Module THEO3651: War and Faith in Great Britain and the United States from the American Revolution to the Cold War

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO3651: War and Faith in Great Britain and the United States from the American Revolution to the Cold War

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• To offer the opportunity to engage in an informed and critical manner with major debates on faith and armed conflict in in Great Britain and the United States;
• To enable students to assess the critical interplay between Christian concepts of Divine providence and the historical reality of military conflict;
• To enable students to assess the ways the Bible and the churches have been used (or have chosen) to justify and condemn conflict, and to console those caught up within it;
• To equip students with the tools for conducting historically sensitive research into a range of appropriate primary texts;
• To build on students’ prior knowledge of the history of Christianity.

Content

• 13. Introductory meeting
• Block 1:
• A) Religion, war and nation-building 1: Eighteenth-century Britain.
• B) Religion, war and nation-building: The American Revolution.
• C) Seminar ad presentations.
• Block 2:
• A) Religion and Rebellion 1: The Indian ‘Mutiny’
• B) Religion and Rebellion 2: The American Civil War
• C) Seminar and presentations.
• Block 3:
• A) The First World War- The War to End Wars 1: Great Britain
• B) The First World War- The War to End Wars 2: The United States
• C) Seminar and presentations.
• Block 4
• A) The Second World War- The Great Crusade 1: Great Britain
• B) The Second World War- The Great Crusade 2: The United States
• C) Seminar and presentations. Block 5
• A) Christianity, Communism and the Cold War: Great Britain
• B) Christianity, Communism and the Cold War: The United States
• C) Seminar and presentations.

Learning Outcomes

• A systematic understanding, and a coherent and detailed knowledge of key Christian engagements with the issue of war, and of the development of Christian ideas in this area.

• An ability to engage critically with the relevant primary sources, appreciating both the problems involved and the constraints of their historical contexts.

• Skills in the conducting of research.
• Skills in thinking theologically and historically.
• Skills in the structured presentation of information in written and oral form.

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

• TEACHING:
• Following an introductory meeting, this module will be taught in five blocks, each comprising two interactive lectures of 2 hours each, followed by a seminar and presentation session of 2 hours. The aim of this combined mode of teaching is to create a dialogical learning environment where students can engage, with suitable guidance, in advanced level discussions supported by selected primary texts. The lecture section will convey information, consider illustrative primary texts, and exemplify an approach to the subject-matter. The seminar and presentation session will enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding both through individual preparation and interaction between presenters, students and staff, promoting awareness of different viewpoints and approaches.
• ASSESSMENT:
• Summative essays develop subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the acquisition of information through reading and research, and in the structured presentation of information in written form.
• Oral presentations assess skills in the oral presentation of information or opinions.
• The final year examination assesses subject-specific knowledge and understanding, along with student skills in the structured presentation of information in written form under time constraints.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

class exercises