Summer 2007/Pasadena
Two-week Intensive: August 13-24
GM575
Offutt
GM575: EVANGELICALISM IN AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA. Stephen Offutt.
DESCRIPTION: This course reviews the literature relating to evangelicalism in
Latin America and Africa. It explores the primary features of evangelicalism in
these regions, including the role of international networks and U.S.-based
actors, indigenous denominations and megachurches, and the theological and
social agendas that evangelical leaders in these regions pursue.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of successful completion of this course,
students will
* recognize the transnational networks that connect evangelicalism
globally;
* grasp similarities and differences between evangelicals in Africa and Latin
America;
* interact with sociological explanations for evangelicalism's recent global
growth; and
* understand the American evangelical community's relationship to evangelicals
in these two regions.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Ministry is now carried out in a globalized society;
understanding co-religionists in other parts of the globe will be critical for
Christian leaders in the next generation. This course should broaden the
students' worldview and better prepare them to create Christian, transnational
connections.
COURSE FORMAT: This is a two-week intensive, meeting daily for four-hour
sessions. Beginning with a lecture orienting the class to the literature, the
lecture will be followed by significant discussion time intended, in part, to
draw out personal experiences of class members from or familiar with these
regions, and to synthesize these on-the-ground impressions of evangelicalism
with the existing literature.
REQUIRED READING:
- Bediako, Kwame. "Christian Witness in the Public Sphere: Some
Lessons and Residual Challenges from the Recent Political History of Ghana." In
The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World, ed.
L. Sanneh and J. A. Carpenter. Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Freston, Paul. Evangelicals in Politics in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001 (selected
chapters).
- Jenkins, Philip. The Next Christendom: the Coming of Global
Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 (selected chapters).
- Martin, David. Pentecostalism: The World Their Parish. Oxford:
Blackwell, 2002 (selected chaps.).
- Padilla, C. René. "Evangelical Theology in a Latin American
Context." 2006. Available at
http://www.integral-mission.org/PDF_files/Evangelical_Theology_in_LA_context.pdf
- Course Reader (including articles by E. Brusco, H. R. Ebaugh, M.
Noll, D. Robert, L. Sanneh, C. Smith).
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Brouwer, Steve, Paul Gifford, and Susan D. Rose. Exporting the
American Gospel: Global Christian Fundamentalism. Routledge, 1996.
- Jenkins, Philip. The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in
the Global South. Oxford University Press, 2006.
- Levitt, Peggy. "Redefining the Boundaries of Belonging: The Institutional
Character of Transnational Religious Life." Sociology of Religion 65,
no. 1 (2004): 1-18.
- Mariz, Cecila. Coping with Poverty : Pentecostals and Christian Base
Communities in Brazil. Temple University Press, 1994.
- Martin, D. Tongues of Fire: The Explosion of Protestantism in Latin
America. Basil Blackwell, 1990.
- Meyer, Birgit. "Commodities and the Power of Prayer: Pentecostalist
Attitudes Towards Consumption in Contemporary Ghana." Development and
Change 29 (1998): 751-76.
- Wuthnow, Robert, and Stephen Offutt. "Transnational Religious Connections."
Forthcoming.
ASSIGNMENTS: Grades will be based on the following: (1) Exam at the end of
each week (two exams, each worth 25% of final grade); (2) one 12-15 page paper,
due Sept. 12 (35%); class attendance (5%).
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets requirement in Globalization (GLBL) for MA
degrees.
FINAL EXAMINATION: No comprehensive final; two exams for course.