Spring Term 2020 - Hybrid Course
Start Date: Monday March 23rd, 2020
End Date: Friday May 29th, 2020
Gathering Days Class Sessions: Tues. April 21st & Wed. April 22nd, 2020.
*** UPDATE on GATHERING DAYS CLASS SESSIONS: Please hold open our two originally scheduled blocks of class-time during Gathering Days Week this Spring Term on Tuesday April 21, 2020 from 1 PM to 5 PM, and on Wednesday April 22, 2020 from 8 AM to Noon. Prof. Hernandez will be scheduling small and large group Zoom meetings at those times, BUT not for the original four-hour block of class-time each day and not for "lecturing" via Zoom. Stay tuned for updates and more information about this thru the Canvas Announcements feature for our class.***
(As stated in the I.S.T. Masters Student Handbook, in order to receive a passing grade and full-credit for this course, attendance and full participation in both of this week's residential class sessions is required) .
Mobile Number: 303-349-4608
Teaching Assistant: Mr. Rudolph Reyes, Doctoral Candidate, I.S.T. and D.U. Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) in the Study of Religion. Email Address: rreyes@iliff.edu
This course introduces students to the broad outlines of the history of Christianity with an emphasis on major historical developments, and on the emergence of both local and trans-local expressions of religious traditions. Students will examine and discuss a series of historical case studies, derived from primary and secondary sources, covering different periods and themes, beliefs and practices, controversies and compromises, and key religious figures. Students will apply their learning from the case studies to a broad understanding of how different social, cross-cultural, institutional and intellectual patterns have shaped the diversity and complexity of the Christian historical and religious tradition.
This course introduces students to the broad outlines of the history of Christianity with an emphasis on major historical developments, and on the emergence of both local and trans-local expressions of religious traditions. Students will examine and discuss a series of historical case studies, derived from primary and secondary sources, covering different periods and themes, beliefs and practices, controversies and compromises, and key religious figures. Students will apply their learning from the case studies to a broad understanding of how different social, cross-cultural, institutional and intellectual patterns have shaped the diversity and complexity of the Christian historical and religious tradition.
(1) Students will demonstrate basic fluency with key vocabulary and theological concepts used by historians to define and organize the different periods, themes, and concepts of the history of Christianity, such as ecclesiology, soteriology, pneumatology, Christology, theological anthropology, orthodoxy and heresy, reformism, and church revitalization.
(2) Students will gain a basic understanding of the major historical periods, the varieties of local/regional expressions of Christian belief and practice, and of the complex, contested nature of forging trans-local definitions of Christian unity and identity out of the diversity of local communities and persons that make up the history of Christianity.
(3) Students will develop critical thinking skills through the assessment and application of historical knowledge from among the case studies, themes and periods, and religious traditions covered in the course.
(4) Students will develop systematic research skills with both primary and secondary sources while studying and discussing the social, institutional, cultural, and intellectual history of the case studies covered in the course.
DEGREE LEARNING GOALS in HISTORY (For all I.S.T. Master’s Degree Programs)
Historical Development and Expressions of Religious Traditions (HI): Demonstrate awareness of religious traditions as historically-situated movements that interacted and changed in relationship to their surrounding cultures and subcultures over time, resulting in various expressions located within and influenced by social structures and institutions, ideologies, historical events, ethnicity and gender, and cultural worldviews.
Required Course Textbooks and Readings:
Justo González, The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Revised and Updated Edition. New York: Harper-One, 2010. [ISBN: 978-0-06-185-588-7]. (Also available from Amazon Kindle, and from Harper-Collins e-books thru Harper Collins Publishers, and available to Rent from select textbook providers, including Amazon.com).
Justo González, Church History: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996. [ISBN: 978-0-687-01611-2]. (This is a concise and very useful 95-page summary of the history of Christianity, which is also available from Amazon Kindle).
Justo González, The Story of Christianity, Volume II: The Reformation to the Present Day. Revised and Updated Edition. New York: Harper-One, 2010. [ISBN: 978-0-06-185-558-94]. (Also available from Amazon Kindle, and available from Harper-Collins e-books thru Harper Collins Publishers, and available to Rent from select textbook providers, including Amazon.com).
Additional Required Readings, ---- from primary and/or from secondary sources, will be made available to students under the "Files" tab of our Canvas course site, and will be listed in the "Course Outline" of the syllabus under the respective week of the course in which the reading is due to be completed with full author, title, and page number information as well as any relevant internal or external links for each source or for each excerpt.
Suggested Additional Reading: (Optional texts; Not required to purchase)
Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Third Edition. William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003.
Kevin Madigan, Medieval Christianity: A New History . Yale University Press, 2015.
Brian Catlos, Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain. Basic Books/Hachette Book Group, 2018.
Glen S. Sunshine, A Brief Introduction to the Reformation. Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.
George E. Tinker, Missionary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Cultural Genocide. Fortress Press, 1993.
GROUP DISCUSSIONS/OPEN FORUMS ON CANVAS: 40% Students will participate in each of the separate on-line class discussions/open forums on different topics/themes selected by the instructor. In order to earn full-credit on each of the Group Discussion Assignments, each student must log-on and post responses two separate times to each group discussion topic/theme by the respective deadlines. Posting a late initial response to the week's discussion topic will result in a point deduction for that week's Group Discussion Forum. Be sure that your first posting arrives in a timely manner so as not to hold-up or delay the discussion forum for the rest of the class. Please remember to log back in to the Group Discussion/Open Forum to post your second required response to the respective week's theme or topic, and to extend the conversation by engaging your classmates before moving on to next week's course topics and reading materials. Students will be expected to have read the assigned textbook sections, and the assigned primary or secondary source readings for each respective discussion topic/theme, and to have viewed the week’s recorded lecture(s) before participating in the respective class discussion assignment posted on Canvas. For further details see the Guidelines for Class/Group Discussion under the "Course Procedures & Expectations" section of the syllabus. ATTENDANCE & CLASS PARTICIPATION DURING ON-CAMPUS SESSIONS: 10% In addition to the mandatory attendance requirement at the on-campus/residential portions of the course on Tuesday April 21st, 2020 from 1 PM to 5 PM, and on Wednesday April 22nd, 2020 from 8 AM to Noon, students will receive 10 percent of their final grade for Class Participation during the class lectures, discussions, and activities held on-campus. Effective Class Participation during these two on-campus/residential class sessions means that each student will come to class prepared for reflective, positive discussion with peers and with the instructors by having read all of the assigned materials, and by being fully engaged in the classroom setting of the class. MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT: 15% Each student will write a two to four page essay (approx 500 words) on a theme/topic about women's roles in the history of Christianity selected by the instructor. Details about this Mid-Term Assignment will be forthcoming via Canvas by the Fourth Week of class, and the submission guidelines and deadline will be announced as well on Canvas. FINAL ASSIGNMENT OPTIONS - (Choose ONLY one): Option 1 - Final Exam 35%: Each student who chooses this option will complete and submit a take-home final exam by the due date comprised of comprehensive essay questions on the material covered in the course. Students will be allowed to choose several questions from a list of essay topics and then develop and discuss each answer separately. Students will be expected to write a total of about 9 to 12 pages for this final assignment option. The final exam will be distributed to students on Canvas by the instructor, and is to be uploaded/posted to Canvas as a document submission by the announced deadline. Please, NO PDF files/docs because we do not have the software to add comments and feedback on PDF files/docs. The due date for submitting/posting the final exam essays on Canvas will be announced in class and posted on Canvas. Option 2 – Final Research Paper or Final Reflection Paper 35%: If you have already taken an advanced, or survey, or breadth history course at I.S.T., then this final assignment option may be the best choice for you this term. Each student who chooses this option will write a final Research Paper or a final Reflection Paper/Essay based upon her/his proposed topic. Papers should not exceed a total of 9 to 12 pages in length. All final Research Papers or Reflection Papers will be uploaded/posted to Canvas as a document submission by the announced deadline. Please, NO PDF files/docs because we do not have the software to add comments and feedback on PDF files/docs. The due date for submitting/posting the final paper on Canvas will be announced in class and posted on Canvas. NOTE-WELL: If you are graduating this June 2020 your final assignment for this course will be due one to two weeks before the rest of the class. The due date for graduating students will be announced in class and posted on Canvas. GROUP DISCUSSIONS/OPEN FORUMS ON CANVAS: 40% Students will participate in each of the separate on-line class discussions/open forums on different topics/themes selected by the instructor. In order to earn full-credit on each of the Group Discussion Assignments, each student must log-on and post responses two separate times to each group discussion topic/theme by the respective deadlines. Posting a late initial response to the week's discussion topic will result in a point deduction for that week's Group Discussion Forum. Be sure that your first posting arrives in a timely manner so as not to hold-up or delay the discussion forum for the rest of the class. Please remember to log back in to the Group Discussion/Open Forum to post your second required response to the respective week's theme or topic, and to extend the conversation by engaging your classmates before moving on to next week's course topics and reading materials. Students will be expected to have read the assigned textbook sections, and the assigned primary or secondary source readings for each respective discussion topic/theme, and to have viewed the week’s recorded lecture(s) before participating in the respective class discussion assignment posted on Canvas. For further details see the Guidelines for Class/Group Discussion under the "Course Procedures & Expectations" section of the syllabus. ATTENDANCE & CLASS PARTICIPATION DURING ON-CAMPUS SESSIONS: 10% In addition to the mandatory attendance requirement at the on-campus/residential portions of the course on Tuesday April 21st, 2020 from 1 PM to 5 PM, and on Wednesday April 22nd, 2020 from 8 AM to Noon, students will receive 10 percent of their final grade for Class Participation during the class lectures, discussions, and activities held on-campus. Effective Class Participation during these two on-campus/residential class sessions means that each student will come to class prepared for reflective, positive discussion with peers and with the instructors by having read all of the assigned materials, and by being fully engaged in the classroom setting of the class. MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT: 15% Each student will write a two to four page essay (approx 500 words) on a theme/topic about women's roles in the history of Christianity selected by the instructor. Details about this Mid-Term Assignment will be forthcoming via Canvas by the Fourth Week of class, and the submission guidelines and deadline will be announced as well on Canvas. FINAL ASSIGNMENT OPTIONS - (Choose ONLY one): Option 1 - Final Exam 35%: Each student who chooses this option will complete and submit a take-home final exam by the due date comprised of comprehensive essay questions on the material covered in the course. Students will be allowed to choose several questions from a list of essay topics and then develop and discuss each answer separately. Students will be expected to write a total of about 9 to 12 pages for this final assignment option. The final exam will be distributed to students on Canvas by the instructor, and is to be uploaded/posted to Canvas as a document submission by the announced deadline. Please, NO PDF files/docs because we do not have the software to add comments and feedback on PDF files/docs. The due date for submitting/posting the final exam essays on Canvas will be announced in class and posted on Canvas. Option 2 – Final Research Paper or Final Reflection Paper 35%: If you have already taken an advanced, or survey, or breadth history course at I.S.T., then this final assignment option may be the best choice for you this term. Each student who chooses this option will write a final Research Paper or a final Reflection Paper/Essay based upon her/his proposed topic. Papers should not exceed a total of 9 to 12 pages in length. All final Research Papers or Reflection Papers will be uploaded/posted to Canvas as a document submission by the announced deadline. Please, NO PDF files/docs because we do not have the software to add comments and feedback on PDF files/docs. The due date for submitting/posting the final paper on Canvas will be announced in class and posted on Canvas. NOTE-WELL: If you are graduating this June 2020 your final assignment for this course will be due one to two weeks before the rest of the class. The due date for graduating students will be announced in class and posted on Canvas.
EVALUATION & REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS:
EVALUATION & REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS:
Course Procedures and Expectations:
Accessing and Regularly Checking the Canvas Course Site:
Guidelines for Online Group Discussions/Open Forums:
Mandatory Attendance:
Writing Lab:
Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments. Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab (Links to an external site.) , which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft.
Academic Integrity and Core Values:
All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity (Links to an external site. ) , or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook (Links to an external site.) , as appropriate. All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Core Values (Links to an external site.) . , as published in the Masters Student Handbook
Incomplete Grades:
Additional Policies & Services:
For information about A.D.A. Accommodations , or for information about additional Iliff School of Theology "Policies & Services" go to this tab/section of our Canvas course page or go there by clicking on this Link.
Date | Day | Details | |
Mar 25, 2020 | Wed | Introductory Message and Course Overview Videos: Introducing the Course and Lecture on Historiography & the Study of the History of Christianity | due by 05:59AM |
Mar 27, 2020 | Fri | WEEK ONE: Introduction to the History of Christianity and Its Major Historical Periods | due by 05:59AM |
Mar 29, 2020 | Sun | WEEK ONE: Group Discussion/Open Forum #1 - Due this Saturday March 28th, 2020 | due by 05:59AM |
Mar 30, 2020 | Mon | WEEK ONE: Online Group Discussion/Open Forum #1: Continued. . . . | due by 05:59AM |
Apr 02, 2020 | Thu | WEEK TWO: Christianities in the Fourth Century C.E. (CASE STUDY #1, PART 1) | due by 05:59AM |
Apr 04, 2020 | Sat | WEEK TWO: Zoom Meetings for General Discussion and Q & A Sessions....... | due by 05:59AM |
Apr 09, 2020 | Thu | WEEK THREE: Christianities in the Fourth Century C.E. (CASE STUDY #-1, PART 2) | due by 05:59AM |
Apr 13, 2020 | Mon | WEEK THREE: Group Discussion/Open Forum #2 - Reading & Responding to Ancient Primary Source Documents from Fourth Century C.E. (Due: Monday April 13th, 2020 by Noon CMT ) | due by 06:01PM |
Apr 14, 2020 | Tue | WEEK THREE: Online Group Discussion/Open Forum #2: Continued. . . . . . . | due by 05:59AM |
Apr 18, 2020 | Sat | WEEK FOUR: Introducing Christianities of the Medieval Mediterranean Period and Region (ca. 600 –1500 CE) | due by 05:59AM |
Apr 21, 2020 | Tue | WEEK FIVE: Gathering Days - Outline of Class Session #1 on Tuesday April 21st, 2020 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM (CMT) | due by 10:00PM |
Apr 22, 2020 | Wed | WEEK FIVE: Gathering Days - Outline of Class Session #2 on Wednesday April 22nd, 2020 from 8:30 to 10:30 AM (CMT) | due by 05:00PM |
May 04, 2020 | Mon | WEEK SIX - MID-TERM ESSAY ASSIGNMENT: Due Sunday May 3rd, 2020 by 11:59 PM (CMT). Value: 15% of Final Grade. | due by 05:59AM |
May 14, 2020 | Thu | WEEK SEVEN: Introducing Christianities of Italian Humanism & the Florentine Renaissance Periods (ca. 1401-ca. 1564). | due by 05:59AM |
May 15, 2020 | Fri | WEEK EIGHT: Introducing Christianities of the Reformation & the Early-Modern Period (ca. 1500 to ca. 1650) | due by 05:59AM |
May 17, 2020 | Sun | WEEK EIGHT: Online Group Discussion/Open Forum #3: Renaissance & Reformation Views of Human Potential and Theological Reconstruction | due by 05:59AM |
May 18, 2020 | Mon | WEEK EIGHT: Online Group Discussion/Open Forum #3: Continued. . . . . | due by 05:59AM |
May 22, 2020 | Fri | WEEK NINE: Case Study #3 on "The Lutheran Reformation" & Your Participation in Group-Discussion/Open-Forum #4 is Also Due this Week. | due by 05:59AM |
May 23, 2020 | Sat | WEEK NINE: Group Discussion/Open Forum #4 - Due this Friday May 22nd, 2020 | due by 05:59AM |
May 26, 2020 | Tue | WEEK NINE: Online Group Discussion/Open Forum #4: Continued. . . . . . | due by 05:59AM |
May 30, 2020 | Sat | WEEK TEN - OPTIONAL LESSON & CONTENT: Christianities in the Modern World: Late-1600's to the Early-21st Century | due by 05:59AM |
Jun 03, 2020 | Wed | FINAL EXAM ESSAYS: Instructions and List of Essay Questions. DUE:---Tuesday June 2nd, 2020 by 11:59 PM (MT/Denver) | due by 05:59AM |
Jun 03, 2020 | Wed | FINAL RESEARCH PAPER OPTION: Not Recommended for First-Year Students. DUE: Tuesday June 2nd, 2020 by 11:59 PM (MT/Denver) | due by 05:59AM |