Method, Models, and Scholarly Types: Reflections on Thesis and Dissertation Writing in Pastoral Theology

Abstract

This article concerns the methodological issues confronted by pastoral theology students in their writing of a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. I introduce H. Richard Niebuhr’s (1951) identification of five models (rejection, accommodation, synthesis, dualism, and conversionist) for relating the theological and psychological resources used in their writing. Then, by means of Rudolf Arnheim’s art theory (1986, 1988, 1996), I identify three additional models (convergence, juxtaposition, and structural uniformity) and note their affinities with and complications of three of Niebuhr’s models (synthesis, dualism, and accommodation). I argue that these complications can play a positive role in the writing of a thesis or dissertation as they promote a fuller engagement with the empirical reality that is the focus of study. I also note David W. Galenson’s (2006) view that his typology of artists as conceptualists and experimentalists is applicable to scholars and suggest that awareness of which type is most characteristic of oneself may enable one to minimize the frustrations that one is likely to experience in writing a thesis or dissertation. I conclude with a brief discussion of Erik H. Erikson’s consideration of Martin Luther’s redefinition of work in Young Man Luther (chapter 5) and suggest that it makes the case for understanding thesis and dissertation writing as an exercise in liberated craftsmanship.