DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to help students explore the historical development of the United Methodist tradition in the cultural and social context of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. We will consider how Methodism engaged its cultural setting, why it succeeded so dramatically in America, and what challenges the church now faces.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of taking this course, the student will (1) understand the historical context from which the United Methodist Church developed, and (2) be able to reflect that heritage in preaching, teaching, and ministering within the context of current theological reflection in the Christian community.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: This course will help students gain a broader historical perspective on the United Methodist Church, providing a richer context from which to evaluate the church's place in modern life. It will also meet part of the requirement for ordination in the United Methodist Church.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet daily for four-hour sessions for two weeks (except July 4). We will use a mixed lecture and discussion format. Discussion will focus on daily reading assignments.

REQUIRED READING:

Heitzenrater, Richard. Wesley and the People Called Methodists. Abingdon, 1995.

Hatch, Nathan. The Democratization of American Christianity. Yale University Press, 1989.

Wigger, John. Taking Heaven by Storm: Methodism and the Rise of Popular Christianity in America. University of Illinois Press, 2001.

Course Reader (includes primary source readings from B. Abbott, R. Allen, J. Lee, and F. Newell).

Andrews, D. The Methodists and Revolutionary America, 1760-1800. Princeton University Press, 2000.

Brekus, Catherine. Strangers and Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America, 1740-1845. University of North Carolina Press, 1998.

Hatch, N. and J. Wigger, eds. Methodism and the Shaping of American Culture. Abingdon, 2001.

Hempton, David. Methodism: Empire of the Spirit. Yale University Press, 2005.

Heyrman, C. Southern Cross: Beginnings of the Bible Belt. University of North Carolina Press, 1997.

Lyerly, Cynthia Lynn. Methodism and the Southern Mind, 1770-1810. Oxford University Press, 1998.

Melton, J.G. A Will to Choose: Origins of African American Methodism. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.

Rack, Henry. Reasonable Enthusiast: John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism. Epworth, 1989.

Richey, Russell. Early American Methodism. Indiana University Press, 1991.

Ruth, Lester. Early Methodist Spirituality. Abingdon, 2005.

Sutton, William. Journeymen for Jesus: Evangelical Artisans Confront Capitalism in Jacksonian Baltimore. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.