This course is a graduate-level introduction to significant scholarship in American religious history, from the colonial era to the present. We will meet for weekly discussions, focusing on historical interpretations, themes, and conceptualizations, with special attention to sources, argumentation, and methods employed in research and exposition. By the end of the semester, you will have a solid foundation in the field.
I have carefully selected readings to cover major themes in the historiography of U.S. religion, to expose you to representative works of important scholars, and to constitute a very good starter or reference library of American religious history for your bookshelf. Everyone will read all assigned works with care and critical attention, coming to class ready to engage in active discussion. In reading, seek out the book or article’s key thesis (and be able to summarize it in a few sentences). Also, you should be alert to its structure and rhetoric, note the claims made for advances over previous studies (relationship to historiography), and sketch out the conceptual or theoretical apparatus employed (identifying keywords and the ways they are employed). Finally, you should assess the work’s evidentiary base, the scope and scale of the study within the context of the issues and events it addresses, and its relationship with other aspects of American history. Analysis of the book in this way prepares you for critical discussion and clear writing. Ideally you should each come to class with several questions written out for us to address as a group. I will have a list of such questions as well, so we should have ample resources to work from.
Brekus, Catherine. Sarah Osborn’s World: The Rise of Evangelical Christianity in Early America
Valeri, Mark. The Opening of the Protestant Mind: How Anglo-American Protestants Embraced Religious Liberty
Newman, Richard S. Freedom’s Prophet: Bishop Richard Allen, the AME Church, and the Black Founding Fathers
Cummings, Kathleen Sprows. A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American
Byrd, James P. A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood: The Bible and the American Civil War
Harper, Matthew. The End of Days: African American Religion and Politics in the Age of Emancipation
Putney, Clifford. Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880–1920
Dorrien, Gary J. The New Abolition: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Black Social Gospel
Carter, Heath W. Union Made: Working People and the Rise of Social Christianity in Chicago
Orsi, Robert. The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, 1880–1950. 3rd ed.
O’Donnell, Mary Ellen. Ingrained Habits: Growing Up Catholic in Mid-Twentieth-Century America
Balmer, Randall Herbert. Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America
Hummel, Daniel G. The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle over the End Times Shaped a Nation
Prothero, Stephen. American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon
The structure of the course centers on a core book each week, fourteen monographs in all. Each week we will spend the first two-thirds of our time (roughly 3:00–4:45) critically assessing the core study. Following a 15-minute break, one student will present a summary and critique of a second, supplementary work that relates to the main book (20–25 minutes). Then we will close with comparative comments and thoughts on research initiatives this discussion has opened up.
About half of a student’s presentation should tell about the book and its contents, while the other half should deal with the book’s context in the author’s life and work and in its time period, and its greater significance. I strongly recommend that students practice their presentations before class, to make sure that the presentation is strong and fits within the time allotted.
We start on August 27 with introductions to each other and to the course. Students will sign up for a second book. After a break, we will begin with the first book, by Turner.
Weekly Notes
To promote discussions of substance, each student will write notes over the week’s reading (not required of the second book, however). These notes should cover important contents and points each week’s book makes, as well as many of the points mentioned above in connection with reading strategies. Aim to make them a good resource for future reference for such purposes as papers or comprehensive exams.
Very importantly, add comments of your own as they occur to you during the reading. Set them off in some obvious manner (e.g., with an asterisk or in a different font, or in some other way). These comments can be of any sort of thing that occurs to you, such as offhand thoughts, connections to other things you’ve read in this or other classes, disagreements with the author, or other remarks that the text may inspire. Students will hand in a copy of their notes each week. Your notes are not a polished paper; rather, they demonstrate to me your understanding of and interaction with the text. Also, the notes do not need to be extensive or many pages long to do the job.
Grading
of the notes will be on the following basis:
A: Good, complete, useful notes, with comments
B: Good notes, but unsatisfactory or missing comments
C: Poor or incomplete notes
Note: The week that you give a presentation, no notes are required.
Analysis Papers
Students will write two papers over the books that we have read together in class. The papers will discuss selected books and bring out their themes, evidence, strengths, weaknesses, and so forth, and analyze ways they complement, conflict with, or advance over each other. Papers should be 6–10 pages long. The papers are due in class on October 22 and in my office by 5:00 on the last day of finals, December 10.
Use 12-point Times Roman or Times New Roman, double-spaced, with standard 1" margins top and bottom and 1" margins right and left, with page numbers in the margin. Do not add extra space between paragraphs. If your word-processing program automatically adds space between paragraphs, adjust the Paragraph settings. Footnotes and bibliography are not required, but if used, must conform to Turabian standards. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations is widely available at most bookstores and in the reference section of libraries.
Graduate-level writing should have no major problems in grammar and punctuation. If you suspect your paper is weak in those areas, I strongly encourage you to ask for help from the University Writing Center, which can either help you online or in person.
Presentations
Students will select one book on the first day of class to present to the class. A presentation should inform the rest of the class about the book’s contents, author, and significance. No deep research is necessary, but reference to book reviews, historiographies, and similar works would be necessary to gauge the full importance of a work. Read or consult a biography of the author. The purpose of these presentations is to acquaint the class well enough with works of foundational literature familiar that they could discuss them intelligently in a paper. I highly recommend that students practice their presentations before class, to make sure that the presentation is strong and fits within the time allotted. The class would be expected to take notes over the presentations.
Grading of presentations will be on the basis of the cogency and clarity of the presentation as well as coverage of the main points mentioned above. Presentations that run longer than 25 minutes will be docked a letter grade.
Book Paper
Each student will write one paper over the book he or she chose to present in class. The paper will discuss the book’s main argument or purpose, its historical context, its author and his or her significance, and its reception, impact, and place in the literature of religion and American history. Students should consult contemporary and modern reviews, a biography and other relevant secondary sources, articles, and other secondary literature to construct this paper of 8 to 10 pages in length. You will find useful databases on the TTU Library Website https://www.depts.ttu.edu/library/. Click Databases A–Z → Arts & Sciences -- Humanities → History (or English or General). Other helpful databases include America: History and Life and JSTOR. The primary goal is the fullest possible expansion of the work’s significance.
Use 12-point Times Roman or Times New Roman, double-spaced, with 1" margins top and bottom and 1" margins right and left, with page numbers in the margin. Use a cover page. Footnotes and bibliography must conform to Turabian standards.
The book paper will be due in class three weeks after your presentation.
Grading
Grades for this course will be based 45% on your papers, 25% on your notes, 10% on your presentation, and 20% on the quality of your contributions to class discussion.
Michael Wigglesworth, Day of Doom
Jonathan Edwards, The Life of David Brainerd
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature and Divinity School Address
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Minister’s Wooing
Lew Wallace, Ben Hur
Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron Ware
Charles Sheldon, In His Steps
Annie Trumbull Slosson, Seven Dreamers
Abraham Cahan, The Rise of David Levinsky
Sinclair Lewis, Elmer Gantry
Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness, or Loaves and Fishes
Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Thomas Merton, Seven Storey Mountain
Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can’t Wait
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Hal Lindsey, The Late, Great Planet Earth
§ The Department of History adheres to Texas Tech University’s statement and related policies on issues of academic integrity <https://www.depts.ttu.edu/tlpdc/PlagiarismStatement.pdf>.
§ Any student found to be in violation of these policies will be subject to disciplinary action at both the departmental and university levels. At the departmental level, such action may include one or more of the following:
o a failing grade (F) for the assignment in question
o a failing grade (F) for the course
o a written reprimand
o disqualification from scholarships and/or funding
§ Graduate students violating academic integrity policies may also be subject to removal from the program. (See the department’s Graduate Program Handbook for more information.)
The professor reserves the right to change this syllabus at his discretion. Changes will be announced in class and posted on the class Webpages. ©2025 Mark R. Stoll. All rights reserved.
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Aug 27 |
Introduction |
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Sep 3 |
Brekus, Sarah Osborn’s
World |
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Sep 10 |
Valeri, The Opening of the Protestant Mind No second book this week |
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Sep 17 |
Newman, Freedom’s Prophet |
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Sep 24 |
Cummings, A Saint of Our Own |
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Oct 1 |
Byrd, A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood |
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Oct 8 |
Harper, The End of Days |
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Oct 15 |
Putney, Muscular Christianity |
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Oct 22 |
Dorrien, The New Abolition |
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Oct 29 |
Carter, Union Made |
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Nov 5 |
Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street |
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O’Donnell, Ingrained Habits |
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Nov 19 |
Balmer, Passion Plays |
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Nov 26 |
No class: Thanksgiving Break |
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Dec 3 |
Hummel, The Rise and
Fall of Dispensationalism |
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Dec 10 |
Final paper due |