Mccormick Theological Seminary s2
McCormick Theological Seminary
H-300 online draft syllabus
History of Christianity Survey I
May 9, 2016 – July 2, 2016
Instructor: Ken Sawyer MTS tel: 773.947.6304
email:
Website: www.kennethsawyer.org
Course description:
This online course presents the story of Christianity as a world movement. We will explore formative aspects of this diverse Christian movement, with special emphasis on the emergence of Christian institutions and practices and the development of distinctive vocabularies of Christian faith. We will also explore models of interpretation in the history of Christianity. We will pursue issues of identity and method within the Christian traditions to trace the origins of theological concepts that continue to inform contemporary Christian communities. We will also track types of theology and movements of renewal within the Church. Theological texts, terms, and traditions will be placed in historical context as we go along. We will seek to introduce aspects of the inter-relationship of Christianity with Judaism and Islam, though the course is consciously and intentionally Christian in orientation and presents the story of Christianity from the perspective of Christians through the ages.
This course is the first of a two-course survey sequence at McCormick Theological Seminary. While it is not necessary to take this course before taking H-301, it is advised to take this earlier course first.
I am eager to accommodate of all students with special needs. Please contactme and notify me of your specific needs.
Learning Outcomes for H-300 online
Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Master of Arts in Ministry (M.A.M.) students will pursue these Learning Outcomes
Think critically
Construct theological meaning using Christian tradition(s)
Communicate effectively
Master of Theological Studies students will pursue these Learning Outcomes
Think critically
Construct theological meaning using Christian tradition(s)
Communicate effectively
Exhibit cross-cultural competence
Engage in theological research and analysis based upon an argument and construct a theological essay or thesis article
______
This online course is designed to introduce you to the general outlines of Church history. In eight brief weeks, we will engage a wide array of topics and texts. By the end of it all, we will certainly know more about the history of the Church and a good deal more about each other through the process of learning together.
Any online course will ask a lot from you, especially in time management and response schedules in our online forums and assignments. In order for you to flourish in these weeks, and in order for the course to function, we all will need to join in, and we will all need to seek ways to contribute to the collective conversation and to the small group work.
We have three required textbooks for this class. To these textbooks we will add lots of online sources. I hope these texts and hypertexts will help you when you teach this subject in your congregation or ministry setting. We will use these texts as the beginning point, adding other primary and secondary sources to make the topics more complex and more interesting, and then we will engage in discussion and further explorations of the story of Christianity, how it has beentold -- and how you will tell the story today.
Before Class Begins
1. Read W.H.C. Frend’s book The Early Church. I will be happy to provide you a copy.
2. View a couple of the “big picture” survey videos linked from the Moodle site
3. browse the course site
4. post a brief (less than 200 words)"getting acquainted" wiki entry for the class.
5. plot and plan your reading assignments. Then plot and plan again. Schedule enough time to complete your reading!
6. Read Irvin and Sunquist pp. 1-153, and Coakley and Sterk readings #1-17
There are eight weekly units in this version of this course. These units will include various individual tasks which may include a quiz, searching, comparing, and describing and composing – all to prepare you for class discussions through forums and group activities. There are also two individual units that you can work through at your own speed, and to which you can return at any time. The first individual unit is about oral history, the printing press, and memory. The second individual unit consists in your final paper and its development and composition. Counting the individual units and the weekly units, there are ten units for this course. The readings are between 150 and 200 pages per week.
During the Class:
1. Keep up with the readings. Read ahead. Read! Keep a notebook ofyour readings and reflections and yourquestions!
2. Remember that this online course requires more reading andmuch more writing than in a face-to-face course. So much of what is communicated non-verbally in a face-to-face class must be presented through typing and posting in an online course. So ---complete the readings and take notes, and then take the time needed in answering the assignment questions, quiz, or tasks. Do not truncate, but always expand. If the question deserves a follow up question, then ask that question and answer it!We are all dependent on your writing to learn what you are thinking about these topics in the history of Christianity. Since none of us can read minds, we will all need to be much more explicit and clear in our writing for this course.
3. We will follow a weekly schedule. When you post your initial assignments by Wednesday midnight, then I will organize your posted work so that the “Continuing the conversation” groupwork can commence Thursdays and Fridays, concluding by midnight Friday. If I have asked you to rewrite an assignment or answer, or given you the option to do so, you will have until Saturday at midnight to post revisions.
4. Later units assume completion of the earlier units.
5. You are free to conduct course work whenever is best for you but you must to be able to post materials by the deadlines: initial assignments due Wednesday by midnight: groupwork concludes Friday midnight. Any directed revisions posted by Saturday midnight.
6. Please note that I have made no assignments due on Sundays. I will not accept any late assignments.
Weekly schedule:
· Initial postings and quiz deadline: Wednesday midnight
· “Continuing the Conversation” deadline: Friday midnight
· If I ask you to rewrite , any revisions will be due by Saturday midnight
· No assignments due or accepted on Sundays
All these deadlines are final deadlines, and no late work will be accepted.
Course Activities:
1. students will be introduced to the broad outlines of world Christianity through lectures, readings, discussion groups, written assessments, and individual/group assignments and some quiz work;
2. students will be expected to work with online reference sources available through the JKM Library, with special focus on the ATLA databases and JSTOR, but also;
3. students will be introduced to people, places, events through texts and hypertexts;
4. students will be asked to "tell the story” of the early church in individual work and in group work, and will respond to the work of other students;
6. students will be introduced to methods appropriate to a research paper (definitions, identifying/evaluating sources, documentation, description/summary, identification of interpretive issues). The final paper will include a process of substantial review and revision ;
7. students will be participate in online forum discussions and will explore online sources.
Course Requirements:
Section A: Preparation and participation :
1.Each unit will include readings and discussion of texts for which you are responsible for prepared, informed, and civil online essays, responses, and discussion. You are expected to read and prepare to discuss all assigned texts and hypertexts before each class session.
2. Complete the independent unit on oral history, evidence, and memory.
3. Compile a timeline on a topic or time period of your choice.
3. Memorize and recite the Apostles' Creed, not as an expression of your (or my) orthodoxy, but as a primary document and practice from the early era in the history of Christianity.
Section B: Research paper, due no later than 4:30 p.m. Monday, August 1, 2016.
The second independent unit consists of the formulation and composition of a research paper, (no less than twelve full pages, no longer than fifteen pages of text, not counting endnotes and bibliography). This research paper will be evaluated according to the following standards:
· Definition of the research topic or the research question
· Adequacy, range, and depth of research, including use of reference works, periodicals, and monographs whether in printed or digital format
· Accuracy of citations, proper use of sources in complete compliance with Turabian
· Clarity of and accuracy of written expression
· Coherent arrangement and argumentation
· Indication of your engagement with the topic/question
· Demonstration of substantial, thoughtful, and useful revisions
· Indication of your ability to summarize the work of others, and to present your assessment of the work of others
Evaluation and grading:
· preparation and participation in this class: 1/3 of your grade
· completion of all units and contribution of content to the class activities: 1/3 of your grade
· final research paper: 1/3 of your grade
Course Expectations: Please prepare for class. Having read the materials for the class session, bring questions and a readiness to engage. You will not agree with everything you read or with everyone you encounter in your readings, but we are all called to civility, even if sometimes in sharp disagreement.
Deadlines are firm. Late assignments are not accepted.
Concerning fair use and plagiarism: This course complies with McCormick Seminary standards for academic honesty, especially regarding the fair use and proper use of sources, with appropriate documentation. Keep your notes and drafts of your work. Document your sources properly. The penalties for plagiarism are severe and can be catastrophic. If you have any questions regarding fair use, ask those questions BEFORE submitting your work in this class (or any of your classes). Plan your work to provide adequate time for review and revision.
Given the nature of this online course and its schedule and pace, an “incomplete” is not an option in this class.
Ongoing assessment and revision of this course: I will distribute a mid-term evaluation of this course and a final evaluation of this course, seeking your suggestions for course improvement. This is a first offering of this course in an online format. I am especially eager to receive suggestions for inclusion of helpful resources, as well as suggestions for presentation and methods. Please email me at with questions and suggestions throughout the course.
Required Texts :
Andrea Sterk and John Coakley, Editors. Readings in World Christian History vol. 1 (to 1453) (Orbis 2004).
Dale T. Irvin and Scott W. Sunquist. History of the World Christian Movement. Vol. 1 (Orbis, 2001).
Though not required, you may wish to purchase or consult:
Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. Vol. 1 revised and updated (HarperCollins, 2010).
Other Online Matters :
We will make use of course material, quizzes, and links, posted at the Moodle course site. Our course is at http://moodle.mccormick.edu H 300 History Survey I. Before the first class you should will have opportunity to explore the course site. In addition to the standard precaution of changing your password every so often, please remember that whatever you send or post online is a public document, available to (nearly) anyone to read and distribute. There are few, if any, secrets on the internet, and we live in an age of data monitoring bybusiness and by governments. Please practice discretion and civility as you make use of the internet.
The Director of the IT program at McCormick is Ms. Barbara Fassett. With questions concerning access and configuration, contact the McCormick helpdesk at 256-1835 or:
Suggestions for all students as members of the McCormick learning community:
-We urge you to meet the staff of the LRWC, especially its Director, Rob Worley. Your time at McCormick will be greatly enriched by participating in the LRWC programs.
-We urge you to meet a library staff. If you live in the Chicago area, you will wish to get to know the staff of the JKM Library.
-McCormick style standards look to Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. 8th Edition. Edited by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013).
-We invite you to email or call with any questions, after you have read the materials and instructions:
Additional note:
McCormick Seminary is in a cooperative partnership with the Lutheran School of Theology. We are also part of a larger community including several seminaries in Chicago, along with the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. McCormick and LSTC students can cross-register for courses, and have full borrowing privileges at the libraries of the seminaries within the ACTS consortium, and also full borrowing privileges in the libraries of the University of Chicago. During this online course we will be making extensive use of online reference sources from the JKM Library, and I hope you will be able to find your way to that library as well as to a research or university library near you. If you are near Hyde Park, I can introduce you to Regenstein Library, the main library of the University of Chicago.