REL1840 Christianity and Power

This course asks students to consider the long, contested history of Christianity. Rather than treat Christianity as just one thing that is stable across all times and places, this course introduces students to the many ways that Christians have thought about, practiced, maintained, or challenged the versions of Christianity they’ve encountered. Students engage diverse source material from antiquity to the present with a focus on understanding how and why Christians have cared about the priorities they’ve embraced and how Christianity has influenced, shaped, and been influenced by sociopolitical power.

Credits

4 sh

Offered

• Spring

Course Outcomes

1. Students will recognize and describe breadth and diversity within Christian traditions.
2. Students will recognize and analyze the social construction of Christian traditions over time and within specific contexts.
3. Students will recognize and explain ways in which Christian traditions have cultural, political, and/or economic significance and ways in which culture, politics, and/or economics have significance for Christian traditions.
4. Students will recognize how Christianity has influenced, shaped, or been influenced by sociopolitical power.