Course Syllabus

Instructor: Kirk Loadman-Copeland    kirkLC2016@gmail.com    303-949-6393

Course Synopsis

 Spring 2016 — 2 credit course

 

Office Hours:    I look forward to talking with you by email, phone, or in person. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for an appointment.

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Class Meets:                 Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. beginning March 25, 2016

                                    Classroom TBD

 Important Dates:           Last Day to Drop Class: April 29, 2016                          

Course Description: This course will help students become familiar with Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist history. While beginning with our Unitarian roots in Europe, we will also explore our Puritan roots in England and America and their sociological/cultural influence on Unitarianism. The course will be contextualized by connecting our religious history to the eras of American history and our involvement in and reaction to significant historical events, as well our interaction with key figures in other American religious traditions (e.g., Horace Bushnell, Henry Emerson Fosdick, and Reinhold Niebuhr).

Course Goals: Completion of this course will help students:

• demonstrate knowledge of issues, themes, and key figures in Unitarian Universalist history,
• learn how historical resources and themes can be reclaimed or reinterpreted for use today (.e.g., spiritual practices of the Transcendentalists),
• deepen their Unitarian Universalist identity through grounding in history, and
• better understand how to utilize our history to form and inform our congregants and congregations.

Instructional Methodology: This course will present a contextualized perspective of the history of Unitarian Universalism. This will be accomplished through lecture/discussion, reading, writing, and personal reflection. Each class will begin with a discussion of the week’s readings led by the students followed by a lecture with questions and discussion related to the lecture. We invite interactive and participatory learning experiences. Students should expect to spend 4-6 hours per week working on the course in addition to class time.

Class Policies:

• Class starts promptly at 10:00 a.m. Regular attendance is expected. Please communicate with me if it is necessary for you to be absent.
• In this class, we are committed to modeling Unitarian Universalist values as well as the values Iliff embraces: diversity, mutual respect, accountability, honest communication, critical self-reflection, curiosity, creativity and a sense of adventure. We will show respect for differences and diversity in human life and experience.
• Cell phones, beepers, and other electronic devices should be muted before entering the class.
• All students are expected to abide by the academic honesty and other policies listed in the Iliff Masters Student Handbook.
• Incomplete grades are not permitted for this course.

 READING & RESOURCE LIST

Required Primary Reading to ground the course

1. For Faith and Freedom: A short history of Unitarianism in Europe, Charles A. Howe, Boston, UUA, Skinner House Books, (1997), 187 pages (MFC requirement)

This book covers four centuries of Unitarian history in Europe. It begins with the challenge to the Trinity, especially as it unfolded in the life and death of Michael Servetus. It then moves to Poland to recount the rise of Polish Socinianism under the leadership of Faustus Socinus followed by the concurrent rise of Unitarianism in Transylvania under the leadership of Francis David. The book then moves to England to follow the emergence of Unitarianism there.

2. The Larger Faith: A Short History of American Universalism, Charles A. Howe, Boston, UUA, Skinner House Books (1993), 138 pages

This book covers the emergence of Universalism in America when John Murray arrived in New Jersey in 1790 and concludes with the consolidation of the Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association in 1961.

 3. The Unitarians and the Universalists, David Robinson, paperback edition, Greenwood Press (1985), 184 pages (MFC requirement)

Robinson’s book, which traces the history of the Unitarians and Universalists in America, has become a classic. The second half of the book is a biographical dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist leaders.

4. The Premise and the Promise: The Story of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Warren Ross, Boston, Skinner House, UUA (2001), 206 pages (MFC requirement)

This book tells the story of the creation of the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1961 and its first 40 years.

 Resources to Assist with Preparation of a Sermon focused on an aspect of UU history

1. Buehrens, John, (2011), Universalists and Unitarians in America: a people’s history, Boston, MA: Skinner House Books
2. Bumbaugh, David, (2001), Unitarian Universalism: a narrative history, Chicago, IL, Meadville Lombard Theological School

ASSIGNMENTS & PERCENTAGE WEIGHT RELATED TO OVERALL GRADE

Focus on a Historical Figure (due April 25, 2016)                          20%

This will be a 500 to 750 word synopsis of an important historical figure within the tradition that explores how he/she was influenced by the events of his/her time and how he/she responded to those events. This individual can be related to the event explored in the analytical essay or in the sermon.

Analytical Essay (due May 8, 2016)                                               30%

Each student will prepare an analytical essay. This essay will be 1,800 to 2,000 words and will explore a pivotal event in Unitarian, Universalist, or Unitarian Universalist history. The essay should provide an overview of the event, including the larger historical context that influenced it, its antecedents, the individuals involved (both within and beyond Unitarian Universalism), as well as the consequences and legacy of the event (i.e., what impact, if any, does the event have on contemporary Unitarian Universalism?).

Sermon (due May 23, 2016)                                                           30%

There is significant latitude in the selection of the topic and construction of the sermon. The length should be 1,500 to 2,000 words. The purpose is to explore some aspect of Unitarian Universalist history in a way that is compelling and accessible to members of our congregations. The topic of the sermon, however, must be different than that of the analytical essay.

 Discussion Facilitation & Participation (date to be assigned)        20%

Each student will need to read the assignments carefully before class. Come ready to participate fully in discussion with your own questions and ideas from the readings.

During one week, you will facilitate the discussion of the readings. Your preparation for the facilitation should be supported by questions that you develop and, to the extent possible, linking the discussion to a wider historical context.

EVALUATION

Individual assignments will be assigned points using the criteria below. These general criteria apply to all assignments in addition to specific directions and rubrics given in class.

1. Your work in this class should be both professional and appropriate for graduate-level study.
2. English language rules (usage, grammar, etc.) always count.
3. The following are general criteria for the evaluation of assignments.

A—90-100% All requirements thoroughly and exceptionally completed. Creativity or original ideas are evidenced.

B—80-89% One or more of the listed requirements is either missing or not adequately completed. The assignment is prepared at above average standards.

C—70-79% The assignment has been attempted and criteria have been adequately met at a basic (graduate) level.

D—60-69 % There is evidence that an effort has been made to prepare the assignment; however, the requirements were marginally realized.

CLASS DESCRIPTION

Check-in

Each class meeting will start with housekeeping and a brief check-in. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

Discussion of Readings

At the beginning of the term, each student will sign up for a week in which to lead/ facilitate the class discussion of readings.

Lecture

The last hour of the class will consist of a lecture (35-45 minute presentation with balance of time for questions and discussion) per the schedule below.

 

Time	Description
10:00 am	Class begins with brief check-in & housekeeping
10:10 am	Discussion of week’s readings
10.50 am	Break
11:00 am	Lecture
11:45 am	Q & A and discussion of lecture
11:50 am	Class ends

 

 

Date	Time Span	Contexts for Lecture	For Faith & Freedom	The Larger Faith	The Unitarians & Universalists
03/25/16	1550-1630	Reformations: Socinian, Unitarian & Puritan
04/01/16	1631-1814	Revolutions: Great Awakenings of a Nation, Industry & Liberal Theology	pp 1-78	pp 1-32	pp 1-38
04/08/16	1815-1847	The Age of Jacksonian Democracy & Liberal Religious Heresies	pp 79-130	pp 33-46	pp 39-86
04/15/16	1848-1870	From Manifest Destiny to the Second American Revolution	pp 131-187	pp 47-60	pp 87-122
04/22/16	1871-1904	A "Gilded" Age as Freedom Moves West		pp 61-76	pp 123-141
04/29/16	1905-1928	The Progressive Era & the Social Gospel		pp 77-94
05/06/16	1929-1945	From Depression to War, From Theism to Humanism	The Premise & Promise	pp 95-109	pp 143-157
05/13/16	1946-1970	From Optimism to a Loss of Innocence: from Consolidation, Civil Rights & Feminism to Watts, Death of God, Assassinations & Vietnam	pp 1-82	pp 111-126	pp 159-184
05/20/16	1971-2000	From American Exceptionalism to Globalization	pp 83-154	pp 127-138
05/27/16	2001-2013	A New Millennium & the Fourth Great Awakening: Where to? What next?	pp 155-206

 

 

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