Holy Spirit:History & Traditions

The Holy Spirit: History & Traditions (IST 3101)

Summer Term 2019 - 4 Credits; History-Depth Course (HI-D)

Instructor: Albert Hernández , Ph.D.

Course Overview:

This course focuses on the history of pneumatology and traditions of Pentecost from the early middle ages to the 1700's. What have Christians believed and written about the Holy Spirit through the centuries? Why does Pentecost show up in such different ways across the pages of Christian theology and literature? In the midst of the European Enlightenment, why did John Wesley hold such special reverence for the role of experience in Christian thought and education? Why has the Pentecostal legacy functioned simultaneously as a subversive trope for critiquing dominant church paradigms while also sparking creative, re-interpretations of Christian tradition among so many reformers and visionaries? These are just a few of the questions explored in this course as we discuss historical and theological works by contemporary scholars in pneumatology and the history of Christianity.

(1) Students will acquire a basic understanding of major themes and trajectories in the study of pneumatology from antiquity to the contemporary period.

(2) Students will examine and discuss the changing relationships between ecclesiology and pneumatology in different periods of the history of Christianity.

(3) Students will develop an understanding of the creative and liberating role played by the Holy Spirit in the imagination of Christian visionaries and reformers through the ages.

(4) Students will cultivate a critical appreciation for the “different ways of knowing” advocated by Christian pneumatological movements and writers over the centuries.

(5) Students will acquire basic familiarity with the academic study of spirituality and scholarly reputable approaches to the study of interiority and pneumatology.

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.

EVALUATION & REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS:

GROUP DISCUSSIONS/OPEN FORUMS ON CANVAS: 40%

Students will participate in and complete FOUR separate on-line class discussions/open forums on different topics/themes selected by the instructor during the course.

Each one of the four class discussions/open forums will be worth 10 points for a total of 40% of the Final Grade in this course.

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.

MID-TERM ASSIGNMENT: 25%

Each student will write a three to four page essay (approx 500 words) on a theme/topic related to the course as 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. The due date for submitting the final exam by email to the instructor will be announced in class and posted to Canvas.

Option 2 – Final Research or Reflection Paper 35%: If you have already taken an advanced or survey/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 or Reflection Papers will be submitted by email to the instructor by the assigned deadline. The due date will be announced in class and posted on Canvas.

Required Course Textbooks and Readings:

Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis. Scotts Valley, CA: I.A.P., 2009 (Any edition or format is OK)

Albert Hernández, Subversive Fire: The Untold Story of Pentecost. Emeth Press, 2010.

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, International, and Contextual Perspective. Second Edition. Baker Academic, 2018.

The remainder of the required course readings will be provided for you as PDFs or as web links on the Canvas site for each week of our course.

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING : (Optional Texts; Not Required to Purchase)

Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Spirit and Salvation. A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Vol. 4. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2016.

Arthur Holder, ed. The Blackwell Companion to Christian Spirituality. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Kevin Madigan, Medieval Christianity: A New History . Yale University Press, 2015. (Since most of this course focuses on content about the Holy Spirit, pneumatology, and religious movements during the Middle Ages, --I recommend this book for any student who wants a background/survey resource covering Christianity in the period of the Middle Ages).

COURSE PROCEDURES & EXPECTATIONS :

Accessing and Regularly Checking the Canvas Course Site:

Students are expected to use the Canvas course site/page to familiarize themselves with the entire course syllabus, the required weekly reading assignments from the different primary and secondary sources, and with all required and graded assignments throughout the duration of the course.
Students are expected to check the Canvas course site/page regularly for important announcements or updates from the instructor.
Historical timelines, relevant images from the historical periods covered in the course, and links to additional web-based resources are also available on the Canvas course site/page and on the files tab for the course.
Inclusive Language: It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.
Pass/Fail: Masters students wishing to take the class on the Pass/Fail grading option should discuss this with the instructor ASAP, but no later than the second week of the course.

Guidelines for Online Group Discussions/Open Forums:

Students will participate in and complete FOUR separate on-line class discussions/open forums on different topics/themes selected by the instructor during the course.
Each one of the four class discussions/open forums will be worth 10 points for a total of 40% of the Final Grade in this course.
In order to participate effectively with their peers in each required/graded Group Discussion, students will be expected to have read the assignments for each week of the course, and to have viewed the respective video lecture(s) for the week of the class discussion.
A paragraph or so, or four to six complete sentences, is sufficient to receive credit. You can always do more if you like, but the idea is to generate conversation with each other while reflecting on the discussion topic.
Each required/graded Group Discussion/Open Forum is structured on Canvas so that you must first post your reply to the actual discussion topic, and then the next time you log-in to post you will be permitted to see others’ replies to the topic.

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.
You will get credit for doing the discussion assignment, and you will receive no credit if you don't do it --simple as that.
Late postings or incomplete participation in the online Group Discussions will result in a point deduction.
Students are expected to participate respectfully in the online Discussions by interacting in both positive and critically thoughtful ways with their peers and with the instructor.

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.) 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. , as published in the Masters Student Handbook (Links to an external site. ) 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.) 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.) Links to an external site. .

Incomplete Grades:

Incomplete Grade petitions will be granted only in the case of documented and verifiable medical circumstances or other personal or family related emergencies. In the event a student requires this option, the final grade for the course will be assigned as a "Pass" (P) or "Fail" (F) grade.

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.