Historical Theology

The course traces Christianity's meteoric development in the first millennium. It examines the break from Judaism, the formation of the Christian Bible, the age of martyrs, the theological golden period of the late Roman Empire, and the rise of the papacy and monasticism. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts, and profiles of important figures.

The course traces Christianity's vigorous but fragmented growth in the second millennium. It studies the grandeur of the medieval cathedrals, the ideas of scholasticism and mysticism, the challenges of the Reformation, the rise of modernity, and the course of Christianity in America. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts and profiles of important figures.

Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) grounds the history of western theology, and still informs modern fields like psychology and linguistics. While situating him in Roman antiquity, the course studies his thought as an account of Christian faith seeking understanding. We will read in depth his classic, theologically profound conversion story, the Confessions, and study his thought on God, Scripture, and the grace of Christ.

The course traces Christianity's development, from its origins as an obscure Jewish sect, through acceptance and growth in the late Roman Empire and mature self-definition in the Middle Ages, to the challenges of fragmentation and renewal in the Reformation and the modern world. Its tools are chronological tracking, historical vignettes, analysis of selected texts, and profiles of important figures.

This course explores the theological ideas, debates, and practices of Christians living in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Byzantine era (325-1453 CE). It focuses primarily on theological texts, but also draws upon visual and material evidence to better understand a wide range of Byzantine beliefs and practices in their historical, geographical, and cultural contexts.  

This course explores the role of race and ethnicity in ancient Christianity (100-500 CE). It focuses on the multiple ways that early Christians drew upon the concepts of ethnicity and race in the formation of Christian identity, and invites students to think about the role of race and ethnicity in the Christian tradition then and now.

This course investigates the role of violence in ancient Christianity (100-500 CE). It focuses on practices of social violence, especially addressing the interpretation of divinely-legitimized violence in Christianity’s sacred texts, the utilization of violence towards religious outsiders; and the employment of violence within Christian communities to discipline members and police sectarian boundaries.