Dr. James W. Brodman
Office: Irby 105G (Office Hours are MWF at 10 am or by appointment)
Telephone: 450-5633
e-mail: jimb@mail.uca.edu (preferred)

Required Reading

Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, revised edition
R. W. Southern, Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages
Internet Primary Documents as assigned below.

Course Requirements

There will be THREE examinations, worth 100 points each, that collectively will comprise 65% of the course grade (20+20+25). An additional 25% will be earned from a term paper. This assignment consists of a research paper of approximately 10 pages on any significant Christian  personage or movement who functioned between the fourth and the fifteenth centuries. The paper will, in addition, contain footnotes and a bibliography constructed in accordance with the the University of Central Arkansas Department of History style sheet (see www.uca.edu/history for a copy). A minimum of ten sources must be cited, of which at least two have to be monographs, and two articles in scholarly journals; no more than half of the sources can be internet-based. Ten per cent of the grade will be based upon quizzes, class participation and oral reports.
Note that the term paper is due November 11!

Aims and Objectives

History of Christianity I introduces the student to some of  the important personages, institutions, ideas, movements and conflicts that are associated with the development of Christianity as an historical movement within the Roman Empire and then during the European Middle Ages. Chronologically, the course spans the first fifteen centuries of the Christian era. The student will come to understand how religion and society intersect.

Course Policies

Class attendance is required; students who accumulate more than six absences are liable to dismissal from class. Late arrivals and/or early departures count as a class absence. Anyone who engages in disruptive or unruly behavior is subject to dismissal from the class. Such behavior includes habitually late arrivals, leaving class early, taking bathroom breaks, and inattention. Any academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, will lead to penalties that range, at a minimum,  from a grade of zero on the assignment in question to, at a maximun, dismissal from the class with the grade of  F. The consumption of food and beverages in class is not permitted, nor is the use of pagers, cell phones, laptop computers, mp3 players, video games or any other electronic devices not specifically authorized by the instructor. Students who for a serious reason are absent from a major examination  can make it up if that student contacts me within one week of the missed examination, or within one week of returning to school, whichever is later. Students who fail to do this will forfeit the privilege of a make-up examination. Make-up examinations may be more difficult than regular examinations. Make-ups will rarely be available for the other activities; if you anticipate absence on the due date, you are encouraged to hand the assignment in early or else by email. Assignments handed in after the due date will be assessed a penalty that will increase as time elapses from that date. Absence from the final examination will result in the assignment of a failing grade unless you tell me in a timely fashion of a serious reason for that absence. The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under this Act due to a disability, contact the Office of Disabilities Support Services at 450-3135. Information concerning University Academic Policies can be found on p. 35ff of the Student Handbook and, for those on sexual harassment, on p. 112 ff. Students are urged to familiarize themselves with all policies as outlined in the Student Handbook.

August 26: Orientation

August 29: Christianity: Jewish or Gentile? The Early Church (hereafter EC), chapter 1

August 31- September 2: Apostles and Bishops, EC, ch. 2

September 7-9: Conversion -- the first three centuries; EC, ch. 3

September 12: The Early Fathers; EC, ch, 4-6;  Tertullian on the Apparel of Women

September 14: The Persecutions, EC, ch. 7;  The Martyrdom of Ignatius

September 16: The Era of Constantine; EC, ch. 8;  Constantine's Laws for Christians

September 19: Christianity as an official church.EC ch. 9-11; Ambrose to Theodosius

September 21: The Ascetic Reaction, EC, ch. 12-13;   Life of Paulus, the first hermit

September 23: The Rural Church: Monks and Parishes

September 26: Christological Debates, EC, ch. 14;  Decrees from the Council of Nicaea

September 28: The Latin Fathers: Jerome and Augustine, EC, ch. 15; The City of God (excerpts)

September 30: First Examination

October 3: The Early Popes EC, ch. 16;  Leo I on Petrine Doctrine

October 5: The Popes and the Western Church  Letters of Gregory I

October 7: Christianity and the Germanic Peoples , EC, ch. 17

October 10: Liturgy and Music in the Patristic Era, EC, ch. 18

October 12: The Patristic Era -- summary; Term Paper Topics Due

October 14: Medieval Christianity -- overview; Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages (hereafter WS), ch. 1-2

October 17: Separating the Eastern and Western Churches, WS, ch. 3

October 19: The Eastern Church in the Early Middle Ages;  Iconoclasm Decrees of 754

October 24: The Western Church in the Early Middle Ages; I: The Clergy; WS, ch. 6.1

October 26: II: Monks;  Benedictine Rule:  Text (prologue, chapts. 2, 3, 5, 7, 21-23)

October 28: III: Christianizing Europe

October 31: The Carolingian Church; WS, ch 5;  Coronation of Pepin

November 2: The Church in the Age of Feudalism;  Council of Charroux: The Peace of God, 989

November 4: Second Examination

November 7: The Cluniac Reform;  Foundation of Cluny

November 9: The Gregorian Reform; WS, ch. 4   Electoral Reform of 1059

November 11: Term Papers DUE; The Investiture Contest;  Papal Decrees Against Lay Investitute

November 14: The New Monastic Orders; WS. 6.2;  The Charta caritatis

November 16: The New Orders of Canons Regular, WS, 6.3

November 18: Canon Law and the Curia;  Fourth Lateran Council -- Selected Canons

November  21: The Laic Culture of the Twelfth-Century Church; WS, 7.1

November  28: Cathars and Waldensians;  Bernard Gui on the Albigensians

November  30:  The New Mendicant Orders;  Testament of St. Francis

December  2: Crusade versus Mission in the Thirteenth-Century Church; A Christian-Muslim Debate in the 12th Century

December 5:  The New Caritative Orders;  Brodman, Ransoming Captives in Crusader Spain: Conclusion

December 7:  Church and State in the Fourteenth Century; WS 7.2; Unam Sanctam ;  The Great Schism
Dissent and Renewal in the Late Medieval Church

December 9: Study Day

December 14: Final Exam (2 p.m.)