DESCRIPTION:
This course serves as a core competency or foundational module for
mission studies and introduces the student to historical methods and research
(including mission historiography). It
focuses on the significance of history as a dimension of human experience, a
primary component in theological reflection, and a functional element in the
study of missions. While its content
provides an overview of the last five hundred years of mission history—roughly
1500 to the present—the main focus will be on assessing the formation,
structures and impact of the modern missionary movement (both Roman Catholic
and Protestant). Close attention will
be paid to regional patterns of growth, key players and thinkers, principal
mission theories and strategies, as well as the transformational role of
Christian missions in the making of the present world order.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
The student will acquire:
• some understanding of approaches to historical research and writing.
• a working historical knowledge and missiological understanding of the growth
of the Christian church into a worldwide phenomenon.
• an appreciation of the habits of mind and study that 1) facilitate the
critical examination of historical material and 2) foster meaningful evaluation
of contemporary challenges in mission and the ministry of the Church.
COURSE FORMAT: Class meets twice a week in two hour periods. At least thirty minutes of each session will be devoted to class discussion of recommended readings and/or student presentations.
REQUIRED READING:
Goodpasture, H. McKennie, Cross and
Sword: An Eyewitness History…. Orbis, 1989.
Hastings, Adrian, A World History of Christianity. Eerdmans, 1999.
Neil, Stephen, A History of Christian Missions.
Penguin, 1990.
Ross,
Andrew C., A Vision Betrayed: The Jesuits in Japan and China, 1542-1742.
Orbis, 1994.
Walls, Andrew F, The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian
History. Orbis, 2002.
Escobar, Samuel, Changing Tides: Latin America & World Mission
Today. Orbis, 2002.
Hanciles, Jehu J. Euthanasia of a Mission. Praeger, 2002.
Poewe, Karla (ed.), Charismatic Christianity as a Global Culture. Univ.
of S. Carolina Press, 1994.
Porter, Andrew (ed.), The Imperial Horizons of British Protestant Missions,
1880-1914. Eerdmans, 2003.
Shenk, Wilbert R., Changing Frontiers of Mission. Orbis, 1999.
Shenk, Wilbert R. (ed.), Enlarging the Story: Perspectives
on Writing World Christian History. Orbis, 2002.
Shenk, Wilbert R. (ed.), North American Foreign Missions, 1810-1914.
Eerdmans, 2004.
Stanley, Brian (ed.), Christian Missions and the Enlightenment.
Eerdmans, 2001.
• Read 1500 pages from required and recommended
books.
• Write and submit two (3-4
pages) reflection papers by stipulated deadlines.
• Write a
4,000 word research paper (excluding bibliography) on a theme arising from
course lectures and making use of primary or
archival material as best as possible.
•
Th.M students will be required to submit an additional
book review and write a 6,000
word paper demonstrating greater intellectual critique and analytical depth.
PREREQUISITES: None
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets core competency in MAICS program
FINAL EXAM: None