9
HS501-02 Dr. Chris Armstrong
Winter 2012, Jan 9 – Mar 19 Bethel Seminary
Section 2: Tues 1:00pm – 5:00pm Office: Faculty Hall, A212
E-mail:
TA – Tim Magnuson:
EARLY CHURCH TO THE REFORMATION
Course Description
An introduction to the major movements, persons, and ideas in Christian history from the church's birth through the fifteenth century. Students will also be introduced to basic methodology and bibliographical tools used in the study of the past.
Objectives
1. Recount major events, ideas, figures, and movements in the Church from its beginnings to the fifteenth century.
2. Analyze, discuss, and write about selected documents and ideas in church history.
3. Learn how to connect the church's past to our present in a careful, responsible, and practically helpful way.
Texts
Gonzalez, Justo. The Story of Christianity, vol. 1, Early Church to Reformation. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1984. ISBN 9780060633158
Bettenson, Henry and Chris Maunder, eds. Documents of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 9780192880710
Heath, Gordon L. Doing Church History: A User-friendly Introduction to Researching the History of Christianity (Toronto, Ont.: Clements Publishing, 2008; 9781894667906)
www.christianhistory.net. Currently this website is giving access to all articles from all back issues of Christian History magazine (all 99 of ‘em), for free.
Course Requirements
1. Testing: Three unit exams will be given, each covering one segment of the course, with questions on the Gonzalez text and lectures. Short answer questions will be asked on Gonzalez and essay questions on the lectures. A study guide is provided on Moodle. 1st Edition page numbers are followed by (2nd edition page numbers).
Exam I Gonzalez 7-17, (8-23), 31-108 (41-125) and lecture material
Exam II Gonzalez 113-219 (131-260) and lecture material
Exam III Gonzalez 231-374 (269-445) and lecture material
2. Online Forum Posting: See Section I
3. In-Class Discussion Leading: See Section II
4.Final Integrative Paper: See Section III
Integrative Portfolio: This assignment has been identified as a required integrative assignment that you may wish to review and reference in future integrative coursework.
Grading
Three exams (3x16%) 48%
Online Forum Posting (2x8%) 16%
In-Class Discussion Leading 10%
Final Integrative Paper 24%
Evaluation (see below) 2%
EVALUATION
Owing to a change in Bethel Seminary policy, I am required to count your completion of the course evaluation at the end of the course as 2% of the final grade. I won’t be able to look at the evaluation text itself (have no fear!), but I will be able to tell whether you completed it or not, so I can add that 2% to your final grade.
PARTICIPATION
Involvement in our discussions; attendance is assumed, and mandatory! This will be used as a “straw in the wind.” That is, my observation of your involvement in class discussion will serve to push you, if your final grade is on or near a “line” between two letter-grades, toward either the higher or the lower grade. As stated in the Academic Course Policies, your completion of the course evaluation electronically at the end of the course “will be included as a factor in your final course grade.” See “Course Grading” above for how this will be calculated. All evaluations remain anonymous to the faculty.
Academic Course Policies
Please familiarize yourself with the catalog requirements in the Academic Course Policies document on the Syllabus page in Moodle. You are responsible for this information, and any academic violations, such as plagiarism, will not be tolerated.
Class Schedule
Week 1
Jan 9-15 / What is History? The First Cultural Translation of the Gospel: Introduction, history study, Jewishness of the earliest church, shift to a gentile church
Week 2
Jan 16-22 / How Did the Church Grow to Dominance Despite Persecution? How Was Its Identity Shaped in this Growth? How Did the Church Defend its Doctrine and Interact with (Greek) Culture?: Christianizing the Empire, the three authority structures, Hellenization, the apologists and their defense of the faith / Forum postings: Discussions 2 (Early Church-State Relations) and 3 (Atonement) due Fri of this week and Mon/Wed of next week
In class: Discussion 1 (Greek culture) led by Dr. Armstrong
Week 3
Jan 23-29 / Why is Tradition Important? How did the Doctrines of Christ’s Divinity and Humanity Develop? What is Church? Tradition lecture, Nicea discussion, “Models of Church” / Forum postings: Discussions 4 (Creeds) and 5 (Christ’s divinity and humanity) due Fri of this week and Mon/Wed of next week
In Class: Discussions 2 (Early Church-State Relations) and 3 (Atonement) led by students
Week 4
Jan 30-Feb 5 / How Did Early Christians “Do Church?” Augustine, Father of Western Theology: Early church worship, discipline, and leadership; Augustine’s conversion and thought. / Forum Postings: Discussions 6 (Early Church Leadership and Worship) and 7 (Augustine and the Pelagians) due Fri of this week and Mon/Wed of next week
In Class: Discussions 4 (Creeds) and 5 (Christ’s Divinity and Humanity) led by students
Week 5
Feb 6-12 / Reading Weeks / This week is a great time to browse the course materials and come up with a topic for your final integrative paper
Week 6
Feb 13-19 / Reading Weeks / Exam 1 Due by 11:59pm on Sunday, Feb 19 on Gonzalez 7-17 (8-23), 31-108 (41-125) and lectures from weeks 1 and 3
Outline of integrative papers due in assignment area by 11:59pm on Sunday, Feb 19
Week 7
Feb 20-26 / Where Did Monasticism Come From, and How Did the Western Church Become the Roman Catholic Church? Anthony of Egypt and the origins of monasticism; How the West because Roman Catholic; Gregory the Great / Forum Postings: None! Good time to study for Exam II and work on your paper!
In Class: Discussions 6 (Early Church Leadership and Worship) and 7 (Augustine and the Pelagians) led by students
Week 8
Feb 27-Mar 4 / How Did the Church’s First Major Division Happen, and What Were the Distinctives of the Eastern Church? How the East became Orthodox; Eastern distinctives compared to Western / Exam II Due by 11:59pm on Sunday, Mar 4 on Gonzalez 113-219 (131-260) and lectures from weeks 4 & 7.
Forum Postings: Discussions 8 (Montanism and Donatism) and 11 (Benedictine Monasticism) due Fri of this week and Mon/Wed of next week
Week 9
Mar 5-11 / What did Medieval Christians Believe and How Did They “Do” Church? How did Monasticism Develop Under Benedict? Ten key elements of the medieval worldview and four key theological ideas; Benedictine monasticism / Forum Postings: None! Study for the final exam!
In Class: Discussions 8 (Montanism & Donatism) and 11 (Benedictine Monasticism)
Week 10
Mar 12-18 / What Did the Medieval Church Look Like Right Before the Reformation? Issues in the medieval church, renewal; wrap-up / Forum Postings: None! Study for the final exam!
Exam III Due by 11:59pm on Sunday, Mar 18, on Gonzalez 231-374 (269-445) and lectures from weeks 8-10.
Essay questions are 1. What can the modern American church learn from Eastern Orthodoxy? 2. What can the modern American church learn from Medieval (Western) Christianity?
Final Integrative Paper Due 11:59pm on Sunday, Mar 18.
* NOTE: Lecture topics may vary from this chart. This is a general guide only.
For Week 2: Please read the following: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/robinson-sources.html and http://academic.bowdoin.edu/WritingGuides/-- choose "How to read a primary source" from left navigation bar.
I. Online forum posting
Summary
We’re going to have topical discussions both on the Moodle forums and in the classroom. What we’re aiming for is to begin our topical discussions for each week in the Moodle forums and then continue and expand them in the classroom.
During the course, each student will post on two primary topics and two secondary, for a total of six posts, in Moodle “topic forums” (the topic areas and readings for these are listed Section IV). In two weeks during the quarter you will post (1) one meaty presentation post on a primary topic, (2) one “probe” on the other student's post (Secondary), and (3) one wrap-up post addressing the “probe” that the other student has made on your own primary post. If there is not a secondary topic during your week, post your probe on the student who shares your primary topic. Topics will be assigned to you during the first week.
Reading requirements
In the course documents area of the course’s Moodle site, you will find scanned copies of the contextualizing readings listed under Section IV below. These contextualizing readings come from Everett Ferguson’s Church History: From Christ to Pre-Reformation and Mark Noll’s Turning Points. You will also find listed readings from Christian History magazine (marked “CH”), which are accessible via www.christianhistory.net (issues are sorted by number at the left of the main webpage, near the bottom). These readings, along with Gonzalez and some additional library research, will help you contextualize and understand the Bettenson material.
Each week in which forum postings are due, you are responsible for reading the context material and assigned Bettenson readings associated with the topic assigned to you. Then you will need to post the following:
NOTE: In addition to the contextualizing reading for the two topics on which you are posting (either primary post or probe), you are responsible for the contextualizing readings for discussion #1 (week 3) and #12 (week 10).
Your Three Postings
(The deadlines for all three posts may be found in section IV below.)
A. A two-page (500-word) initial post on your assigned topic.
You should use what you know from Gonzalez and the extra readings (e.g. Ferguson, Noll, the Christian History issues) along with at least two Bettenson excerpts:
(1) from the contextualizing readings, explain briefly and contextualize the topical question listed in Section IV below, then
(2) answer the question in brief, using at least two quoted passages from Bettenson to illustrate your answer
B. A one paragraph (75-word) probe on another student’s topic
Your probe should pose at least two penetrating questions on the other student's post. You should read the contextualizing readings for that topic before posting your probe. Also, please probe on time, so your initial post-er can wrap up on time.
C. A two paragraph (150-word) wrap-up post addressing the question posed by the other student’s prove.
Your wrap-up post should address the question posed by your respondent in a summing-up-and-clarifying statement, along with anything else you'd like to add in the way of clarification or further insight.
Grading
These Blackboard forum postings are worth 16% of your course grade, calculated as follows: 5% for each initial post, 1% for each probe, and 2% for each wrap-up
I may browse the posts, but they will be read and graded by my teaching assistant, according to a clearly defined rubric, which is provided on Moodle.
Deadlines
The week after you do one of your two primary posts, you will be leading discussion on the topic on which you posted (see Section II below). This is an opportunity for us to help each other explore further the themes and questions we uncovered during our research for the post, in a way that goes beyond the limits of discussion-board posting.
Each week when you have a posting assignment:
· Post your primary post by 11:5pm on Friday night.
· Post your probe by noon on Monday.
· Post your wrap-up post to the other student's probe by 11:59pm on Wednesday.
All posts receive an automatic time-stamp when you post them. Late work will be docked, and will also, in the case of initial posts and probes, prevent your fellow students from completing their assigned probes or wrap-ups—PLEASE be sure to complete these on time! If, however, your assigned probe-r does not post on time, then a statement extending the thought of your initial post with new ideas & material is acceptable.
II. In-Class Discussion Leading
Each student will lead the in-class discussion for one of the two topics on which you are posting to the Moodle forum. There will be 10 student-led discussions during the course (plus one, discussion # 1, that I will lead, for which you are also responsible to do contextualizing readings). Each will be led by somewhere between 1 and 4 students, depending on class size. The discussions should take roughly 30-40 minutes each.
When you lead discussion, you and your fellow discussion-leaders are expected to lead off with about 15-20 minutes of "set-up." During this set-up, leaders will do the following (you should meet together before you lead the discussion, to decide who will do what; you can divide things up any way you like, but as a rule of thumb, allow at least 5 minutes per leader):
1. Contextualize the topic using what you know from the readings posted on Moodle, the recommended CH issues/articles, and the appropriate sections of Gonzalez. Essentially, you are putting both the overarching topical question (see list above) and any sub-questions you pose (see #2), along with the relevant Bettenson documents and particular quotations from those documents, into the larger historical context of early church history—that is, in the framework of what you discovered in your readings.
2. Pose, as "sub-questions" to the overarching topical question listed above, several fruitfully discussable questions (one to two per presenter is good). See below for definition of a "fruitfully discussable question."