Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2015-2016 (archived)

Module THMN2077: Themes in Church History

Department: Theology and Ministry

THMN2077: Themes in Church History

Type Open Level 2 Credits 10 Availability Not available in 2015/16 Module Cap Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • None

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None

Aims

  • To enable students to study at greater depth selected periods, events and personalities in the history of the Church, including engagement with original sources, so that they will develop skills in interpreting historical evidence and using it in wider theological and ministerial work.

Content

  • The staff with students will select four topics to be covered from the following list:
  • Church and State - a comparison of Church-State relationships under the pre- and post-Constantinian Empire; Innocent III; the English Reformation and the German Church under the Nazis.
  • The Development of the Medieval Papacy: Leo the Great; Gregory the Great; Gregory VII; Innocent III.
  • The Development and Growth of Monasticism up to the High Middle Ages: Desert Monasticism; Benedict; Celtic Monasticism; Cluny and Citeaux.
  • The 'Reformation'
  • 'Enthusiastic' Movements in the History of the Church from Montanism to the 'Toronto Blessing'
  • Church and Mission in the Modern World: the Church and overseas mission; the Church and the working classes in Britain; the Church and Christian Social Thought.
  • The Papacy in the Modern World from the French Revolution to Vatican 2.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • By the end of the module students will
  • have developed the skills and confidence to read and evaluate primary historical source material for themselves
Subject-specific Skills:
  • demonstrate an increased sense of their own location as a product of historical development, as also of the location and development of other Christian traditions.
Key Skills:
  • be able to make critical use of historical evidence in current issues in the life of the Church and the World

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • 14 hours contact time: lectures and seminars

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours

Summative Assessment

Component: Take-away paper Component Weighting: 100%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
'Take away' paper in which students are required to answer gobbets on 3 of 4 topics. 100%

Formative Assessment:

Student-led seminar


Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University