Module THEO46930: Faith and the Experience of War

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO46930: Faith and the Experience of War

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To provide an advanced introduction to the theme of war and religious experience in the modern history of Western Christianity.
• To explore the development of different religious traditions under the impact of armed conflict.
• To examine the relationship between faith and meaning making at moments of crisis.
• To identify and utilise the range of sources available to the historian of this subject.

Content

• Selected historical case studies of the encounter between Christianity and war, studied individually and in comparison with one another.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge and understanding of the conflicts and religious traditions covered in this module.
• Awareness of the impact of war in the development of religious traditions, and of the influence of faith in driving or resisting, interpreting, experiencing, and commemorating conflict.
• Knowledge of illustrative figures, texts, images, artefacts, and memorials.

• The ability to analyse and interpret relevant individuals, texts, images, artefacts, and monuments.
• The ability to place diverse religious materials from a broad historical period in a meaningful context.

• Advanced research skills, including the location, identification, evaluation and proper citation of key sources.
• Advanced communication skills, including the abilities to construct a sophisticated written argument and to make a clear verbal evaluation of different types of evidence and sources.

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

• Teaching is through seminars in which a designated student will introduce the topic under discussion but all students are expected to participate on the basis that they have read and made assessments of the relevant texts beforehand.
• Formative and summative essays require students to investigate particular topics, to present their findings in a clear and concise manner and to cite their sources properly, displaying their subject-specific knowledge, subject-specific skills, and key skills.
• Brief, one-to-one tutorials will be available by appointment and on request to discuss essay planning and feedback.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One 2,000-word essay.

■ 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