Elections, wars, and plagues pale in importance aside the development of two
philosophical trends: THE RISE OF MODERN SCIENCE and THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CONTEMPORARY RELIGION.  Together these movements have shaped the western
world since the time of the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution.  They
are now reshaping the entire world beyond recognition even to your
grandparents.  Equally important these two movements have shaped and
continue to shape each other.  Topics course will focus on the century
between 1840 and 1940.  A time when science and religion vied with one
another for the mind and hearts of the western world.  You will be taken
into the thick of the fray and asked to follow the struggles and
accommodations between THEORIES OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, and the ever
changing CHRISTIAN TRADITION.  The weekly lectures will introduce you to
some of the particulars of the interaction of these two movements and to how
historians today interpret it.

You will be asked to read selections from the writings of the period.  You
will be asked to view many sides of the complex questions that were being
debated.  There will be weekly or biweekly DISCUSSION SECTIONS in which you
will explore in smaller groups the issues presented in lectures and the
reading selections.  There will be section quizzes, an in-class and a final
exam, which will cover this same material.

The most valuable experience, however, might well be the RESEARCH PAPER you
will be asked to write.  In short, you will be asked to understand the ideas
and concerns of an historical individual as he or she wrestled with some of
the same issues you will face in class and the assigned readings.  Since
this may well be the first College paper you will write, you will receive
guidance into the resources of the IU library system.  You will learn the
techniques of finding relevant material for you individual documents, and
you will be given plenty of opportunity to develop your own interpretation
of the material you discover.  You will write several drafts before handing
in the final paper.