Radical Legacies: Faith, Activism and Social Change (CH9060P)

Content

This unit explores Christian movements for social change and their legacies. Beginning with examples from the earliest Christian communities, the unit focuses on the rise of the Social Gospel in the 19th and 20th centuries. The unit asks, what spurred the development of welfare and charity organizations, how was government policy influenced by Christian advocacy, and how did intentional communities attempt to live out the gospel. It looks at the work of individuals (especially women and lay people) and grassroots movements to change the way we live. Through interpreting diverse historical sources ― newspapers and advertising, poems and novels, theological text and archival records ― you will gain an understanding of Christian movements for social change and their ongoing influence today.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Prerequisite foundational CH or CT

Pedagogy

The unit aims to build competency in historical methodology and acquisition of knowledge while promoting improvement between assignments through repeated tasks. It engages with primary material and encourages close reading of texts with contextual understanding and critical analysis.

Indicative Bibliography

• Berry, R.J., ed. Environmental Stewardship: Critical Perspectives, Past and Present. T&T Clark 2006.
• Carey, Hilary M., ed. Empires of Religion. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
• Chakkalakal, Tess. Novel Bondage: Slavery, Marriage, and Freedom in Nineteenth-Century America. University of Illinois Press, 2011.
• Cruickshank, Joanna, and Patricia Grimshaw. White Women, Aboriginal Missions, and Australian Settler Governments: Maternal Contradictions. Brill, 2019.
• Dorrien, Gary. Social Democracy in the Making: Political and Religious Roots of European Socialism. Yale University Press, 2019.
• McGrath, Alister. Christian History: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
• Oslington, Paul, ed. Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Economics. Oxford University Press, 2014.
• Stoll, Mark. Inherit the Holy Mountain: Religion and the Rise of American Environmentalism. Oxford University Press, 2015.
• Swain, Shurlee. Single Mothers and Their Children: Disposal, Punishment and Survival in Australia. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
• Warne, Ellen. Agitate, Educate, Organise, Legislate: Protestant Women’s Social Action in Post-Suffrage Australia. Melbourne University Publishing, 2017.

Assessment