'I am with you always': Introducing the History of the Church (CH1003Y)

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.

Learning outcomes

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