Church History and Theology MTh

This Masters engages students in the history of the Christian Church, its theology, and the influence of changing theological and historiographical traditions. The programme gives equal weight to the study of history, theology, history of ideas and historiography, enabling students to develop robust critical skills for analysing changing ideas, customs and intellectual traditions. What makes this programme distinctive is its engagement with not just the history of Christianity, but the changing historiography of Christianity, and its impact upon theology. This Masters is delivered as part of an international collaboration with Stellenbosch University (South Africa).<br/><br/><strong>WHY THIS PROGRAMME</strong><br/><br/><br/>• The University established one of the world’s first professorial chairs in Church History in 1716.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• The core staff are Church Historians with diverse expertise who have published widely and edit internationally recognised journals and book series.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• The University has a world-class library with exceptional special collections, archives and rare books, including first-century papyri, over 1,000 early incunabula, first editions of key reformation texts, and one of the largest collections of bibles in the world.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Parts of this programme are delivered by Stellenbosch University, joint-oldest university in sub-Saharan Africa and ranked among the best universities for Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies on the African continent.<br/><br/><br/><br/><strong>PROGRAMME STRUCTURE</strong><br/><br/>The core courses include discipline-specific training while the optional courses are taught via lectures and seminars. The taught component is followed by a 15,000 word dissertation on a topic of your choice.<br/><br/>It is possible to undertake a period of your study at Stellenbosch University.<br/><br/><strong>Semester 1</strong><br/><strong>- Core course</strong><br/>• Nature and Practice of Church History 1 (including Research Training)<br/><br/><br/><strong>- Optional course</strong><br/>• One optional course<br/><br/><br/><strong>Semester 2</strong><br/><strong>- Core course</strong><br/>• Nature and Practice of Church History 2<br/><br/><br/><strong>- Optional courses</strong><br/>• Two optional courses<br/><br/><br/><strong>Optional courses</strong><br/>Typical optional courses taken are listed below. However, other courses from across the College of Arts & Humanities can be taken with the approval of the programme convener and subject to availability.<br/><br/><br/>• Religion and Violence<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Jewish Literature in the Graeco-Roman World (PGT)<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Women and Gender in the Bible and the Ancient World (PGT)<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Christianity in Scotland since the Reformation<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Studies in Early Church History and Theology<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Studies in the History and Theology of the Reformation<br/><br/><br/><br/>• History of Christianity in Africa<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Medieval Palaeography: An Introduction to Reading Medieval Documents<br/><br/><br/><br/>• The Global History of Inequalities<br/><br/><br/><br/>• The World of the Crusades: Critical Approaches to Medieval Sources<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Women and Power in Renaissance Italy<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Global History through Local Archives<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Oral History Theory and Methods (PGT)<br/><br/><br/><br/>• A New Form of Slavery?: Indentured Labour in Post-Slavery Caribbean Societies, c. 1836-1917<br/><br/><br/><br/>• The Global History of Inequalities<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Crusading Warfare in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1096-1291<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Byzantium and the Rise of Islam<br/><br/><br/><br/>Please note that not all optional courses may be available every year.<br/><br/><strong>Summer</strong><br/>• Church History and Theology Dissertation<br/><br/><br/><strong>Part-Time Study</strong><br/>Typically for part-time study, you would complete both core courses in your first year and the optional courses and dissertation in your second year.