Historical Studies offers four specialized fields that incorporate the interdisciplinary approaches that are hallmarks of the GDR. The study of Christianity in Late Antiquity is concerned with the evolution of Christian identity and theological discourse in the context of Roman imperialism and the cultural pluralism of the ancient Mediterranean, with special attention to shifting constructions of embodiment, suffering, gender, and desire. The field of Medieval
European Christianity is organized to understand the interplay between
diverse and changing social processes in agrarian and early commercial
Europe and the discursive strategies through which medieval Christians
articulated notions of divinely sanctioned social order, especially as
hierarchies of gender, culture, religion, and "racial" identity, from
the fifth through the fifteenth centuries. The American Religious Studies focus explores critical issues such as race, gender, ecology, immigration, and religious experience in the contexts of the United States from the 19th century to the recent past. The course of study draws on faculty from sociology, anthropology, ethics, and other fields to deepen its historical analysis of various American cultures. The interdisciplinary Wesleyan and Methodist Studies focus looks at Methodist origins, history, and thought from historical and theological perspectives, as well as addressing current issues facing the church. The presence on campus of the United Methodist Archive and History Center and the Florence Bell Fund allows students to work closely on primary source materials and with prominent scholars and researchers from around the world.
The Area offers explorations of how religion intersects with politics (“Is God On Our Side? Religion and U.S. Politics”), race (“Race and American Christianity”; “Empire Race and Place”), and sexuality ("Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Christianity"; "Women and Gender in Medieval Europe"; “God, Sex, and the Making of American Families”). In the area of cultural studies, the course “American Jesus” looks at how Jesus has been represented in literature, art, film, and other media, and the historical significance of contests over images of Jesus; "Ancient Christologies" situates Jesus representations within the context of cultural practices in the ancient Mediterranean. Other courses trace the evolution of specific religious movements in Mediterranean antiquity and medieval Europe (“Gnosticism”; “Martyrdom and Asceticism”; "When Jesus Owned Nothing: Europe, ca. 1100-1350"), in the United States (“History of Evangelism in USAmerica,” “Topics in American Methodism”), and in the world (“History of Missions from the Reform Era to the Twentieth Century,” “Evangelism and Social Justice: The Social Gospel Movement in Global Perspective, 1880-2000”).
