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The lecture is dedicated to the modern history of Christianity from the Reformation to the postmodern era today.
Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, and Jean Calvin — are these the names that come to mind when you think of the Reformation in Europe? You would not be wrong. And indeed, this male triumvirate will, of course, be a topic in this lecture, as we examine the different epochs of the institutional history of Christianity in its local and global forms and interconnections.
At the same time, however, we will also introduce additional thematic dimensions and, across periods, broaden our view to include what is called the history of gender, piety, the body, as well as mission and colonial history.
Concretely, this means asking questions such as: Was there really only the male triumvirate that emblematically represents the Reformation, or were there not also women thinking, acting, and leading? Who were they? Why do we know (so few) of them? Where are they remembered?
It also means illuminating the diverse variety of Christian memory cultures. And this involves — naturally — reading programmatic and emblematic written texts, but at the same time — in the spirit of intermediality — including the worlds of images and art that have become iconic, as well as church spaces that have become architecture.
Finally, it also means considering not only the manifold ecumenical and interreligious institutional boundaries and rapprochements throughout the centuries, but also paying attention to the diverse everyday religious practices of Christian women and men, and examining them from a transversal, transnational, and global perspective.
Recommended Introductory Readings
Students who wish to gain an overview in preparation for the lecture are encouraged to consult the following key introductory works:
Martin Greschat: Christentumsgeschichte II. Von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart, Stuttgart/Berlin/Köln 1997 (Grundkurs Theologie, Bd. 4) (304 S.); Herbert Gutschera, Joachim Maier u. Jörg Thierfelder: Geschichte der Kirchen. Ein ökumenisches Sachbuch, Freiburg i. Br. 2003 (2. Aufl. 2006), S. 149-356 (Kapitel 12-25); Ökumenische Kirchengeschichte, Bd. 3: Von der Französischen Revolution bis 1989, hg. v. Hubert Wolf, Darmstadt 2007, 17-349.
Supplementary Literature During the Lecture
As we aim to explore the full diversity of Christian memory cultures, additional specific readings (in excerpts), as well as relevant visual, film, and textual sources, will be introduced or made available from session to session. For the introductory topic area on the Reformation, the following works may already be mentioned:
Rebecca A. Giselbrecht/Sabine Scheuter (Hg.): «Hör nicht auf zu singen». Zeuginnen der Schweizer Reformation. TVZ Verlag Zürich 2016; Sonja Domröse: Frauen der Reformationszeit. Gelehrt, mutig und glaubensfest. Vandenhoek und Ruprecht 2017; Volker Leppin: Die Reformation (Geschichte kompakt). WBG Verlag 2017. |
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