage language data, and use appropriate learning techniques while working with a native language speaker.

Advanced Cross-Cultural Leadership
This course provides a biblical overview of leadership models illustrated in Scripture with the focus on demonstrating how servant leadership is the preferred model. The course also establishes the basis for participants to begin building their own theological rationale for how they view and practice leadership, including an understanding of leadership emergence, leader empowerment, and team dynamics. The course also explores the dynamics of servant leadership and these same issues in cross-cultural settings and with multiple cultural representatives in team effort.

Initiating Transformational Communities
This course presents students with approaches for initiating and growing culturally relevant transformational communities of people in their context. It establishes fundamental theory for planting common-valued communities across cultural boundaries as developed by experienced initiators. Actual case studies demonstrate approaches to various culture types and initiating among major world religious groups.

Critical Introduction to the Old Testament Translation
This course offers a study of the authorship, date, provenance, audience, occasion, purpose, and major themes of each of the Old Testament writings. Attention is given to the ways in which different schools of biblical interpretation attempt to answer these introductory questions. Students consider Jewish chronology, theories regarding the formation of the Pentateuch and the Deuteronomistic History, Second Temple Judaism, the Wisdom Tradition, Apocalypticism, the Old Testament canon, and other issues important for translators.

Critical Introduction to the New Testament Translation
This course offers a study of the authorship, date, provenance, audience, occasion, purpose, and major themes of each of the New Testament writings. Attention is given to the ways in which different schools of biblical interpretation attempt to answer these introductory questions. Students consider the Synoptic Problem, Pauline chronology, the Johannine community, the New Testament canon, and other issues important for translators.

Innovation of Transformation
This course uses cultural change theory in support of initiating transformed communities for the sake of uplifting and improvement of local contexts. Students explore strategies of dynamic change using significant cultural change agents, including wisdom and resource leaders. They examine opposition and opportunities for presenting the gospel toward the goal of transformed individuals and communities.

Intercultural Studies Integrative Project
Working in close conjunction with faculty, students engage in a self-designed project on a given field. Faculty interact with students to facilitate project planning, engagement, and management. This serves as a concrete assessment of the student’s ability to function in the field.

This concentration includes a core of classes and a specialty in either Old Testament Translation or New Testament Translation.

Of the following courses listed, the first five core classes listed below must be taken in consecutive order beginning with Language Analysis.

Language Analysis
This course addresses the process of language analysis with a view to enhancing the student’s ability to learn field languages. Students will learn a framework for understanding and identifying the sound systems and grammatical structures of different languages, recognizing language as a context-dependent social phenomenon driven by cultural attitudes, expectations, behaviors, and contexts which affect the use of language. Emphasizing multilingual communities, this course includes principles for socio-linguistic survey.

Translation Linguistics
This course is a study of phonetics, phonology, and grammar necessary to implement a Bible translation project. It includes the study of phonetics and phonology needed to develop a writing system. The course also includes the study of morphology and syntax for understanding how the language communicates meaning through grammatical structures.

Semantics, Pragmatics, & Discourse
This course is designed to equip the student to identify key terms and to analyze and translate the meaning of words, phrases, sentences, and discourses from one language to another.

Translation Models & Methods
This course covers models and methods applicable to meaning-based translation and issues commonly arising in translating the biblical text. Topics include accuracy, clarity, naturalness, the source—meaning—receptor translation model, cultural factors in translation model, cultural factors in translation, and the relevance theory of communication.

Translation Process
In this course, students examine the process of translating the Bible, including considerations of acceptability and style. This includes collaboration and partnerships, sociolinguistics surveying, orthography development, drafting, exegetical check, comprehension testing, consultant checking, publication, and distribution concerns. It also includes translation approaches such as oral drafting, cluster projects, and adaptations. The course introduces software commonly used by translators for language data collection, management, and analysis, as well as written translation, oral drafting, and adaptation.

Use & Distribution of Cross-Cultural Literature
This course equips the student to maximize cross-cultural literature engagement by examining factors influencing them and highlighting the significance of community involvement. Topics include the appropriateness of publication and distribution, transformational community and people context involvement, digital distribution, modeling the literature use, oral storying, and audio recording.

Second Language & Culture Acquisition
This course prepares students for the process of language and cultural acquisition while acquainting them with tools for developing insight into the worldviews of people groups. Students learn to identify and apply their own language and culture learning styles, manage language data, and use appropriate learning techniques while working with a native language speaker.

Old Testament Translation Specialty:
Critical Introduction to the Old Testament Translation
Translation & Exegesis of Old Testament Texts
Hebrew A
Hebrew B

New Testament Translation Specialty:
Critical Introduction to the New Testament Translation
Translation & Exegesis of New Testament Texts
Greek A
Greek B

This concentration requires the following three courses. In addition, in consultation with the dean of the School of Intercultural Studies and relevant missions agencies (e.g. Pioneer Bible Translators, Team Expansion), students develop a learning contract under which they choose 18+ credits of elective coursework that meet their ministry preparation needs.

Missiology OR Foundations of Intercultural Studies

Missiology
This synthesis of biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic studies acquaints students with the multidisciplinary demands of mission work. A collection of influential journal essays, research articles, book excerpts, and case studies shows how the simple methods of God, his direct approach to reaching people, his use of individuals in the process, and his use of groups comprise the bulk of successful mission outreach.

Foundations of Intercultural Studies
This course is a synthesis of the foundational areas of intercultural studies, including historical, cultural, and practical analyses. The student is acquainted with the multidisciplinary demands of intercultural studies.

Intercultural Studies Integrative Project
Working in close conjunction with faculty, students engage in a self-designed project on a given field. Faculty interact with students to facilitate project planning, engagement, and management. This serves as a concrete assessment of the student’s ability to function in the field.