Instructor: Randall Engle
Course Time: MWF 9:20-10:27
General Education: Literature
Term: Winter 2013

DESCRIPTION
It would be difficult to overstate the significance and ramifications of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. The theological shift cause by "Protestors" fractured the Roman church, gave rise to the new religious communities and launched competing worldviews offered by philosophers, anthropologists, musicians and scientists. This course first analyzes this fascinating and formative era with a series of lectures explaining the European milieu of the 16th century, and then reviews the history of this century as it was shaped by the rising influences of rationalism and humanism. With this foundational understanding of the context, students will then read primary sources (in English translation) of representative figures of the period: Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Vermigli, Zwingli, Huygens, Know and Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy. On occasion, some translations will be read alongside the extant text for deeper understanding; thus students in this course will also be introduced to paleography, a critical skill for future graduate students.

TEXTS
Diarmaid MacCulloch's The Reformation and a reader collated by the Professor.

FINAL GRADE
Evaluation will be short summary and reaction papers, and a final, in-depth research paper on the life and message of a representative figure of the sixteenth century chosen by the student.