New York University | College of Arts & Science | Spring 2016
Course Syllabus
“Frenzy of Faith in a Man’s Touch” Life (August 3, 1962), 16. https://goo.gl/NM3HTv
Instructor: Geoffrey Pollick, Ph.D.
Meeting Location: Silver Center for Arts & Science, Room 507
Email: geoffrey.pollick@nyu.edu
Meeting Schedule: Tue. & Thurs., 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Office Location: 726 Broadway, Room 564
Office Hours: Tue. & Thurs., 1:00 PM–3:00 PM,
& by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the varieties of evangelical Protestant Christianity in the United States, in
historical and contemporary perspective. We will pay particular attention to how different groups
of evangelicals (e.g., fundamentalists, pentecostals, charismatics, neo-evangelicals, progressive
evangelicals, among others) imagine their relationship to American social, political, and cultural
ideas, institutions, and practices. In addition to observing significant theological variation among
evangelical groups and denominations, we will also consider their realtionship to topics
including revivalism, apocalypticism, evolutionary biology, civil rights, education, gender, law,
sexual regulation, mass media, and popular culture.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
After taking this course, students will have gained:
• a critical understanding of the term “evangelical” in its historical and contemporary
complexity in U.S. American contexts;
• basic knowledge of key figures, events, and movements generally included under the
evangelical classification, and;
American Evangelicalism | Spring 2016
•
an ability to express this understanding in written form, practiced and refined through
assignments designed to foster the practice of critical engagement with core concepts
from lectures, readings, and other course materials.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
• Regular, wakeful attendance at course meetings is essential for success in this course. Beyond
presence in the classroom, thoughtful and active participation in course meetings and preparation
of all assigned readings are equally necessary. This entails devotion of each participant’s full
attention to the work of learning that we perform together in the classroom. If computers, tablets,
mobile phones, or other electronic devices begin to interfere with the quality of learning, the
instructor may elect to prohibit their use during class meetings.
o Absences may be excused for illness or severe personal emergency and will rarely be
excused for other reasons. If you know that you will be absent due to illness or a family
emergency, please inform the instructor via email to arrange a meeting to summarize
material missed during the absence.
o An overall grade will be assigned for attendance and participation (A/P), taking into account
absences, level of participation and preparation, and degree of focus during class meetings.
The A/P grade will be weighted at 25% of the course grade. Each unexcused absence will
result in a 0.2-point reduction in the A/P grade (e.g., a grade of 3.30 with two unexcused
absences would be lowered 0.4 points to 2.90). More than four unexcused absences,
however, will result in automatic failure of the course.
•
Written Work: Choose one of the following two options. Students must each send an email to the
instructor no later than the beginning of class on February 4 indicating which writing option they
have selected.
o Option 1: Write three short essays (4 to 6 pages each), addressing topics assigned by the
instructor (detailed essay prompts will be reviewed in class). These compositions allow
students to respond critically to concepts and themes from course readings and lectures, in
relation to various topics and in a variety of prose styles. Each essay will be graded on a 4.0
scale. The average of the four grades will be weighted at 35% of the course grade.
§ Essays are due on February 23, March 31, and April 28.
o Option 2: Students who wish to engage in deeper and more sustained and engagement with
a single topic may elect to compose an essay of 12 to 15 pages that explores in detail a
figure, movement, event, or theme of central relevance to the study of American
evangelicalism. Select a topic, either historical or contemporary, and design a research plan
to investigate its connections to evangelicalism, in line with concepts from course readings
and lectures. Essay topics must be chosen in consultation with the instructor, and must be
approved before beginning research in earnest.
§ Schedule a meeting with the instructor before February 18 to discuss possible research topics.
§ By March 1, submit a one-paragraph research proposal, describing the topic, indicating a
provisional thesis, and listing at least one primary and four secondary sources for your research.
§ By March 28, submit a one-page essay outline.
§ By April 19, submit at least a 1,200-word draft of the essay.
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§ The final draft of the essay is due at the beginning of class on May 3. While each of
the above incremental assignments is required, only the final draft of the essay will be
graded, and will be weighted at 35% of the course grade.
•
A cumulative take-home final examination on the course’s major themes and figures, due by
5:00 PM on Thursday, May 12, via email. The exam will be weighted at 40% of the course grade.
N.B. All written work must conform to high grammatical and compositional standards, and
follow an academic citation and style format (e.g., Chicago, MLA, APA, etc.). Please format
your papers with one-inch margins on all sides, using ten- or twelve-point Times New Roman or
similar typeface, and double-spaced lines. Visit the Writing Center (411 Lafayette, 4th Floor) to
improve your essay composition skills. Even the best writers benefit from the insight of another
reader! http://www.nyu.edu/cas/ewp/html/writing_center.html
GRADING POLICY
Grades will be assigned according to the following distribution and rubric.
Grade Distribution
Participation, Attendance, & Preparation
Writing Assignment (Options 1 or 2)
Take-home Final Exam
25%
35%
40%
Grade Rubric
A = Excellent work, with indication that the student is engaged in dialogue with course
materials, through regular and considered contributions (in discussions and written work).
In the classroom, thoughtful questions and comments are posed, and insights from course
readings are introduced and related back to lecture and discussion themes. Written
assignments—submitted on time—show a similar excellence of engagement with
readings and ideas from the course, and are devoid of spelling and grammatical errors.
B = Very good work that displays a firm grasp of course materials, with evidence of more
than basic engagement with concepts and themes. Written work is completed on time and
shows a solid understanding of readings and themes. Participation is consistent and
demonstrates interaction with course materials.
C = Acceptable work that demonstrates a basic level of understanding and engagement with
course materials. Written work is completed and is of acceptable quality, but needs
improvement. Participation is evident but inconsistent or insubstantial.
D = A barely passing grade
F = Unacceptable work
Note on Academic Honesty
Please present your own best work in this course. Plagiarized work will not be accepted, and will
be punished harshly, according to University guidelines. Please familiarize yourself with the
Academic Integrity section of the College of Arts and Science Academic Handbook, available
online. http://cas.nyu.edu/page/academichandbook Consult this online tutorial to learn what
constitutes plagiarism and strategies to avoid it: http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/
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Assignment Submission Policy
Work must be submitted by the deadlines indicated in the course syllabus. If, however, you find
that you will be unable to meet a deadline, you must contact the instructor well before the due
date in order to make arrangements for late submission. Chronic late submission of work, or
failure to submit work, will adversely affect the final course grade.
Note on Accessibility
Please notify the instructor promptly of any documented disability that may affect your ability to
succeed in this course, so that appropriate accommodation can be made. You may obtain further
information about learning accessibility at the Henry and Lucy Moses Center for Students with
Disabilities; 726 Broadway, 2nd Floor; Phone and TTY: 212-998-4980; Fax: 212-995-4114.
http://www.nyu.edu/life/safety-health-wellness/students-with-disabilities.html
REQUIRED TEXTS
Hankins, Barry. Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism: A Documentary Reader. NYU Press, 2008.
Harding, Susan Friend. The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Larson, Edward J. Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate
over Science and Religion. New York: Basic Books, 2006 (1997). N.B. An electronic
copy of this book is available through NYU’s Bobst Library, at
https://getit.library.nyu.edu/go/9364391
Luhrmann, T. M. When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship
with God. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012.
Roose, Kevin. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University. New
York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009.
Note that the above five books have been placed on four-hour reserve in Bobst Library. Find
the reserve listing for the course online http://bit.ly/1p2AR6n and visit the Course Reserves desk
on Lower Level 2 to borrow items.
ADDITIONAL REQUIRED TEXTS
Each student will purchase only one of the following three texts for discussion on April 21.
Detailed instructions will be reviewed during the first class meeting.
LaHaye, Tim and Jerry B. Jenkins. Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days. Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1995. Left Behind can be checked out from the New School
Fogelman Library in hard copy or borrowed online through the Internet Archive:
https://getit.library.nyu.edu/go/9364397
Oke, Janette. Love Comes Softly. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1979.
Peretti, Frank. This Present Darkness. Revised ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1986. Peretti’s
book can be read online through the New York Public Library:
http://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/978145167333958907_this_present_darkness
Other readings will be made available via the NYU Classes site and various Web sites.
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READING AND TOPICAL SCHEDULE
Boldface author names indicate required textbook;
§ indicates secondary-source readings located on NYU Classes;
§* indicates primary-source readings located on NYU Classes.
Week One
Tue., January 26: Course Introduction
• Brief topical orientation
• Syllabus review
• Opening discussion: Cultural Politics and the New Evangelicalism
Thurs., January 28: Studying and Defining Evangelicalism
• Hankins, “Introduction: A Brief Overview of American Evangelicalism,” 1–7;
• Luhrmann, Preface, xi–xxv;
• § Robert H. Krapohl and Charles H. Lippy, “Describing American Evangelicalism,” in The
Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide, 3–16.
• Visit the Web site for the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’s U.S. Religious
Landscape Survey (conducted in 2007): http://religions.pewforum.org/
Explore the data recorded on this site in the various categories (affiliations, maps,
portraits, and comparisons), focusing your attention on the data for Evangelical
Protestant Churches. What does this information reveal about evangelical Americans
today? Where are the densest areas of evangelical adherence? Are evangelicals wealthier
or less well off than other Americans? How does the “evangelical Protestant” population
compare to other religious classifications? Come to class ready to discuss this data.
Week Two
Tue., February 2: Setting the Scene: Evangelicals & Protestant Hegemony
• § Catherine L. Albanese, “Public Protestantism: Historical Dominance and the One Religion of
the United States,” in America: Religions and Religion, 396–431.
• Harding, Introduction and Chapter 1, pp. 3–60.
Thurs., February 4: American Evangelical Origins: 1730s–1780s
**Email instructor to notify of writing option selection
• § Thomas Kidd, “Introduction,” Chapters 1, 2, and 3, in The Great Awakening: The Roots of
Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America, xiii–xix, 1–39.
• § Frank Lambert, “‘Pedlar in Divinity’: George Whitefield and the Great Awakening, 1737–
1745.” The Journal of American History 77, no. 3 (December 1990): 812–837.
• §* Jonathan Edwards, excerpt from Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of
Religion in New England (1742), in American Religions: A Documentary History, ed.
Griffith, 92–102.
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Week Three
Tue., February 9: American Evangelical Origins: 1790s–1850s
• § Nathan Hatch, “Introduction: Democracy and Christianity,” and “Storming Heaven by the
Back Door,” in The Democratization of American Christianity, 3–16 and 49–66;
• §* Jarena Lee, excerpts from The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee (1836), in
American Religions: A Documentary History, ed. Griffith, 197–213.
• §* Charles Grandison Finney, excerpt from Memoirs (1876), in American Religions: A
Documentary History, ed. Griffith, 189–196.
Thurs., February 11: American Christian Civilization: 1860s–1910s
• § Robert T. Handy, “Defending Protestant America (1860–1890)” and “The New
Christianity and the Old Hopes (1890-1920),” in A Christian America: Protestant Hopes
and Historical Realities, 57–81, 134–158.
• § William R. Hutchison, “Introduction,” and “A Moral Equivalent for Imperialism,” in
Errand to the World: American Protestant Thought and Foreign Missions, 1–14, 91–124.
Week Four
Tue., February 16: The Benevolent Empire before Its Breakdown
• § George M. Marsden, “Evangelical America at the Brink of Crisis,” in Fundamentalism
and American Culture, 11–39.
• Start reading Larson
Thurs., February18: Fault Lines of the Fundamentalist Schism
**Meet with the instructor by this date to discuss research topics for Writing Option 2
• Larson, Introduction and Part One, 3–83
• Hankins, Chapter 1, 9–20; Chapter 2, 39–58
Week Five
Tue., February 23: Evangelicals, Evolution, and the Scopes Trial
**Reading response #1 due in class for Writing Option 1
• Larson, Part Two, 87–193;
• Harding, Chapter 2, 61–82;
• Hankins, Chapter 4, 71–95
Thurs., February 25: From Scopes to the Creationist Controversy
• Larson, Chapters 7 and 8, 170–224
• Hankins, Chapter 5, 97–116
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Week Six
Tue., March 1: Back from the Margins (1930s–1990s)
**Essay proposal due for Writing Option 2
• Larson, Chapters 9, 10, and Afterword, 225–278;
• Harding, Chapter 8, 210–227;
• Gordy Slack, “Inside the Creation Museum,” salon.com
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/31/creation_museum/index.html
Thurs., March 3: A Primer on Pentecostalism, Holiness, and Other Evangelical Varieties
• § Corwin E. Smidt, et al., “The Spirit-filled Movements in Contemporary America: A Survey
Perspective,” in Pentecostal Currents in American Protestantism, ed. Edith Blumhofer, et al.,
111–130.
• § Edith Blumhofer, “Pentecostalism’s Roots in the Premillennial, Healing, and Holiness
Movements, 1880-1901,” and “The Meaning and Implications of Pentecostal Experience,
1901–1913,” in Restoring the Faith: The Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism, and American
Culture, 11–42, 88–112.
• § Donald W. Dayton, “The Limits of Evangelicalism: The Pentecostal Tradition,” in The
Variety of American Evangelicalism, 36–51.
Week Seven
Tue., March 8: Interpreting the “Embattled” Evangelical Subculture
• § Christian Smith, “Toward a ‘Subcultural Identity’ Theory of Religious Strength,” and
“Evangelicalism Embattled,” in American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving, 89–119
and 120-153.
• Harding, Chapter 5, 125–152
Thurs., March 10: Hell House and Subcultural Identity
In-class screening of Hell House (excerpts), George Ratliff (Cantina Pictures, 2003).
• § Ann Pellegrini, “ ‘Signaling Through the Flames’: Hell House Performance and Structures
of Religious Feeling,” American Quarterly 59, no. 3 (2007): 911–935.
Week Eight
Spring Recess: No Class Meeting
Week Nine
Tue., March 22: Evangelical Practices of Gender and Sexuality
• § R. Marie Griffith, “Submissive Wives, Wounded Daughters, and Female Soldiers: Prayer
and Christian Womanhood in Women’s Aglow Fellowship,” in Lived Religion in America,
ed. David D. Hall, et al., 160–195.
• § Molly Worthen, “Who Would Jesus Smack Down?” The New York Times Magazine,
January 6, 2009.
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•
•
§ Tanya Erzen, “Sexual Healing: Self-Help and Therapeutic Christianity in the Ex-Gay
Movement,” in Religion and Healing in America, 264– 280.
Hankins, Chapter 8, pp. 177–209.
Thurs., March 24: Race, Ethnicity, and Evangelical Identities
• § Michael Emerson and Christian Smith, “From Separate Pews to Separate Churches:
Evangelical Racial Thought, 1700–1964,” in Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and
the Problem of Race in America, 21–50.
• § Arlene M. Sánchez-Walsh, “Worlds Apart: The Vineyard, La Viña, and the American
Evangelical Subculture,” in Latino Pentecostal Identity: Evangelical Faith, Self, and
Society, 154-191.
• § Rebecca Y. Kim and Sharon Kim, “Revival and Renewal: Korean American Protestants
beyond Immigrant Enclaves,” Studies in World Christianity 18, no. 3 (2012): 291–312;
• Hankins, Ch. 8, “Social Positions: Gender and Race” pp. 210–216.
Week Ten
Tue., March 28: Evangelicals and Contemporary U.S. Political Culture
**One-page outline due in class for Writing Option 2
• Harding, Chapters 3, 6, and 7; pp. 85–104, and 153–209.
• Hankins, Chapter 7, pp.143–176.
Thurs., March 31: Evangelical Belief and the Politics of Religious Difference
**Reading response #2 due in class for Writing Option 1
• § Yaakov Ariel, “Eschatology and Mission,” and “Jews for Jesus and the Evangelization of
a New Generation,” in Evangelizing the Chosen People: Missions to the Jews in America,
1880-2000, 9–21, 200–219.
• §* Franklin Graham, excerpt from The Name (2002), in American Religions: A
Documentary History, ed. Griffith, 602-605.
• §* “Letter to Franklin Graham from the Council on American-Islamic Relations,” in American
Religions: A Documentary History, ed. Griffith, 605–606.
• Hankins, Chapter 9, 217–232.
• Start reading Luhrmann
Week Eleven
Tue., April 5: The New Evangelicals: Experiencing God through Prayer
• Luhrmann, Chapters 1, 2, and 3, pp. 1–100.
• Start reading the novel you selected for discussion in class on April 21.
Thurs., April 7: Lover of My Soul: Intimacy and Discipline in Evangelical Prayer
• Luhrmann, Chapters 4, 5, and 6, pp. 101–188
• §* Rick Warren, passages from The Purpose-Driven Life (2002)
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Week Twelve
Tue., April 12: Accounting for Evangelical Experience
In-class screening of Jesus Camp, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (2006).
• Luhrmann, Chapters 8, 9, and 10, pp. 227–325
Thurs., April 14: Evangelical Apocalypse
• § Paul Boyer, “The Growth of Fundamentalist Apocalyptic in the United States,” in
Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism, 140–178.
• Harding, Chapter 9, pp. 228–246;
• Hankins, Chapter 3, pp. 59–70.
Week Thirteen
Tue., April 19: Evangelicals, Popular Media, and Consumer Culture
**Draft of research essay (1,200 words) due in class for Writing Option 2
• Harding, Chapter 10, pp. 247–269.
• § Heather Hendershot, “For-Profit Prophets: Christian Cultural Products and the Selling of
Jesus,” and “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? Christian Music and the
Secular Marketplace,” in Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical
Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2004) pp. 17–86
• Listen to the “playlist” of Contemporary Christian Music, posted on NYU Classes in .mp3
format to accompany Hendershot’s chapter on music.
Thurs., April 21: Evangelicals in Fiction and Literature
• LaHaye and Jenkins, Left Behind
• Oke, Love Comes Softly
• Peretti, This Present Darkness
For today’s reading, see further information under this week in “Resources” on NYU Classes. Each student will
choose to read only one of these three novels. Informal responses to the works will be shared in class discussion.
Week Fourteen
Tue., April 26: The Plan of Salvation on the Silver Screen: Evangelicals in American Film
Outside class, screen one of the films listed on NYU Classes (resources folder for December
3rd). Come to class prepared with comments for discussion. Identify a few scenes in particular to
discuss with the class. If you would like to screen a film not listed, check with the instructor first.
• Start reading Roose.
Thurs., April 28: Life among Fundamentalists Today
**Reading response #3 due in class for Writing Option 1
• Roose, pp. 1–164
• § George M. Marsden, “Fundamentalism Yesterday and Today,” in Fundamentalism and
American Culture, 2nd ed. (Oxford, 2006) pp. 231–257. Access ebook via Bobst access:
https://getit.library.nyu.edu/go/9365020
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Week Fifteen
Tue., May 3: Coming to Terms with Contemporary Evangelicalism
**Final draft of research essay due in class for Writing Option 2
• Roose, pp. 165–271
Thurs., May 5: Concluding Discussion
***Last day of class: Take-home Final Exam Distributed in Class***
• Roose, pp. 272–319
• Harding, Postscript, pp. 270–276.
Week Sixteen
Thurs., May 12: Final take-home examination due by 5:00 PM to gp48@nyu.edu.
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