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
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.
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
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
M Oct
5 Imperial Reform / "Gregorian
Reform"
(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