History 3344 001:
   
HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

32468

 

  Fall 2015,  Holden Hall 109

 MWF 10:00-10:50 am

 

 TEACHER

 

John Howe                                                                                                 Office Hours:  MWF 11:00 - 11:45 am, M 9:30-10:15 pm, and by appointment                        

Office:  143 Holden Hall                                                                                             

Telephone:  834-7544                                                                                  

E‑Mail:  john.howe @ttu.edu                                                     

Web: http://courses.ttu.edu/jhowe  (the best way to access this syllabus)

 

 

PURPOSES OF THE COURSE

 

To survey the history of Christianity from the early Church until the present.  To examine certain themes of this history:  how Christians have a knowledge of God; how individual believers experience God as seen in Christian literature; how Christian communities are organized;  and how these organizations relate to secular governments.  To see how these themes have been treated in diverse Christian (auto)biographical materials.

 

Expected Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:

1.  Describe major events and individuals associated with the development of Christianity;

2.  Recognize common features and themes in Christian communities throughout history, despite the distinctiveness of individual Christian communities;

3.  Appreciate the diverse documentation upon which the history of Christianity is based;

4.  Understand human behavior and ideas in greater depth by critically analyzing theoretical and ideological positions adopted by Christian communities; and

      5.  Achieve greater proficiency in the following genres of historical writing:  essay examination and research paper.

 

Methods for Assessing the Expected Learning Outcomes

            The Expected Learning Outcomes of the course will be assessed through a research paper, formal examinations, class discussions, and miscellaneous classroom assessment activities.

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 

Required Texts

The Confessions of Saint Augustine.  Translated Rex Warner.  Baltimore:  Penguin, 1961. Or any other edition approved by the instructor.

Howard Clark Kee et al. Christianity: A Social and cultural History. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998.

The Book of Margery Kempe.  Translated and edited by Lynn Staley.  New York:  Norton, 2001.  Or any other edition approved by the instructor.

John Bunyan.  The Pilgrim's Progress.  Edited by Roger Pooley.  Baltimore:  Penguin, 2008. Or any other edition approved by the instructor.

 

Class Attendance

Successful completion of this course requires regular attendance.  Difficult reading assignments are interpreted and contextualized in class; additional subject matter is introduced. If you cannot attend 80% or more of the scheduled classes, you should not be enrolled.      

       

Required Reading

Specific reading assignments for each class are listed in the "Reading and Lecture Schedule," just above and to the right of the lecture date by which they should be completed.  Each assignment is the subject of the following class.  Read so that you arrive in class prepared to explain, praise, criticize, and question.  If read on schedule, the assignments are manageable; if neglected, they quickly become overwhelming.

 

Examinations

There will be eight short in-class quizzes on the assigned readings, featuring multiple-choice questions.

Midterm tests are scheduled for Friday September 17, Friday October 15, and Monday November 8.  Each will include multiple-choice questions, identification questions, a single essay (from two or more choices), and perhaps map work.  Students receiving a grade below "C" on a midterm should meet with the teacher to discuss it (this is part of the class participation grade).  An opportunity for a make-up examination, for a midterm missed for good reason, is provided on Monday, Noember 30, at 2:00-3:00.

The final examination, scheduled for Wednesday December 5 at 1:30-4:00, will feature multiple-choice and identification questions on the material covered since the third midterm, and several comprehensive essay questions (to be chosen out of many more). 

 

Short Research Paper and Class Report

Each student will choose a contemporary Christian group (that is, a church still existing today), and, using at least four primary and six secondary sources, will describe it in a 12‑15 page, double-spaced, typed paper. The paper should introduce the group in question, and examine its attitudes towards the major themes examined in the course (how individual believers know and experience God; how the community is organized; and how this organization relates to secular government).   Sources can be found not only in the Texas Tech Library, but also at local libraries (public libraries, although smaller than the University Library, may acquire local histories and works on local church communities that are not found elsewhere), and on the Web.  Avoid plagiarism.  Various style sheets and citation systems are possible, but you need to be consistent throughout.

Students will present their results to the class during the last class meetings.  A subject must be tentatively chosen by Wednesday September 21.  A draft is due at 11:00 am on Friday November 13 (students must turn in something by this deadline, even if the draft is still rudimentary—if there is no preliminary draft by this date,  the whole written paper assignment will receive a failing grade).  Papers will be returned with corrections no later than Wednesday November 18.   Students may keep the initial grade earned or rewrite the paper for a higher grade, but no rewritten papers will be accepted later than noon on Wednesday December 9.          

                       

NECESSARY ACCOMMODATIONS
             Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible so that the necessary accommodations can be made. 
 

Observance of a religious Holy Day
           
Texas House Bill 256 requires institutions of higher education to excuse a student from attending classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day. The student shall also be excused for time necessary to travel. An institution may not penalize the student for the absence and allows for the student to take an exam or complete an assignment from which the student is excused. No prior notification of the instructor is required.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY                
            "
Texas Tech is committed to creating an exciting university atmosphere that is free of academic dishonesty. All members of the university community, including faculty, students, and staff, are upheld to the standard of having integrity in the work they produce. The standard is for all members of the Texas Tech community to contribute to the campus environment in an ethical, fun, and honest manner. Integrity matters because student success matters." Academic integrity violations are outlined in the Code of Student Conduct, Part X. B3 of the Student Handbook.  Because we live in an imperfect world, it is sometimes necessary to undergird ideals with enforcement mechanisms:. Be aware that  for academic integrity violations Texas Tech mandates specific disciplinary outcomes. See TTU Student Judicial Programs. 


GRADING

The course grade will be computed as follows:  30% from the midterm tests (that is, 10% from each); 10% from the quizzes (the average of the best six quiz grades) 25% from the paper (20% for the paper itself; 5% of `A' credit for a satisfactory class presentation); 10% from class participation; and 25% from the final.  

The class participation grade is determined at the end of the semester by dividing students into three groups on the basis of attendance, class preparation, and class contributions:  1) individuals who were outstanding; 2) individuals who were average; and 3) individuals who were well below average.  The first group gets the class participation component credited as an `A'; the second group has these points neutralized (so they neither help nor hurt); and the third group has them credited as an `F'.    

               

READING AND LECTURE  SCHEDULE

                        

M  Aug 24        Introduction

 

                                      Kee 1-5, 7-10

                                               

W Aug 26        Ancient Israel

                                               

[Th Aug 27      Last day for Students to add a course]

 

Kee 10-17

                       

F  Aug 28        Israel at the Time of Christ

 

Kee 18-45

                                               

M  Aug 31      Quiz #1 / The Historical Sources for the Ministry of Christ  

 

Kee 46-68

                       

W  Sept 2        The Formation of the Early Church

 

Kee 69-96

                       

F  Sept 4        Quiz #2 / Gnosticism and Church Responses

 

Kee 97-121

                                               

[M  Sept 7       Labor Day Holiday]

                                               

W  Sept 9      The Early Church and the Empire of Rome

                                   

                                     Kee 122-34; Augustine xix-xxv, 1-37 [Books I-II]

                                               

F  Sept 11      Constantine and the Christian Empire

 

                                    Augustine Confessions 38‑123 [Books III‑VI]            

                       

[M  Sept 14     Last day to drop a course without penalty]

                                          

M  Sept 14      Quiz #3 / Young Augustine

 

Augustine Confessions 124‑209 [Books VII‑X vii]                                                                                                                         

W  Sept 16      Augustine's Conversion(s)                    

                                    Kee 135-62

                                               

F  Sept 18       Augustine's Confessions / The Christian Empire: West & EAst

 

Study

                                                                       

M  Sept 21        Midterm No. 1

 

Kee 125-28;  Rule of Benedict

                                                 

W  Sept 23       Western Monasticism

 

Kee 163-75; Bede's Ecclesiastical History; Patrick's Confession

                                                                       

F  Sept 25     Quiz #4 / The Barbarian Kingdoms and Conversion

 

                                    Kee 174-79; Saxon Capitularies

                                                                                      

M  Sept 28           Rise of the Carolingians

                                   

Einhard's Life of Charlemagne; Carolingian Art

                                                                                  

W  Sept 30         Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance

                                   

Kee 179-195: Cluny's Charter; John Howe, "The Nobility's

Reform of the Medieval Church," American Historical Review, 93

(1988): 317-39 [JSTOR]

                                                       

F  Oct 2         Chaos / Monastic Reform

                       

                                   Kee 195-98; Dictatus Papae; Henry IV to Gregory VII; Gregory deposes the emperor

                                               

M  Oct 5           Imperial Reform / "Gregorian Reform"                

 

                                     Medieval Churches

                                    (Browse and have something to say)

                                               

W  Oct 7        Ecclesiastical Architecture

 

Study

                                                                       

F  Oct 9         Midterm No. 2

 

Kee 198-206; Margery Kempe  vii-xix, 3-60 [Book I i-

xi]; glance over Mapping Margery Kempe   

                                                                       

M  Oct 12        New Devotions

 

Kee 207-39;  Margery Kempe 61-125 [Book I xi-xxxiv]; Francis:  The Authoritative Life      

            

W Oct 14         Quiz #5 /  Mendicants and Universities  

 

Margery Kempe 126- 205 and 257-61 [Book I xxxiv-lxvii and lxxxviii-lxxxix (end of Book I)]             

                                   

F   Oct 16       Margery Kempe 

 

Kee 240-57

                                                                                               

M  Oct 19        Crises in the Late Medieval Church   

                   

Kee  258-67;   95 Theses ; Luther On Christian Liberty ;

                                    "A Mighty Fortress"Reformation Pamphlets

 

W Oct 21        Martin Luther

 

Kee 268-85

                                               

F  Oct 23        Spread of the Reformation

                                               

[M Oct 26  2015 Last day to declare Pass/Fail intentions; last day to drop a course with academic penalty]

 

Kee 286-94: On Predestination ; On Civil Government

 

M Oct 26         Calvin and Geneva      

        

Kee 295-304:  Act of Supremacy 1534; 39 Articles

                                                                    

W  Oct 28        Quiz #6 / Reformation in England

 

Kee 304-23, 337-39; Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises

                                                                        

F Oct 30        The Catholic Reformation

 

                                    Kee 304-11, 339-41

 

M Nov 2       Wars of Religion

       

                                   Study

                                               

W  Nov 4        Midterm No. 3    

 

                                Kee 329-37    ; Bunyan xiii-xxv and 1-15

                                    [beginning of Part I]

                       

F  Nov 6      The Church(es) in England

 

Bunyan 16-90

                                               

M  Nov 9        Civil Wars /  Puritan Spirituality 

 

                                    Bunyan 91-165 [end of Part I]

                                               

W  Nov 11     Quiz #7 / The Pilgrim’s Progress

 

                                    Kee 335-37, 242-53; finish first draft of research paper

                                                                              

F   Nov 13      Pietism and Revival and Enlightenment

 

                                    Kee 356-71

                                                                       

M  Nov 16     Quiz #8 / Nineteenth-Century Christianity

 

                                    Kee 372-86

                                                                   

W  Nov 18     Twentieth-Century Christianity

 

Prepare Presentations / Rewrite Paper

 

F Nov 20        Student Reports                             

 

Prepare Presentations / Rewrite Paper

 

M Nov 23       Student Reports

 

Prepare Presentations / Rewrite Paper

 

[Nov 25‑29     Thanksgiving Holiday]

 

Prepare Presentations / Rewrite Paper

                                                      

M  Nov 30       Student Reports

 

[M Nov 30       Make‑Up Examinations at 2:00]

 

Prepare Presentations / Rewrite Papers

                       

W  Dec 2        Student Reports

 

Sat  Dec 5 at 1:30-4:00    Final Examination

 

W Dec 9 at noon    Deadline for submitting submit rewritten papers