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.

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.

The class will meet daily for four-hour sessions for two weeks. We will use a mixed lecture and discussion format. Discussion will focus on daily reading assignments.

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 Benjamin Abbott, Richard Allen, Jarena Lee, and Fanny Newell).

Andrews, Dee. 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, Nathan and John Wigger, eds. Methodism and the Shaping of American Culture. Abingdon, 2001.

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

Heyrman, Christine. 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.

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.

Students are expected to complete assigned readings before each class session. Quizzes may be used to encourage this practice. In addition: (1) a final exam based on assigned readings and class lectures; (2) a comparative critical book review at the end of the first week; (3) a 10-15 page critical paper on a topic related to United Methodist history and approved by the instructor; or, reading five books from the recommended reading list and submission of a two-page critical book review for each (due August 19).