Postgraduate Course: Creeds, Councils and Controversies: Reformation and Modern (ECHS11004)
Course Outline
| School | School of Divinity |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The aim of the course is to enable students to understand and reflect critically upon the historical contexts in which theology has been developed and assailed, c 1500-2000. The course therefore explores major challenges to faith that have shaped theology in the period, namely confessional divisions of the Reformation era; the development of biblical criticism; the rise of modern science; the spread in the West of industrial society, secularism, Christian pluralism; the globalisation and diversification of Christianity via the overseas mission movement; Nazi ideology. |
| Course description |
Academic Description:
The course aims to enable students to understand and reflect critically upon the historical contexts in which theology has been developed and assailed between about 1500 and 2000. It explores the major challenges to faith that have shaped theology during these five centuries, including the confessional divisions of the Reformation era; the development of biblical criticism; the rise of modern science; the growth of urban-industrial society, secularism, Christian pluralism; the globalisation and diversification of Christianity through the overseas mission movement; and the rise of modern totalitarian regimes, including Nazism.
Syllabus/Outline Content:
The course will apply historical approaches to religious beliefs and theological thought, with a strong emphasis on skills for assessing historical and theological evidence. Specific topics to be explored include the Augsburg Confession, the Council of Trent, the Second Helvetic Confession and the growth of confessionalism; women mystics in early modern Europe; the development and impact of critical approaches to the Bible; Christianity and socialism; Darwinism and the Christian faith; diversity and ecumenism; Vatican II and the Catholic engagement with the modernity; and the Confessing Church movement in Nazi Germany.
Student Learning Experience Information:
The course meets weekly for a two-hour session, with the first hour normally devoted to a lecture and the second hour to a discussion of a key text or texts. There is a schedule of reading to be carried out before each class meeting, and students introduce the seminar readings. Through participation in lectures and seminar discussions, and through the essay project, students will demonstrate their achievement of the intended learning outcomes.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This is a graduate-level course. Please confirm subject prerequisites with the Course Manager. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students must submit a 3,000 word essay. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Recognise how theology developed within a specific historical context and often in response to definite social, political, cultural and economic events or movements
- Construct theological explanations and arguments with reference to the historical context
- Construct historical explanations and arguments relating to Christianity, with reference to developments in theological thought
- Show critical awareness of some key theological controversies and confessional statements which have defined the Christian faith in the early modern and modern periods
- Demonstrate an ability to identify key terms and their meanings, and good judgement in assessing the relative importance of items in bibliographies
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | CCC2 |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Stewart Brown
Tel: (0131 6)50 8951
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Joanne Hendry
Tel: (0131 6)50 7227
Email: |
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