HON 2010 City of God: Christianity As an Urban Movement
This is an honors course designed for sophomore students who completed the Honors Congress First Year Seminar. This interdisciplinary course intends to focus on all three distinctives of North Park University - Christian, Urban, Intercultural - as it analyzes the complex and complicated roles cities - particularly the city of Jerusalem - have played in the history of Christianity. After discussing theoretical historical and contemporary approaches, we will analyze the significance of Jerusalem as the contested holy city for Jews, Christians, and Moslems. We will look at literary texts and discuss the religious significance of Jerusalem with a Rabbi, an Imam, and a Protestant pastor. We will also watch and critically assess a documentary (Jerusalem: The Movie) and a controversial feature film (Left Behind). As we will see in this course, the city of Chicago has also played an important role when it comes to religious developments, particularly in the US. Using the resources of Chicago's Newberry Library, we will explore the religious significance of Chicago in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.