History 415: Society and Radicalism: The Radical Reformation

California State University Channel Islands

Spring 2006

Monday/Wednesday 2:30-3:45

Bell Tower 2704

 

 

Instructor:  Amy R. Caldwell

Office:   Professional Building/ Sage Hall 109

Mailbox: Professional Building/ Sage Hall 264

Phone Number: (805) 437-8970 (no voicemail)

Email: amy.caldwell@csuci.edu

Office Hours:   Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 10:30-12:00

 

 

Course Description:

            Welcome to Society and Radicalism!  Our goal this semester is to gain an understanding of religious societies and religious radicalism.  In order to achieve our goal, we will focus on events in the Holy Roman Empire from 1450-1648ish.  This era is often known as “The Protestant Reformation,” “The Catholic Reformation” or “The Age of Reformations.”  Not many people, however, are aware that there was another reformation happening at the same time: the Radical Reformation.  In this course we will examine how these reformers reinterpreted the meaning of society, and why many of them died for their beliefs. 

 

Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

Students in this course will develop:

1) good understanding and knowledge of global history in other regions of the world.

2) good knowledge and problem-solving skills in analyzing contemporary and historical events.

3) good communication skills in oral and written forms.

4) good skills in historical research, analysis, and presentations.

 

Required Texts:

 

James D. Tracy Europe’s Reformations 1450-1650.  New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999

Michael G. Baylor, ed. The Radical Reformation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995

Norman Cohn. The Pursuit of the Millennium rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970

C. Arnold Snyder, Linda A. Huebert Hecht, eds.  Profiles of Anabaptist Women. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier Press, 1996

Electronic coursepack available at the library website. 

 

Course Requirements:

There are four requirements for this course:

1.      Participation:  All students are expected to consistently and actively engage in class discussions. 

2.      Journals:  Each week, write 1-2 pages on the primary documents.  There is no specific question you must address in your journals, but you should use them as an opportunity to reflect on how the primary documents relate to the theme of “Society and Radicalism.”  I will collect your journals in weeks 5, 10 and 15, but I strongly urged you to write each week and not leave them to the night before they are due.  I will not accept late journals.

3.      Final Paper:  Instead of a final exam, there will be a final paper on the Snyder and Cohn books.  Further details on the final will be handed out later in the semester.  The final is due by Wednesday, May 17, at 3:00.  I will not accept late papers.

4.      Research Paper:  The main project for this course is to write an 8-10 page research paper on a topic of your choosing.   I will hand out a list of possible topics, or you may formulate your own topic.  In either case, you must have your topic approved by me.  You must make an appointment to speak with me in Weeks 3 or 4 to discuss possible research topics, and inform me in writing of you final choice by Week 6.  In Week 9, you must hand in a bibliography for your paper.  The final draft is due April 26, 2006.  I will not accept late papers.

Grading:

 

Participation                15%

Journals                       15%

Final Paper                  30%

Research Paper            40% (5% Bibliography; 35% Final Draft)

           

 

Lecture and Reading Schedule:

Part I: The Medieval Worldview

Week I:  Introduction and the Social Orders

            Readings:

            Tracy 1-12

            Electronic Coursepack (EC) Week 1:

John of Salisbury, Selections from Policraticus

 

Week II:  Salvation and the Sword

            Readings:

            Tracy 31-46

            EC Week 2:

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400), “Prologue to the Pardoner’s Tale,” from The Canterbury Tales

Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam 1302

 

           

Part II:  Church Triumphant; Church Divided

Week III:  The Disastrous Fourteenth Century

            Readings:

            Tracy 211-238

            EC Week 3

Petrus Iohannis Olivi (1247-1298): Selections from the Apocalypse Commentary

Anonimalle Chronicle: English Peasants' Revolt 1381

 

 

Week IV:  Church and Spirituality in the Fifteenth Century

            Readings:

            Tracy 121-143

            EC Week 4:

Thomas, à Kempis, 1380-1471, The Imitation of Christ

Sir Thomas More, Utopia

 

Part III: Luther’s Reform, Müntzer’s Revolution

Week V:  Protestant Reformation                                                      Journal 1 Due 2/22/06

            Readings: 

            Tracy 47-71; 261-270

            EC Week 5

Martin Luther, “An Open Letter to The Christian Nobility of the German Nation” 1520

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, “Of Civil Government”

 

 

Week VI:  Reformation Now!                                                                        Research Decision Due        

            Readings: 

            Tracy 73-95

Baylor 1-35

           

Week VII:  Imperial Politics and Revolution

            Readings: 

            Tracy 239-260

            Baylor 49-94

 

Week VIII: The German Peasants’ Revolt and the Knight’s Rebellion

            Readings:

            Baylor 101-129; 231-238

            EC Week 8:

            Luther, “Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants”

 

March 20-25: Spring Break

 

Part IV:  The Radical Reformation                                                     Bibliography Due

Week IX: Zwingli and the Turning Point of the Reformation

            Readings: 

            Tracy

Baylor 36-48; 95-99

           

                       

Week X:  Anabaptists and the Sword                                                            Journal 2 Due 4/5/06

            Readings: 

            Tracy

Baylor 172-209

                                   

 

Week XI:  Müntzer’s Children and The Spiritualist Controversy                                                     

            Readings: 

            Baylor 130-171

           

 

Week XII:  Millennial Kingdoms I

            Readings: 

            Tracy

            EC Week 12

            Bernard Rothmann: A Confession of Faith and Life in the Church of Christ of Münster

 

Week XIII: Millennial Kingdoms II                                                   Research Paper 4/26/06

            Readings: 

            Tracy 185-210

EC Week 13

            The Putney Debates

 

Week XIV:  The Moravian Communities

            Readings:

Tracy

EC Week 14

Peter Walpot, “True Yieldedness and Christian Community of Goods”

 

Week XV: Menno Simons: From Radicals to Dissenters                   Journal 3 Due 5/10/06

            Readings:

            EC Week 15:

            Menno Simons, “On the Ban: Questions and Answers”

                       

Final Paper: Wednesday, May 17, at 3:00, in my office or my mailbox.

 

Academic Honesty

I assume that all students in this course adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty.  I will not tolerate any incidents of cheating or plagiarism in this class, and I hope that all students will stand with me in upholding the honor and integrity of the university community.  I will penalize students who participate in plagiarism, cheating, or helping another student cheat according to the policies of the California State University, Channel Islands.  For more information, consult the Academic Dishonesty Policy in the university catalog.

Other Policies:

  • Students with disabilities needing accommodation, make requests to Dr. Terri Goldstein, Disability Accommodation Services, East Bell Tower 1796 (805-437-8528, terri.goldstein@csuci.edu).  Please discuss approved accommodations with me.
  • Please turn off all cell phones and beepers during class.
  • Please do not leave class early unless in an emergency.
  • Final grades will be determined according to this schedule:

            99-100%          A+                   78-79%            C+      

            93-98%            A                     73-77%            C

            90-92%            A-                    70-72%            C-

            88-89%            B+                   68-69%            D+

            83-87%            B                     63-67%            D

            80-82%            B-                    60-62%            D-

All grades below 60%= F

  • This syllabus is subject to change.