The Salvation Army Booth College

This survey unit provides an historical overview of key people, themes, and events in the study of Christian history, as well as an introduction to a range of historical methods. It explores issues of significance faced by Christianity throughout the life of the church and the way events and people have been remembered, represented, and sometimes forgotten. Students will explore how memory and representation continues to have an impact on the church today. Due attention is given to the contribution of women in order to provide balance to the vast body of existing literature which is written by men and focused almost exclusively on male protagonists. It attempts to provide a more just and representative telling of the Christian story.

The unit code contains information on the level of study, field, discipline, unit and college. Click here to learn what the unit code for this unit represents.

24 February 2025 - 30 May 2025

Weekly hour-long Zoom sessions.

Students can explore the resources in the Ark unit and undertake some pre-reading in preparation for the commencement of this unit.

We recommend that you allocate 9 hours a week for all study activities.

This is a foundational unit that functions as a prerequisite for any future undergraduate study in history.

Please note:  This is a new EBC unit which contains similar content to the Introduction to Church History unit.

Online synchronous and asynchronous, activity-based learning supplemented by weekly Zoom tutorials.

Students are expected to attend weekly one-hour Zoom tutorials, engage in reading sources and watching videos, give an oral presentation on one of the tutorials, write a primary source analysis, and write an essay.

*This unit is offered at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. Students may engage with people across both levels when this unit is delivered.

1 x 1,000 word Source Analysis - 25%

1 x 1,000 word Seminar or Tutorial - 25%

1 x 2,000 word Essay - 50%

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of key themes and events in the history of Christianity.

2. Assess the significance of particular people in the history of Christianity and the way they have been remembered or forgotten.

3. Identify and use the foundational tools of historical study.

4. Articulate the ways historical study informs faith and practice in the present.

Required text for this unit is:

Elizabeth Gillan Muir, A Women's History of the Christian Church: Two Thousand Years of Female Leadership. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019.

An eBook is available and will be hyperlinked in Ark, but you may purchase a copy if you wish.