PhD/THS Course Offerings in Church History and the History of Christian Thought

Advanced Master’s/Doctoral Level

CH 7720 (731)   Backgrounds of Early Christianity
Cross-list as NT. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8000 (845)   Seminar: Current Issues in the History of Christian Thought
Topics chosen to interrelate the divisions of theology; attention focused on current issues or important neglected areas of Christian history and thought. Two to four hours.

CH 8235 (761)   The Enlightenment
Religious life and thought during the 18th century with special consideration of Deism and efforts by orthodox Christians to counter this philosophical tendency. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8270 (765)   Protestant Thought in Nineteenth-Century America
Introduction to the leading Protestant theologians and theological schools of nineteenth-century America, with special attention to topics and issues most controversial among the schools. Emphasis on primary source readings from the New England theologians, the Mercersburg School, Old Princeton, Wesleyan/Holiness sources, and the New Theology. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8280 (762/912) The History of Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism
An analysis of the history of Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism with particular reference to recent interpretations of these movements. Emphasis is placed on the question of Evangelical self-identity. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8320 (753)   Luther
Cross-list as ST. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8330 (754)   Calvin
Cross-list as ST. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8361 (815)   Jonathan Edwards
Introduction to the life, times, and especially the theology of Jonathan Edwards. Intensive reading in and reflection on some of Edwards’s most important writings. Extensive reading and discussion about Edwards’s historical background (primarily in New England Puritanism) and historical legacy (with primary attention paid to the development of “the New England Theology”). Cross-list as PR ST. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8410 (773)   Theology in Contemporary Literature
Cross-list as ST. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8455 (808)   History of Christianity in China
Cross-list as ME. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8760 (767)   The New Religious History
Historiographical analysis of the “new religious history” based on recent, representative works in the social and cultural history of American religion with attention paid to issues of race, ethnicity, class, and gender/sexuality as they have arisen in the study of American religious history. Also included is methodological discussion of recent economic and material histories of American religion, ethnographic studies, and the new emphasis on such topics as popular religion and congregational history. Master’s three hours, doctoral 3+1 hours.

CH 8911 (786/908) Colloquium in Historical Methodology I
A methodological colloquium team-taught by all regular and available faculty members in the department of church history. General issues of historical methodology are discussed, with a special emphasis placed on the relationship between Christian faith and historical understanding. Offered fall. One hour.

CH 8912 (787/909) Colloquium in Historical Methodology II
A methodological colloquium team-taught by all regular and available faculty members in the department of church history. Historical work of the students enrolled will be discussed with a view to improving that work by means of rigorous methodological analysis and to preparing the students enrolled for the writing of their theses. Offered spring. One hour.

CH 8920 (905)   Advanced Study in American Christianity
Historiographical analysis of important recent literature in the field of American religious history. This seminar’s primary purpose will be to keep advanced students abreast of the state of the conversation within the discipline, enabling them to enter this conversation from the point of view of their own research. Two to four hours, doctoral as posted.

Doctoral Seminars

CH 9000 (910)   Issues in Historical Theology
Topics are chosen to reflect research interests of faculty or program participants or that explore matters of concern to historical theology. May be repeated. One to four hours, as posted.

CH 9862 (911)   The Origins of Modern Biblical Criticism in the 17th and 18th Century
A study of the multiple springs that fed the gathering stream of modern biblical criticism in the 17th and 18th centuries. Reference is made to the history of science, the history of philosophy, the history of book trade, and other disciplines. Particular attention is given to individuals such as Baruch Spinoza, Richard Simon, Jean Le Clerc, Reimarus, J. S. Semler, Lessing, Voltaire, and their critics. Course objectives include an improved understanding of the evangelical doctrine of biblical inspiration, the history of hermeneutics, and questions related to biblical authority. 3+1 hours.

Updated to 2008-09 Catalog