Courses

• STH TH 865: Methodist Expansion in North America, 1760-1860
  An examination of the remarkable growth of American Methodism, to include both its missionary strategy and its social function. Issues of theology, lay spirituality, and institutional consolidation are investigated alongside economic and social changes, the democratization of political culture, and demographic expansion.
• STH TH 870: Calvin and the Reformed Tradition
  On this eve of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth, we will accomplish two things in this course. (1) We will read from Calvin in translation from his Institutes, treatises, polemical writings, and letters, and (2) we will anlayze contemporary historical and theological writings on him and his era. Students will be able to read and write on any subject within the Reformed tradition that interests them from the 16th century to contemporary topics in the present such as Presbyterianism, the United Church of Christ, Unitarianism, Puritanism (in England and New England),the Great Awakening, and the impact of the Reformed tradition on the worldwide Anglican churches and their denominatonal offshoots, such as Methodism.
• STH TH 910: History of Christian Mission
  A seminar in the history of Christian missions, from the early church to the present. Issues of historiography, method, and the emergence of non-western church history. Required course for doctoral students in mission studies.
• STH TH 922: Narrative of the African Experience
  
• STH TH 930: History of Missiology
  Seminar on the classic Protestant mission theorists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• STH TH 934: Seminar: History of the Christian Concept of Love
  Contributions of specific theologians and periods to the Christian concept of love, investigating their historical and theological contexts.
• STH TH 935: Religious Roots of Social Welfare
  Lectures by international scholars on historical religious influences on the development of social welfare from the Bible to the present, supplemented by seminar sessions.
• STH TH 936: Religion in a Divided Society: Ireland 1750-1995
  This course will examine the relationship between religious conflict and other social and political divisions which have characterized the history of modern Ireland. The most important religious traditions, both Catholic and Protestant, will be studied in the light of other major trends such as the rise of nationalism and the polarization of cultural identities.
• STH TH 937: Proseminar in Historiography
  
• STH TH 950: European Religion in the Age of the Great Cities
  A thematic and comparative investigation of religion in modern Europe with particular emphasis on processes of religious change in a period of spectacular growth in the size and number of cities. The extent to which all this major social revolution was accompanied by equally dramatic changes in religious life, both at institutional and popular levels, is the main focus of study.
• STH TH 971: Seminar: Luther and the Radical Reformers
  Historical-social contexts, theologies, and effects of the history of the church from the Reformation to the present.
• STH TJ 876: Church and Theology in the Contemporary World
  Church and Theology in the Contemporary World is an advanced research seminar in practical theology. The course enables students to design and carry out a research project in practical theology under the guidance of the instructor and with constructive feedback from fellow students. Assignments are designed to help students to articulate a clear, significant, and manageable research question; to design a practical theological approach to the question; to develop relevant bibliographies and other research sources; and, ultimately, to complete a final project in practical theology. Through this work and additional readings, including careful reading of and theological reflection on daily newspapers, we will together identify and address a range of issues facing the church in diverse cultures and contexts. Students gain skills in identifying practical theological questions and interpreting contexts; critically incorporating social scientific research in a theological project; making normative judgments; and thinking through strategic practical theological responses to guide faithful Christian practice. The course is a required core course for all doctoral students majoring in Practical Theology.
• STH TJ 910: Proseminar in Practical Theology
  This doctoral seminar for practical theology majors introduces the primary changes that are under way in practical theology as a discipline, reviews the methodologies upon which these changes are based, and examines the implications of these changes.
• STH TJ 940: Ecclesiology
  This course asks the question, ?What is the church?? in dialogue with Christian theological figures and schools representing Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christian traditions. While one of the aims of this course is that students be conversant with those voices, it ultimately aims at the student?s ability to articulate the ecclesiology of his or her own community and to bring that to bear on the contemporary situation and particular problems of Christian practice in church and society.
• STH TM 808: Three Missionary Faiths (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam) and Their Importance for Global Development
  The terms "missionary" and "development" often prompt images of Western Christians working away from home. Much has been written about European colonial era missionaries and Western-led interventions around the world. But Christianity is not the only missionary world religion nor do modern development efforts fall within the sole purview of Western powers. This course will examine the missionary nature of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam and consider the ways in which all three faiths think about engagement with the world in an era of climate change, resource wars, and global economic inequity. Using an inter-disciplinary approach that examines religious adherents' worldviews the course will concentrate on how the thinking patterns of followers of these three faith traditions translate into actions. We will also reflect on the ways in which the modern development enterprise itself exhibits missionary characteristics. Particular attention will go towards contexts in which interactions among the religious traditions and secular development interventions are taking place. Guest speakers, site visits, and multimedia presentations will complement reading assignments and classroom discussions.
• STH TM 815: The Debate over Modern Mission
  Exploration of biblical, historical, theological, political, and cultural perspectives on the world mission of the church. This course is a requirement for United Methodist MDiv students pursuing ordination in the United Methodist Church. STH TM815 is the course that meets the mission ordination requirements for MDiv students.
• STH TM 846: Religion and Society in East Asia
  Comparative and historical study of the interaction of religion and society in East Asia. Particular attention to the relation of Christianity with the Asian religions and the role of religion in modernization.
• STH TM 848: Emergence of Christianity as a Global Movement
  Historical development of world Christianity. Emphasis on social, cultural, spiritual, and political issues in African, Asian and Latin American Christianity in the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. Also offered as STH TH 848.
• STH TM 853: Mission Enacted: Working with Faith-Based and International Non-Governmental Organizations
  This course will cover some important theoretical and practical issues related to cross-cultural non-governmental and faith-based service work. It will be structured according to formats commonly used in grant proposal writing and, as students learn to write their own proposals, they will also be encouraged to think critically about values and assumptions that undergird the systems and structures of such service work as currently envisioned and practiced. Case studies, guest speakers, and multimedia offerings will enrich the context.
• STH TM 856: Women in Mission and World Christianity
  History of Christian women in diakonia and mission outreach, including gender issues in mission and non-western Christianity today. Also offered as STH TM 848. Robert.

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