Church History and Theology

This Masters engages students in the history of the Christian Church, it's 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 by an international collaboration with Stellenbosch University (South Africa).

WHY THIS PROGRAMME*

- The University established the world’s first professorial chair in Church History in 1716.

- The core staff are Church Historians with diverse expertise who have published widely and edit internationally recognised journals and book series.

- 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.

- 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.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

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.

The programme runs from January to December and the second block of teaching (April to June) can be undertaken at Stellenbosch University.

Core Courses
NATURE AND PRACTICE OF CHURCH HISTORY 1 (INCLUDING RESEARCH TRAINING)
STUDIES IN EARLY CHURCH HISTORY AND THEOLOGY
STUDIES IN THE HISTORY AND THEOLOGY OF THE REFORMATION
HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA

Optional Courses
READING, RELIGION AND CULTURE
RELIGION AND VIOLENCE
JEWISH LITERATURE IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD (PGT)
WOMEN AND GENDER IN THE BIBLE AND THE ANCIENT WORLD (PGT)
CHRISTIANITY IN SCOTLAND SINCE THE REFORMATION