Eastern Kentucky University Department of History HIS 864 History of Christianity CRN XXXX 3 credit hours Fall XXXX

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1 Eastern Kentucky University Department of History HIS 864 History of Christianity CRN XXXX 3 credit hours Fall XXXX Professor s Name: Office: Phone: Catalog Description: A seminar on issues in comparative history. May be retaken, providing the subject matter differs each time. Course Description: the comparative history of Christianity from 1800 to 2016 in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, with special attention to missions, theology, and politics. The focus will be Western Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism, African Independents, Pentecostalism). Required Books: John Comaroff and Jean Comaroff, Of Revelation and Revolution, Volume 1: Christianity, Colonialism, and Consciousness in South Africa; Harvey Cox, Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the 21st Century; Adrian Hastings, A World History of Christianity; Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity; Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture. Articles (Number indicates class when due.) 1. (Optional: read any issue of International Bulletin of Missionary Research or CHURCH HISTORY Studies in Christianity and Culture, available in JSTOR) 6. Fosdick, Harry Emerson. Selections, available on Blackboard in Course Documents. 7. Halperin, S. William, Italian Anticlericalism, , The Journal of Modern History 19, no. 1, (Mar., 1947), JSTOR. 10. Metz, Allan, Protestantism in Mexico: Contemporary contextual developments. Journal of Church & State 36, Issue 1. Winter94. Academic Search Premier. 11. Gross, Toomas. Protestantism and Modernity: The Implications of Religious Change in Contemporary Rural Oaxaca, Sociology of Religion, 64 Issue 4, Winter 2003, Academic Search Premier. 12. Second Vatican Council. Lumen Gentium, ii_const_ _lumengentium_en.html.

2 12. Gill, Anthony. Rendering unto Caesar? Religious Competition and Catholic Political Strategy in Latin America, , American Journal of Pol Science 38, no. 2 (May 1994), JSTOR. 13. Illich, Ivan, The Seamy Side of Charity, Hehir, J.B. Papal foreign policy, Foreign Policy 78, Spring Academic Search Premier. 14. Bonk, Jonathan J. Africa Unbound, Christianity Today, Nov 2007, Vol. 51 Issue 11, p Academic Search Premier. 14. Weigel, George, The Cathedral and the Cube: Reflections on European Morale, Commentary 117, Issue 6 (June 2004), Academic Search Premier. 14. Benedict XVI, Regensburg Address, regensburg_en.html. 16. Shaw, Mark. Robert Wuthnow and World Christianity: A Response to Boundless Faith, International Bulletin of Missionary Research 36, no. 4 (October 2012): Options for Primary Sources Presentation (Each student chooses two items from below and one African country from the Dictionary of African Christian Biography.) Number at beginning of entry indicates class: 3. William Wilberforce Real Christianity: Discerning True Faith from False Beliefs (England) and/or John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua (England) 4. Bernadette, A holy life: the writings of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes (France) or Thérèse of Lisieux, Story of a Soul (France) 5. The Autobiography of Hudson Taylor (China) and/or Amy Carmichael, Things as They Are: Mission Work in Southern India; 6. Harry Emerson Fosdick The Living of These Days: An Autobiography (USA) and/or H. Gretcham Machen Christianity and Liberalism (USA); 7. Leo XIII Rerum Novarum and/or Antonio Maria Martins, ed., Documents on Fatima & the Memoirs of Sister Lucia (Portugal) 8. Pandita Ramabai, A Testimony or Pandita Ramabai's American Encounter: The Peoples of the United States (India) and/or Mother Teresa, A Simple Path or No Greater Love or In the Heart of the World (India) 9. David Wilkerson, The Cross and the Switchblade (USA) and/or Nicki Cruz, Run Baby, Run (USA) 10. Elisabeth Elliot The Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testimony of Jim Elliot (Ecuador) or Hugh Steven, ed., Doorway to the World: The Mexico Years (Memoirs of W. Cameron Townsend) 11. Gladys Aylword Little Woman (China) and/or Brother Yun, The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun (China) 12. Gustavo Gutiérrez A Theology of Liberation (Latin America) and/or Rosemary Reuther Sexism and God talk: Toward a Feminist Theology (USA); 13. Vincent Donovan Christianity Rediscovered (Africa) and/or Leo Mahon Fire Under My Feet: A Memoir of God s Power in Panama; 14. John Paul II Veritatis Splendor or Fides et Ratio Student Learning Outcomes: 1. History is the study of change over time. At the most basic level, you will learn to identify some of the major changes in Christianity in the last 200 years. 2. You will gain a historical perspective on matters that continue to have great importance in Christianity today: missions, theology, political roles of churches.

3 3. You will learn to think critically about the relationship between the past and the present through the analysis of primary sources, the plotting of historical trends, and the comparison of Christianity in different societies and cultures. 4. You will improve your reading, writing, and speaking skills. Evaluation Methods: based on 1000 total points: A=900s B=800s C=700s D=600s F=500s and below. Participation: 100 pts. Primary Source Presentations: 100 pts. Research Paper: 500 pts. In class Essay: 100 pts. Research Colloquium: 100 pts. Preliminary Paper Stages: 100 pts. Attendance Policy: Students class participation grade will suffer from unexcused absences. Students are responsible for material missed even if the absence is excused. Students who miss more than two classes, including excused absences, may automatically fail. Eastern Kentucky University will honor the University s Academic Integrity policy. By honoring and enforcing this policy, the University affirms that it will not tolerate academic dishonesty. The professor reserves the right to modify this syllabus. Last Date to Drop the Course: See Colonel s compass Disability Accommodation Statement: The University strives to make all learning experiences as accessible as possible. If you are registered with the EKU Center for Student Accessibility (CSA), please obtain your accommodation letters from the CSA, present them to the course instructor, and discuss the accommodations needed. If you believe you need an accommodation and are not registered with the CSA, please contact the office in 361 Whitlock Building by at disserv@eku.edu or by telephone at (859) Upon individual request, this syllabus can be made available in an alternative format. A student with a disability may be an individual with a physical or psychological impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, to include, but not limited to: seeing, hearing, communicating, interacting with others, learning, thinking, concentrating, sitting, standing, lifting, performing manual tasks, working. Additionally, pregnancy accompanied by a medical condition(s), which causes a similar substantial limitation, may also be considered under the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA). Academic Integrity Statement: Students are advised that EKU s Academic Integrity policy will strictly be enforced in this course. The Academic Integrity policy is available at Questions regarding the policy may be directed to the Office of Academic Integrity. Official E mail:

4 EKU is considered the official communication between EKU Faculty and EKU students. In this course, only official EKU student accounts should be used for communication purposes. Students are expected to read their s in a timely manner so new will be properly read and received. A student's failure to receive and read University communications delivered to his/her official address in a timely manner does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the content of such communications. Students have the responsibility to recognize that certain communications may be timecritical. Students are always encouraged to contact instructor especially when in doubt in content, assignment, discussion items, schedules, etc. I ll normally reply back to you within 1 or 2 working days (normally, do not expect to get response during holidays and weekends), but I often get back to you even much faster! However, if there is no response within 2 days, it would be wiser for you to contact instructor again. Course Requirements: Classes will combine lectures and discussion. In general, half of each class will be devoted to activities such as discussion of reading and writing assignments, debates, and analysis of documents. Participation (not the same as attendance). Ask questions. Answer questions. Express your opinion. Participation will make a significant difference in how much you enjoy the course. If you are questioning, responding, arguing and commenting on a regular basis you will learn more, enjoy yourself more, and help other students. If you just sit there, you will be bored and will learn much less. Participation includes your responses to your team and to other students. If you are an extremely quiet person who cannot bear to speak in class, you may submit a well written summary of each reading assignment as an aid to your participation grade. Research Paper. Using primary sources available at the missiology database at Boston University, the Missionary E text Archive the Canterbury Project the Yale Divinity School Library resources, the Vatican the Internet Archive William Carey University or other primary sources (visiting a physical archive during spring break would be a great way to go), write a 20 page research paper that examines an aspect of the history of Christianity, Yale s guide to online resources is available at The region you choose to study will determine how this class will be counted toward your degree. For instance, if you write a paper on Kentucky Baptists, this will count as a US class, but if you write on Chinese Anglicans, it will count as non Western. See attached sheet for more detail. Primary Source Presentations. Once you will give a short (5 min.) comparison of African Christian biographies from the Dictionary of African Christian Biography ( Twice during the course you will give a (c. 20 min.) presentation on one the primary sources listed above. You should summarize the reading(s) in no more than four minutes (thesis or main point, context, style, main proofs or examples) but you must do more than summarize. You may discuss the implications of the reading, the significance of the reading, how it fits with what we have studied previously and with the historiography of Christianity, the approach taken by the author, the issues raised by the document, etc. You should copy or type out paper copies (one for each person in class) of a specific passage in your document that will help the class see first hand the important issues that you have raised. Since your classmates probably will not have read your source, it is your

5 responsibility to familiarize them with its meaning and significance: please take this responsibility seriously. Questions that you may want to answer: What does the source show about the nature of Christianity in its region and era? What is exceptional or uncharacteristic? What obstacles did Christianity encounter in this region? What does the source show about the mindset/worldview/biases of the writer? How does this picture of Christianity compare and contrast with Christianity in other regions? Research Colloquium. Report on your research. See Research Project Guidelines for details. Automatic Extensions: You have a combined total of 72 hours of automatic extensions on your written assignments, which you can use all at once or in any combination that you see fit. For example, you could hand the first assignment in 12 hours late, the next one two days late, and still have 12 hours to spare. No other extensions will be given for any reason. Although they will not be marked down, papers that use the automatic extension (and all other late papers) will go to the bottom of the pile and may not be returned at the same time as the rest of the papers. No paper, regardless of unused extension hours, may be handed in after the last day of class.

6 Mon. Day Class # / Topic Assignment due that day Aug Introduction: Statistical (Optional: read an issue portrait of Christianity in 2000 of IBMR or Church History) Christianity in early 1800s: Hastings 4,7; Sanneh 1 Europe & Americas 4 Sep Christianity in early 1800s: Hastings 5, 8, Sanneh 5 Asia & Africa The modern missionary movement: Africa, 19 th century The modern missionary movement: Asia, 19 th century Rise of liberalism in Europe & US Oct Rerum Novarum and the Catholic approach to modernity Hastings 6, Comaroff 1 4, Research Paper: DTB Hastings 10, Comaroff 5 end Hastings 11, 12, Fosdick Halperin, Research Paper: OD/PRD Cox 1 8 Report on Primary Source DACB Presentations (All Students) Wilberforce, Newman Thérèse of Lisieux, Bernadette Taylor, Carmichael Fosdick, Machen Leo XIII, Martins World Mission Conf., Protestant Mission Movement Ramabai, Mother Teresa Azusa Street & Beyond: Cox 9 15 Wilkerson, Cruz modern Pentecostalism Latin American to 1950 Hastings 9, Metz Elliot, Townsend Nov Rise of Protestantism in Gross, Jenkins 1 6 Aylword, Yun, Latin America and Asia Research Colloquium I Vatican II and Radical Vatican II, Gill, Gutiérrez, Reuther Theologies Research Colloquium II Anti missionary movements Illich, Hehir Mahon, Donovan in the West; Pope John Paul II Research Colloquium III Christianity & Bonk, Sanneh 8, Weigel, John Paul II Postmodernity; Christianity & Benedict XVI Islam; Third World missions to Europe & the USA Dec No Class Research Paper due: 11:59 p.m In class Essay (1 hour) on 1) Christianity, Colonialism, and Mission (Sanneh & Comaroff) or 2) Global Christianity (Cox & Jenkins) Discussion/Party Jenkins 7 10, Shaw bring books and notes