Christianity Since 1491

This course introduces students to the expansion, proliferation, and transformation of Christian movements from 1491 to the present day. It focuses primarily on the context of the Americas to illustrate the centrality of colonialism to the last five hundred years of Christian history, and argues that Christian movements which reinforce, resist, and adapt to colonialism are the rule, not the exception. We will explore this relationship through specific historical case studies, focusing on the particularities of specific Christianities to hone our skills in historical analysis. As we learn how to study Christian history, we will also learn why these histories matter. Regularly throughout the course, we will examine how contemporary Christian communities understand the histories we learn, why they understand them in this way, and how we hold the tension between those understandings and our historical studies. This course requires no previous grounding in Christian history or theology. Prior experience with the study of history at the undergraduate or graduate level is helpful, but not a prerequisite.