HISTORY
5393
Global
Christianity
Spring 2016
Baylor University
PHILIP JENKINS
INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES OF RELIGION
Monday 2:30-5:15
Tidwell 205
Philip_Jenkins@baylor.edu
or jenkins@psu.edu
407 Pat Neff (254)
710-7555
I check my e-mail regularly, so this is
an excellent way to get in touch with me if you have a quick question, or if
you want to make an appointment for a more substantial discussion.
THE
COURSE
Over
the past two centuries, the global spread of Christianity has been one of the
critical themes in world history, with revolutionary effects on Africa and
Asia. Meanwhile, Latin American faith has also been revolutionized by the
spread of new forms of Protestantism. The global movement also promises vast
changes within the Christian faith as it is practiced within Europe and North
America. In our time, Christianity, a religion born and nurtured in Asia and
Africa, has decided to return home.
Themes of the course include the reasons
for the success or failure of Christianity in different contexts; the
relationship between religious expansion and the fate of empires; the role of
globalization; the impact of culture on belief, practice, and theology; and the
changing relationships between the great world faiths. Among other recurrent topics,
we will touch on the impact of religious change on concepts of gender and family; and we will explore changing definitions
of modernity. As far as possible within the limitations of a single
course, we will strive for the widest possible global coverage.
As you will see, this is also a course
about different ways of doing history. We will explore a variety of different
studies, which are both top-down and bottom-up in their approach. Some
concentrate on vast global trends, others on the micro-history of particular
communities. Some are highly theoretical, others strictly nuts and bolts in
their approach. Some are more popular, other more academic. Some of the authors
will be reading explicitly think of themselves as historians,
others are sociologists or political scientists. We will discuss how historical
fiction can be used as a means of debating historical and theological truth.
I have a particular interest in the
nature of sources, and how historians employ diverse materials to draw
conclusions. Throughout, we will pay close attention to the use of documents and
other forms of evidence.
A glance at this syllabus will indicate
my own particular areas of interest, both themes and geographical areas. I am
however flexible towards accommodating other people's interests and areas of
expertise, and would encourage individuals to use their papers to pursue their
own particular projects. Ideally, I would like this class to provide a
foundation that you can build upon in your dissertation work.
Although this is primarily a history
course, I am open to a wide variety of other disciplines and approaches,
including theology, literature, art, and so on.
REQUIRED
BOOKS
All
these are, or should be, in affordable paperback editions.
Shusaku Endo, Silence (Taplinger, 1980)
ISBN: 0800871863, 978-0800871864
Henrietta
Harrison, The
Missionary's Curse and Other Tales from a Chinese Catholic Village (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 2013).
ISBN:
0520273125, 978-0520273122
Philip
Jenkins, The New Faces of Christianity:
Believing the Bible in the Global South (New York: Oxford University Press,
2006)
ISBN: 0195368517, 978-0195368512
Klaus Koschorke,
Frieder Ludwig and Mariano Delgado, eds., A History of
Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990: A Documentary
Sourcebook (Grand Rapids, Mich. : W.B. Eerdmans, 2007).
ISBN: 0802828892, 978-0802828897
Ruth
Marshall, Political Spiritualities:
The Pentecostal Revolution in Nigeria (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2009).
ISBN: 0226507130, 978-0226507132
Mark Noll, From Every Tribe and Nation (Baker Academic 2014, paperback).
ISBN: 978-0-8010-3993-5
Dana
L. Robert, Christian Mission: How
Christianity Became a World Religion (New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).
ISBN: 0631236201, 978-0631236207
Lamin Sanneh, Disciples
of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2007).
ISBN: 0195189612, 978-0195189612
Mark
Shaw, Global Awakening: How 20th-Century
Revivals Triggered a Christian Revolution (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity
Press, 2010).
ISBN: 0830838775, 978-0830838776
I
could easily have used lots more collections of documents, readings, etc., but
an unimaginably vast range of texts is available for free on the Internet.
These cover every conceivable topic you might be researching. I would
draw your attention to two resources in particular, namely the History of Missiology site at
Boston University and the Dictionary of African
Christian Biography. Early in the course, please get to know your way
around the resources they offer.
A Note on
Reading Required Books
I
also offer the following list of questions that apply to any and all of the
prescribed books – or indeed, to some extent, to any academic book that
you might encounter:
1. First, obviously, what is
the book about, and what is its central theme or point?
2. Does the author make
his/her case well and clearly? Is the book well-written
and well-argued? (the two points are not necessarily
the same!) If not, why not?
3. The fact that the book was
published indicates that somebody thought it made an important and innovative
point – thereÕs no point in just rehashing old familiar arguments, or so
we would think. WhatÕs new about this book? Is it a controversial study?
4. What did the book tell us
that was not previously known? What can we learn about
how the book fits into the existing literature, yet advances beyond previous
knowledge? What earlier or established position is it arguing against?
5. Why are people studying
this kind of topic right now? What does this tell us about the state of
historical writing and scholarship?
6. Does the author push the
evidence to make it fit into contemporary concerns and obsessions? How?
7. What major questions and
issues surface that relate to the topics of the present course?
8. Is the book of any
interest or significance beyond the immediate scope of the study addressed?
9. Are there questions that
you would like to ask that the author does not deal with, or covers poorly?
10. What can we learn from
the footnotes and acknowledgments about how the author went about his/her
research?
SYLLABUS
OF CLASSES
1. JANUARY 11 Introduction
Introducing
themes, concepts and debates: a chronology of Christian history
JANUARY
18 NO
CLASS (MLK DAY)
2. JANUARY 25 The
West and the Rest
How ChristianityÕs center of gravity has
shifted through its two thousand year history; how the faith has been shaped
the various cultures with which it has interacted.
DISCUSS: Sanneh, Pillars of
World Christianity. See discussion questions at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/sanneh.htm
3. FEBRUARY 1 Missions
The forces driving mission
through history, and factors making for success and failure.
Past and present debates over the concept of mission.
DISCUSS: Robert, Christian Mission. See discussion
questions at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/robert.htm
4. FEBRUARY 8 Converting the
World
Christian expansion during the Early Modern
period, and the first era of globalization: its triumphs and disasters.
DISCUSS: Koschorke et al, eds., A History of Christianity, pp. 1-54, 139-183, 277-360.
Please
note that in this class and the next, I will also be assigning specific key
documents to individual students, on which they will then comment in additional
detail. For both this class and the next, see the discussion
questions at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/kos.htm
I
NEED TO KNOW THE TITLE AND TOPIC OF YOUR TERM PAPER TODAY, PLEASE
5. FEBRUARY 15 The Empires Strike Back
How European empires spread Christianity
worldwide, and how the faith broke free of the imperial stranglehold.
DISCUSS: Koschorke et al, eds., A History of Christianity, pp. 55-138, 184-276, 361-418
6. FEBRUARY 22 Voices from the Past
Reconstructing ChinaÕs Christian history.
DISCUSS: Henrietta
Harrison, The
Missionary's Curse.
See the discussion
questions at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/curse.htm
7. FEBRUARY
29 Revivals
How revivals and ÒcrusadesÓ have propelled
Christian growth, and shaped new churches worldwide.
DISCUSS: Shaw, Global Awakening. See discussion
questions at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/shaw.htm
MARCH 5-13 SPRING
BREAK, NO CLASSES
8.
MARCH 14 Fresh Eyes on
the Bible
How new African and Asian churches read and
apply the Bible, and how new cultural contexts shape their religious
experience.
DISCUSS: Jenkins, New Faces of Christianity
9.
MARCH 21 African
Saints
Understanding the various dimensions of
Christian conversion and Pentecostal experience in a region that has witnessed
tremendous expansion in recent decades.
DISCUSS: Marshall, Political Spiritualities.
See discussion questions at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/nigeria.htm
PAPER DRAFTS ARE DUE TODAY
MARCH
28 NO CLASS – EASTER
10.
APRIL 4 Global
and American
How Western evangelicalism went global, and
how it was itself transformed in the process
DISCUSS: Noll,
From Every Tribe and Nation.
See discussion questions
at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/noll.htm
11. APRIL 11 History
as Fiction
Literary fiction as a means of presenting
historical and theological interpretation
DISCUSS: Endo, Silence. See discussion questions at
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/silence.htm
12. APRIL 18 CLASS
PRESENTATIONS
13. APRIL 25 CLASS
PRESENTATIONS
Hard
copies of final paper drafts are due at my office in Pat Neff by Tuesday, May 4
at 10am.
In most cases, you cannot submit papers electronically. An
exception can be made in rare circumstances, eg if,
say, you live 40 miles out of town and driving in especially to deliver the
paper would be a major personal inconvenience. (P.S. most of you do not live 40
miles out of town).
Grading
Paper
70%
Attendance and Participation
20%
Presentation
10%
100%
Grading scale
[undergraduate students]
A
90-100
B+ 87.5-90
B 80-87.5
C+ 77.5-80
C 70-77.5
D
60-70
F 60
or lower
Grading scale
[graduate students]
A
92.5-100
A-
90-92.5
B+ 87.5-90
B 82.5-87.5
B- 80-82.5
C+ 77.5-80
C 72.5-77.5
C- 70-72.5
D
60-70
F 60
or lower
REQUIREMENTS
AND CLASS POLICIES
The course will take the format of a
reading and research seminar.
Each week, students will come to class
having read an assigned book or document. Each student should come to class
with open-ended questions growing out of the general theme, around which the
discussion of the readings should be organized. In each case, I will supply
beforehand a general list of questions and prompts that will guide you in
making your way through the readings.
Participants
will write a substantial research paper on a topic of their choice. Possible topics could include issues raised by the course
readings, or any other themes of interest in the history of global
Christianity. Students should base their research on primary sources from the
period and scholarly secondary sources, either books or journal articles. I am flexible
about possible themes, and am happy to assist you in developing a workable
topic and a list of sources. I discuss this
issue of paper topics in more detail here.
By the week of February 1, I need to know the title and topic of
the paper you will be writing. Obviously, I need to approve your choice before
you proceed with writing it.
Undergraduate
papers should be between 5,000 and 6,000 words, including footnotes. Graduate
student papers would be between 6,000 and 8,000 words, including footnotes. You
should follow Kate TurabianÕs A Manual For
Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations as a style guide. Grading will of course take account of
issues such as grammar and punctuation.
By the week of March 21, I will expect you to submit a preliminary
draft, which I will then discuss with you on an individual basis during office
hours. The draft by the way, is a full-length version of the paper, fully
referenced, as opposed to a two or three page Òconcept paperÓ, and it should
thus be in connected prose, not in point form. This draft will then be revised
to create a final version due for presentation in the final examination period.
That gives you plenty of time to do any necessary fine-tuning.
Choosing
a Paper Topic
This is a critically important theme that I have addressed at some
length at this page:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/p/jpj1/5393topics.htm
Do please consult that. You will also find there
suggestions for presentations, when that time of the semester rolls around.
Policies
Deadlines matter, and I intend to enforce
them strictly. If you miss a deadline without getting an extension in advance,
you get a grade of F on that particular paper or project. Do not get in touch
with me after the fact to explain why you missed a deadline, unless you produce
a proper medical note or other documentation. Valid reasons include medical
problems and the like.
ÒAttendance and participation" carry
a substantial 20 percent of the grade. I expect you to do the readings for
every class, and I reserve the right to call on people individually through the
term to comment or respond on particular texts, or issues arising from them. If
you do the readings, and take a full and regular part in class discussions,
then that will have a major positive impact on your grade. On the other hand,
consistently not participating, not doing the readings - or repeatedly being
absent from discussions - is equivalent to failing to do the term paper.
I donÕt necessarily expect a 100 percent
attendance rate, but repeated absences or consistent non-participation will
have serious consequences. It does not just mean that you will receive a slightly
lower grade: just like refusing to do a paper or an exam, it means that you
would simply have not completed the class, and would therefore receive a grade
of F for the entire course. It's important to spell out that expectation from
the outset. If you are not prepared to do the readings and participate fully,
then please drop the class now.
Academic
Honesty:
This may all be
obvious, but itÕs useful to spell it out here.
Plagiarizing
papers will result in a ÒzeroÓ for that assignment with the possibility of
further disciplinary action at the discretion of the Honor Council and DeanÕs
office. Students may not use the
same paper to satisfy requirements in more than one class. Students may not copy material and
present it as their own, and this includes material or papers from Internet
sites. On any assignment for this class or any other, if the words or
interpretations you use are not your own, you must give credit to the original
author.
If you are not
sure about something, please ask.