Content

This survey unit gives students a sense of the history of the Christian community since the time of the New Testament to today – and helps them get a sense of the God at work in human activity and institutions. It also introduces students to historical skills like textual criticism, material culture studies and historical research. It is a chance to meet the people and ideas that made Christianity what it is today.

Unit code: CH1003Y

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 1

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union

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Learning outcomes

1.

Demonstrate understanding of the dynamics at work within Church History

2.

analyse critically both primary and secondary historical sources

3.

research and assemble evidence for a sustained historical argument on a selected event in Church History

4.

identify and discuss the inter-relationship between history and theology

Pedagogy

An interactive mode lecture, exploratory workshop, series of pre-prepared readings and online resources will be employed.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bettenson, Henry, and Chris Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church. 3rd Ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1999 (or other editions)
  • Bradley, James, and Richard Muller. Church History: An Introduction to Research, Reference Works and Methods. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995.
  • Brown, Peter. The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity, AD 200-1000. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
  • Cameron, Euan. The European Reformation. 2nd ed. Oxford: OUP, 2012
  • Comby, Jean. How to Read Church History. 2 vols. New York: Crossroads, 1988.
  • Gonzalez, Justo L. The Changing Shape of Church History. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2002.
  • MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christian History: An Introduction to the Western Tradition. London: SCM Press, 2012.
  • McGrath, Alister. Christian History: An Introduction. Chichester: Blackwell, 2013.
  • Schjørring, Jens Holger and Norman A. Hjelm (eds). The History of Global Christianity. Translated by David Orton. Leiden: Brill, 2018
  • Threlfall-Holmes, Miranda. Essential History of Christianity. London: SPCK Publishing, 2012.
  • Wallace, Peter G. The Long European Reformation. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2004

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Material Culture Analysis (identification and description of artefacts) - Material Culture Study 800 20.0
Document Study - Document Study 1200 30.0
Essay - Research Essay 2000 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 6 Sep, 2021

Unit record last updated: 2021-09-06 12:37:36 +1000