Undergraduate Course: Christianity and Nation-Building in Asia, 1700 to the present (DIVI10134)
Course Outline
| School | School of Divinity |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course surveys the varied fortunes of Christianity in Asia since 1700, paying particular attention to India and China, but also exploring other regions of South, East, and Southeast Asia. Issues of imperialism, aspirations of nation-building, ecumenical initiatives, the significance of the majority religious environment, and the development of indigenous Asian theologies will be central. |
| Course description |
Academic Description:
This course gives students the opportunity to engage with primary sources (both missionary and indigenous) that will enable them to interpret the varied fortunes of Christianity as an increasingly important minority religion in Asia in the period since 1700. An integrating theme will be the attempts of missions and churches to throw off the association of Christianity with the West, especially in the context of nation-building efforts in Asia. Another consistent focus will be the relationship of Christianity to the majority religious traditions.
Outline Content:
This course surveys the varied fortunes of Christianity in Asia since 1700, paying particular attention to India and China, but also exploring other regions of South, East, and Southeast Asia. Some of the themes that will be covered include the debates around ecumenism and independency in India and China, liberational theological discourses in Taiwan and the Philippines, and the role of Christianity in nation-building in Indonesia and Korea. Throughout the course, issues of defining the identity of Christians within their Asian contexts will be central.
Student Learning Experience:
Each week comprises a two-hour class which combines formal lecture input and interactive discussion on the basis of key texts set for each week. Each student selects one week of the course to offer a class presentation focussed on the texts for that week. In the mid-semester assessment students will contribute to Wikipedia articles related to Christianity in Asia. The final assessment will consist of an essay on one of the topics of the course.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Divinity/Religious Studies courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 11,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
170 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
90 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Student presentation: 10 minute presentation focused on readings for one week - 10% «br /»
Wikipedia contributions: 1000-words of contributions to Wikipedia articles from a list circulated by the course organiser; details to be provided to students on Learn - 30% «br /»
Final essay: a 2500-word essay chosen from a list circulated by the course organiser - 60% «br /»
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| Feedback |
Students will have the opportunity to receive formative feedback on an essay plan and outline prior to the submission of the final essay. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of some key trends shaping the varied history of Christianity in Asian contexts.
- Recognise the complex issues of identity often faced by Christians in Asia.
- Explain the changing expressions of contemporary Asian theologies.
- Interpret with discernment selected primary sources on the history on Asian Christian history and theology.
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Reading List
Bays, Daniel H., A New History of Christianity in China (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011).
Chung Hyun Kyung, Struggle to be the Sun Again: Introducing Asian Women¿s Theology (SCM Press, 1991).
Frykenberg, Robert E., Christianity in India (Oxford University Press, 2008).
Kim, Sebastian, ed., Christian Theology in Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2008).
Kim Yong Bock, ed., Minjung Theology: People as the Subjects of History (Christian Conference of Asia, 1981).
Koschorke, Klaus, et. al., eds., A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 1450¿1990 (Eerdmans, 2007).
Merwin, Wallace C. and Francis P. Jones, eds., Documents of the Three-Self Movement (NCC USA, 1963).
Nadeau, Kathleen, Liberation Theology in the Philippines (Greenwood, 2001).
Phan, Peter C., ed., Christianities in Asia (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011).
Pieris, Aloysius, An Asian Theology of Liberation (Orbis, 1988).
Yang Fenggang and Chris White, eds. Christian Social Activism and Rule of Law in Chinese Societies (Lehigh University Press, 2021).
Ward, William, A view of the History, Literature, and Religion of the Hindoos (Cambridge University Press, 1817).
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Enquiry
- Analytical skills: the ability to critically examine the changing relationship between Christian movements, religions, and nation-building in Asia.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
- Independent learning and development: to exercise personal and creative judgment in the study of religion and nation-building.
Communication
- Verbal communication and presentation: to convey complex ideas and arguments persuasively and engagingly with peers. |
| Keywords | Asia,Christianity,imperialism,nationalism,ecumenism,religious dialogue,indigenisation,contex |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alexander Chow
Tel:
Email: Alexander.Chow@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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