mennonitestudies | Major - Outline

This course is a survey of the origins and history of the Anabaptists in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Prussia and Russia. Attention will be given to the interaction of religion and culture in the history of European Mennonites.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-2108/3, and accepted for credit by Religious Studies.

This course is a survey of the immigration and resettlement of Mennonites in Russia and in North and South America. The course will include a study of the origins and distinctive characteristics of particular Mennonite groups and conclude with a brief survey of Mennonites around the world.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-2109/3, and accepted for credit by Religious Studies.

This course examines the history of pacifism, peace movements, and nonviolence from ancient times to the 1700s. It focuses in particular on Europe, with special emphasis on the period from ancient Greece and Rome, to Early Modern times in Western Europe. The course also addresses history of peace in other parts of the world. Thus, it contrasts Christian traditions of nonviolence with those of Hindu, Buddhist and other eastern traditions. For case studies, the course examines Mennonite communities in 16th and 17th century Switzerland and the Netherlands.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-2131(3).

This course examines the history of pacifism, peace movements, and nonviolence from the 1700s till the present. It focuses in particular on North America, but will also cover selected events in other parts of the world. The course, thus, contrasts Christian traditions of nonviolence with those of aboriginal, secular, and eastern cultures. For case studies, the course examines Mennonite communities in 19th and 20th century Canada and the United States where Mennonites have embraced pacifism as a fundamental principle of social organization.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-2132(3).

A central emphasis in the New Testament writings is discipleship, that is, "following Jesus" (Gospels) or living a new life "in Christ" (Paul). This course explores the various perspectives on discipleship in the New Testament, to understand those perspectives in their historical and literary contexts, and to draw out their implications for followers of Jesus today.

An examination of the development of Mennonite faith and life in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The diversification of Mennonite faith and practice by factors such as immigration, missionary activity, and social assimilation will be discussed with implications for Mennonite identity and mission.

A study of the history, theology, and significance of Christianity within its worldwide context since 1500.

An historical study of how society and the Church have understood and responded to issues of peace and war. The relationship of church and state, the development of the just war theology, non-violent alternatives, as well as the rise of peace movements will be studied.

This tutorial is designed to enable students to follow an aspect of Mennonite Studies in depth. The topic should be selected in consultation with the Professor. Offered on an individual basis to advanced students at the discretion of the Chair in Mennonite Studies.

This tutorial is designed to enable students to follow an aspect of Mennonite Studies in depth. The topic should be selected in consultation with the Professor. Offered on an individual basis to advanced students at the discretion of the Chair in Mennonite Studies.

This course deals with the relationship between the objectives and methods of the "mainline" reformers of the sixteenth century (mainly Luther and Zwingli) and those of the "radical" reformers (such as Thomas Müntzer, Andrew Carlstadt, and the Anabaptists), and assesses the historical results of this relationship.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-3216/3.

This course will examine the role of women and of men in the evolving Mennonite society. It will trace these gender roles amongst the Radical Anabaptists of Western Europe, the agrarian Mennonite communities in Russia and North America, and the modern, urban centres in North America. The course will examine patriarchal structures of Mennonite households, churches, and communities, but also focus on the ways in which women create mechanisms of autonomy and meaning within those structures. The ideas that comprise Mennonite femininity and masculinity will receive special attention. Gender will also be traced through the Mennonite life-cycle, commencing at childhood and tracked through times of youth, marriage, mid-age and retirement. The course will examine how Mennonite theological teachings, everyday language, modes of production, fertility rates, and national cultures affect ideas of gender in Mennonite society.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-3108/3.

This lecture/seminar course deals with the history of the Mennonites in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union from 1789 to 1989. Cultural, economic, and religious developments of the so-called ‘Mennonite Commonwealth’ in the nineteenth century and of the far-flung Mennonite communities in the Soviet Union during the twentieth century are emphasized and analyzed.
RESTRICTIONS: May not be taken by students with credit in the former MENN-3203.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-3110/3.

Thiscourse deals with the Anabaptist and Mennonite understanding and experience of pacifism throughout the centuries, with special emphasis on their dealings with nation-states, church schism, ethnic relations, and domestic abuse.
RESTRICTIONS: Students may not hold credit for both this course and the former MENN-2103/3.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-3111/3.

This lecture/seminar course is a study of the founding and development of Mennonite communities in Central and South America. The focus is on problems European and Canadian Mennonites faced (and still face) in their attempt to establish an existence and identity in a predominantly Latin world. The course contrasts these conservative Mennonites to the more radical communities composed of indigenous Latin American Mennonites. In particular, it compares the manner in which the two groups of Mennonites have responded to the social and economic issues of Latin America.
RESTRICTIONS: May not be taken by students with credit in the former MENN-3101.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-3114/3.

This lecture/seminar course studies Mennonite responses to the wider world, and examines changes that have taken place among Mennonites with regard to world issues over the course of history. These issues include: urbanization, environmentalism, poverty, mass culture, the communications revolution, the global economy and family life. An emphasis is placed on the Twentieth Century World.
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in MENN-3301/3 or HIST-3301/3 may not receive credit for MENN-3116/3 or HIST-3116/3.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-3116/3.

This course introduces the student to the works of Mennonite authors who either write in English or whose writings are available in English translation. Works of the following authors, among others, will be studied: Hans Harder, Arnold Dyck, Fritz Senn, Rudy Wiebe, and contemporary Mennonite poets.

This course will survey major developments in Canadian Mennonite communities from 1786 to the present. It will trace the following themes: the Swiss American and Russian roots of Canadian Mennonites; community formation in Ontario and Western Canada; Anabaptism in everyday life (especially the way it was played out in the family); theological developments in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; the survival of Mennonite faith distinctives in the urban and socially-integrated Canadian society since World War II. Special emphasis will be placed on establishing the unique features of Canadian Mennonite experience.
CROSS-LISTED: History HIST-3541/3.