UMS : Unit: CH9100Z

Content

In the early modern period, European culture and belief underwent several seismic shifts, with individuals, and the movements they sponsored, involved in deeply committed debate and conflict about matters of faith. This unit examines theological debates of the sixteenth century Reformation in Europe and their ongoing impact in western societies and churches, with particular attention to the implications for contemporary Australian experience. Students will explore the understandings of grace, salvation, sacrament, scripture, authority and church order using key texts and artefact and their producers with a focus on the relationship between theological, historical and geographical contexts in shaping new forms of Christian identity and practice. This unit is taught collaboratively across several colleges of the UD, with specialists who highlight the diversity, complexity and commonality of perspectives across the Christian tradition.

Unit code: CH9100Z

Unit status: Approved (Minor revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Proposing College: Yarra Theological Union, Whitley College, Stirling College, Pilgrim Theological College, Eva Burrows College, and Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.	Identify the historical and theological context of the doctrinal controversies of sixteenth-century Europe and their ongoing impact;
2.	Demonstrate an understanding of the evolution, manifestation and impact of at least one doctrinal controversy;
3.	Assess the relationship between foundational documents and/or individuals and the ongoing development of particular Christian denominations;
4.	Interpret the impact of geography, class, gender and other contextual or biographical factors for the religious position held by at least one individual in the Reformation period.
5.	Articulate the extent to which the theological debates of the Reformation and related movements are a resource for contemporary questions of faith.

Unit sequence

24 points in CH and 24 points in CT

Pedagogy

Student-focused lectures, seminars, workshops, and discussions. Students will participate in a site visit (with online options where required) to explore the legacies of the Reformation in modern times.

Indicative Bibliography

Bagchi, David and David C. Steinmetz, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Reformation Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Eire, Carlos M. N. Reformations : The Early Modern World, 1450-1650. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.
Evans, Gillian R. Roots of the Reformation: Tradition, Emergence and Rupture, 2nd edn. Downers Grove: IVP, 2012.
Helmer, Christine. How Luther Became the Reformer. Louisville: WJKP, 2019.
Ivanič, Suzanna, Mary Laven, and Andrew Morrall, eds. Religious Materiality in the Early Modern World. Amsterdam University Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvx8b72t.
Lindberg, Carter, ed. The European Reformations Sourcebook. Oxford: Blackwell, 2014 (or earlier editions).
MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Reformation: Europe’s House Divided 1490-1700. London: Penguin, 2004.
Roper, Lyndall. Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet. London: Bodley Head, 2016
Taylor, Richard. How to Read a Church. Sydney: Rider Books, 2004.
Westhelle, Vitor. The Church Event: Call and Challenge of a Church Protestant. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2009.

Assessment

Type	Description	Word count	Weight (%)
Source Analysis	Source Analysis of a text or object in the light of Reformation theology	2000	25.0
Blog	Students write five blog entries of 400 words each (totaling 2000 words) reflecting on the events and themes of the Reformation at points of key change from the perspective of a Reformation character. Individual blog posts may be revised before submission of all five posts as a single document.	2000	25.0
Essay	Essay integrating theology and history	4000	50.0

Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 27 Jun, 2024

Unit record last updated: 2024-06-27 11:43:02 +1000