From National Church to Global Communion

[I am posting the course description of a course I shall be teaching in the Spring Term of 2010. To register contact the Registrar, Anita Fast, at www.vst.edu.]

HIS 650 From National Church to Global Communion:
The Development of the Anglican Communion
Spring Term 2010

Dr Richard Geoffrey Leggett
rleggett@vst.edu
604.822.9810
Iona 219

Thursdays from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Purpose
Anglicanism has developed from a specifically English context into a world-wide communion that embraces differing cultures and peoples throughout the inhabited world. In HIS 650 you will be introduced to the development of the Anglican Communion historically and theologically as it has welcomed and rebuffed the contexts in which it has found itself.

Pre-requisites
You must have completed HIS 100 or its equivalent. The instructor reserves the right to determine equivalency.

Format
The course will meet weekly for a three-hour lecture and discussion.

Competencies
You will be evaluated on your ability

• to identify distinctive movements within the Anglican Communion and to analyze their impact on contemporary Anglican thought and praxis
• to identify significant structures of the Anglican Communion and to analyze their impact on contemporary Anglican though and praxis
• to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of ‘unity in diversity’ as experienced by the member churches of the Anglican Communion

Expectations
You are expected to fulfill the following expectations:

i) Participate in at least 80% of the scheduled class sessions,
ii) Complete the weekly reading assignments as scheduled,
iii) Complete one critical book review and
iv) Complete the final paper.

Evaluations
There are two evaluations associated with this course:

• A critical book review of Douglas and Pui-Lan, Beyond Colonial Anglicanism (five to seven pages) and
• A final paper on any aspect of the development of the Anglican Communion that you choose (ten to fifteen pages).

Required texts
There are three required texts, two of which will be read as weekly assignments. A detailed syllabus will be available on the first day of class.

Douglas, Ian T. and Pui-Lan, Kwok, ed. Beyond Colonial Anglicanism: The Anglican Communion in the Twenty-First Century. New York, NY: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2001.

Sachs, William L. The Transformation of Anglicanism: From State Church to Global Communion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Sykes, Stephen; Booty, John and Knight, Jonathan, ed. The Study of Anglicanism. Rev. ed. London, UK: SPCK, 1998; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1998.