Module THEO3761: The Reformation and Its Legacy

Department: Theology and Religion

THEO3761: The Reformation and Its Legacy

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• THEO2511

Aims

• To engage students at an advanced level with scholarly study of the theology and history of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations and their legacy to modern times.
• To lead students into advanced and independent analysis of the works of key theologians of the Reformation era and of their subsequent interpreters.
• To enable students to analyse and critique the political, social and economic consequences of religious change in the early modern period.
• To integrate this material with students prior knowledge of the history of Christianity.
• To equip students for the close reading of complex text and for forming tight, focused and apposite arguments.

Content

• This module examines the traumatic fractures in western Christendom that were triggered by Martin Luther from 1517 onwards: their theological substance and also their short- and long-term impacts on European society (and beyond). It examines the medieval context and the major religious parties that emerged from the Reformation crisis; the key theological issues at stake between the parties; the socio-political impact of the disputes in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, with particular attention to religious violence and issues of tolerance and intolerance; and at longer-term consequences including the Reformation’s purported connections to shifting gender norms, to the globalisation of Christianity and to secularisation.

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge and critical understanding of the religious history of the period and of theological developments within it, along with an appreciation of the interrelationship between religious, theological factors, social, cultural, political and economic developments.
• Advanced understanding of a substantial set of primary texts and of their contexts.

• Skills in the handling of primary texts and secondary sources, with an appreciation of the associated problems.
• Skills in the application of historical methods to theological questions.

• Skills in structuring and presenting evidence-based arguments in concise form.
• Skills in analysis and precise, focused and contextualised comment on selected texts.
• Skills in independent researching, thinking and working within a loosely guided framework.

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

• Lectures convey information and exemplify an approach to the subject-matter, enabling students to develop a clear understanding of the subject and to improve their skills in listening and in evaluating information. They also allow students to engage directly with teachers in relation to the lecture material, and to encounter a variety of academic viewpoints and means by which they can be constructively debated.
• A small number of lectures (typically four within the year) will be run as essay workshops, concentrating on skills for structuring and presenting essays with reference to students’ formative work.
• Seminars enhance subject-specific knowledge and understanding both through preparation and through interaction with students and staff, promoting awareness of different viewpoints and approaches and engaging with the use of primary texts.
• Formative assessment: in advance of each essay workshop, all students to hand in (1) a one-page essay plan addressing one of the model essay questions set for that unit, laying out the structure to be adopted, the argument to be advanced, the evidence to be used (in summary) and the conclusions to be reached; (2) a 500-word commentary on a set extract from one of the set texts studied in that unit. These exercises will train students in formulating concise arguments and in applying their knowledge to specific questions in a focused manner.
• Summative assessment: (1) Extended essay, on a topic agreed individually with the module leader, worth 40% of the module mark: this tests all of the learning outcomes but places particular weight on the key skills in independent research. (2) Examination, in which exercises focusing on set texts and more general essays test students’ knowledge and understanding, their ability to handle texts and sources historically, and their ability to formulate effective arguments drawing on their wider reading.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Four one-page essay plans and four 500-word commentaries on extracts from the set texts, spread across the four study units of the module.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.