Spring 2014/Fuller Online
DP513
Woodruff
DP513: UNITED METHODIST HISTORY (4 Units). Jennifer Woodruff.
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 grew 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.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.
REQUIRED READING: Approx. 1000 pages of required reading
Maddox, Randy, and Jason Vickers, eds. The Cambridge Companion to John Wesley. Cambridge, 2009. ISBN: 978-0521714037, Pub. Price $33.99 [167 pages assigned].
O’Malley, J. Steven, and Jason Vickers, eds. Methodist and Pietist. Kingswood, 2011. ISBN: 978-1426714351, Pub. Price $46.99 [100 pages assigned].
Richey, Russell. The Methodist Experience in America Volume 2: Sourcebook. Abingdon, 2000. ISBN: 978-0687246731, Pub. Price $54.99 [150 pages assigned]
Vickers, Jason, ed. The Cambridge Companion to American Methodism. Cambridge, 2013. ISBN: 978-1107401051, Pub. Price $32.99 [326 pages assigned].
200-250 additional pages of required reading. Students are to choose one book from the Recommended Reading list in the syllabus and prepare an end-of term project [creativity is encouraged; it can be anything from a book review to a skit to a YouTube video to a PowerPoint to a game or lesson plan] based on the reading and its relevance to overall course content.
RECOMMENDED READING: See syllabus for detailed information.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
1000 pages of common assigned reading [40 hours reading]
4 bi-weekly posts (250-400 words) reflecting on assigned reading and 2 bi-weekly responses to a classmate’s post (150-200 words) - (70%) [3-4 hours posting a week/30-40 hours total]
A final project that reflects a programmatic interpretation of the course content in a given context, based on reading of one book from the recommended reading list and developing a creative interpretation of that book for the class – (30%) [15-20 hours preparing & writing]
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective. Fulfills UM disciplinary requirement in history for ordination.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.