Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

Early and Medieval Christianity (Face-to-Face)

HIST 4435-01

Course: HIST 4435-01
Credits: 3
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: HSOC
CRN: 11214

Course Description

This course traces the development of Christianity within its Greco-Roman context from its origins in Judaea to its spread throughout Europe and into Asia.  The course focuses on the textual tradition, including textual criticism, reception, and various iterations of Christian “orthodoxy.”
 (As Needed) [Graded (Standard Letter)] 

Required Texts

The New Testament
  • There are many, many translations of The New Testament available for students.  Some, however, are better than others for academic pursuits.  I recommend the New Jerusalem translation with its very useful notes.  In addition, the Oxford Study Bible & Oxford Annotated Bible are quite good, although they contain much more than just The New Testament.
  • My one request is for students of faith to avoid using a version/translation of the Bible which they regularly use for religious purposes.  This is intended to help students approach the text with an academic mindset.

CANVAS Readings. The following readings are available on CANVAS
  • Bickerman & Frend, The Jews in the Greek Age, Chapter 24 ("Old and New in Religion")
  • Frend, The Rise of Christianity, Chapter 1 ("The Jewish Background")
  • Meeks, The First Urban Christians, Chapters 3-5.
  • The Didache
  • Weinstock, "Astrological Geography in Acts 2"
  • Irenaeus, Against the Heresies
  • Tertullian, Prescription of the Heretics
  • Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ
  • Tertullian, Against Praxeas
  • The Infancy Gospel of Thomas
  • The Gospel of Thomas
  • The Gospel of Judas
  • The Gospel of Peter
  • The Gospel of Mary
  • The Epistle of the Apostles
  • The Correspondences between Paul and Seneca
  • Pliny & Trajan's Correspondence
  • The Letter of Ignatius to the Romans
  • The Martyrdom of Polycarp
  • The Letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne
  • The Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs
  • The Martyrdom of Perpetua
  • Origen, On First Principles
  • Eusebius, The Life of Constantine
  • The Edict of Milan
  • Paul of Thebes
  • The Life of St. Antony
  • The Rule of St. Benedict
  • Athanasius, History of the Arians

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, a student who has learned the material will be able to:
  • understand and explain major themes in the development of early Christianity.
  • demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills.
  • construct well-organized historical arguments that utilize historic data in support of a thesis.
  • make distinctions between ancient, primary, and secondary historical sources, and be able to critically assess and analyze these sources.

Course Requirements

The final course grade will be based on:
20%     Preparation & Participation (This implies attendance.)
15%     Short Paper #1 
  • Part 1: Chronology. Construct, on the basis of (1) his own references in the Letters of Paul, and (2) the narrative of the book of Acts, a chronology on Saul/Paul from shortly after the death of Jesus to Paul’s disappearance from history.  
  • Part 2: Source Criticism (ca. 500 words) There are occasional differences in the narrative of Acts and the letters of Paul.  Find one of these differences and explain it thoroughly.  First, lay out the two conflicting New Testament accounts, in context and in detail.  Then, offer an explanation for the differences.  Why would the authors of the sources disagree or differ in their re-telling of the event you have chosen?  This needs to be more than just “factual error”.  Rather, investigate why an author would choose to emphasize one version instead of the other.  Finally, indicate which version of the events you find more compelling – or, see if you can reconcile them.

 15%     Short Paper #2
  • For this writing assignment, analyze the canons of the Council of Nicaea.
    What issues did the canons address?  To what extent are these issues similar, and to what extent are these issues different from those of earlier Christianity (i.e., the second and third centuries)? Finally, what insights into fourth century Christianity do the canons provide?
    Papers should be 1000-1200 words, double-spaced, typed, etc. and submitted through CANVAS in order to assure originality.  
    Although the paper should indicate some familiarity with all 20 canons, it is impractical to analyze all of them in detail.  Focus instead on three or four canons or issues that can be analyzed in detail.

20%     Midterm Exam
  • Part I (short paragraphs): Students will be given three prompts, and the students will answer two of them, each in a 2-3 paragraph answer.
  • Part II (Essay): Students will answer an essay question in class. The question will taken from a list of questions provided ahead of time.

30%     Term Paper + Presentation
Each student, in collaboration with the instructor, will choose a relevant topic, research that topic, present the thesis and findings to the class (class presentation), and then write up the research into a detailed 12-15 page term paper. This topic must be chosen by the student and approved by the instructor ahead of time. In addition, students will be required to submit an annotated bibliography and proposed thesis statement.

The final paper is due during Finals Week.
While the guidelines for this assignment’s content have been deliberately left quite broad, students are required to make some use of the ancient sources. Student papers should examine some component of early Christianity in a broader context or in more detail than the course’s lectures or readings provide.
Please don’t hesitate to ask questions about any part of this process.

Course Outline

Week 1: Introduction & the Roman Background
Week 2: The Jewish Background & Introduction to the Gospels
Week 3: The Historical Jesus
Week 4: The Gospels & Paul
Week 5: Christians in the Roman World
Week 6: Gnosticism, Heresy, Orthodoxy
Week 7: Non-Canonical Writings
Week 8: Midterm Exam
Week 9: Persecuting Christians
Week 10: The Emergence of Orthodoxy
Week 11: Paganism to a Christian Society
Week 12: The Conflicts of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries
Week 13: Non-Western Christianity
Week 14: Class Presentations & Research Wrap-Up

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late Assignments and Makeup Work will not be accepted. 
Extreme cases will be addressed on an individual basis. 

Attendance Policy

Preparation and participation in this course are required, and together they constitute a hefty 20% of the total grade.  Obviously, this implies regular attendance.
 
We only meet once a week.  Consequently, it is strongly advised that students make every effort to attend every day and to complete each day’s reading on time.  Students are responsible for material covered in class, even when they are not present.  Hence, it is a good idea to make a friend who will share notes and information in case of absence.  

For this class, participation is understood as coming to class prepared and making consistent and thoughtful contributions to class discussions.  Mere presence in class is insufficient.  Most of the time, the classes will be run in a “seminar”-style format, and all students should be prepared to participate in a discussion of the assigned readings and materials.

Course Fees

This class has no additional course fees.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.