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Offered:

live-streamed via Zoom, or video recordings only. This course has no in-person component.

  • • HIS322 is offered in 2026 Term 2 (Apr-Jun), pending sufficient student enrolment.

  • • This course is only offered as a live-streamed course via Zoom, and as video recordings of the live-streamed sessions if you are unable to attend the live Zoom sessions.

Date & Time:

Begins Monday 27 Apr 2026, 7:00-8:30pm

  • • Our 2026 Term 2 HIS322 course is offered on Monday evenings 7:00-8:30pm (NZ time) beginning 27 April 2026 and meets for 8 consecutive weekly sessions. The last class of the Term is on Monday 15 June 2026.

  • • If you live outside of New Zealand and wish to Zoom in to our live-streamed sessions, check the nearest local Time Zone equivalent below:

Time Zone equivalents:

for live-streaming Zoom Sessions from New Zealand. If your Time Zone doesn't suit our live-streamed class, you can also access our courses by watching the live-recorded sessions that are posted to the course webpage each week, usually within 1-2 days.

  • Honolulu, Hawai’i: begins Sun 26 Apr 2026, 9:00-10:30pm

  • US Pacific: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 12:00-1:30am

  • US Eastern: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 3:00-4:30am

  • London, UK: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 8:00-9:30am

  • Paris, France: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 9:00-10:30am

  • New Delhi, India: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 12:30-2:00pm

  • Bangkok, Thailand: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 2:00-3:30pm

  • Singapore & Shanghai: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 3:00-4:30pm

  • Tokyo, Japan: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 4:00-5:30pm

  • Sydney, Australia: begins Mon 27 Apr 2026, 5:00-6:30pm

Description:

HIS322: Reformations: A History of Christianity in Early Modern Europe, 1517-1535 — 2026 Term 2

TOPICS:

Week 1: From Brother Martin to Condemned Heretic: Martin Luther through 1521

Week 2: Storming Heaven!: The Theology of Martin Luther

Week 3: The Peasants’ Revolution of 1524-25

Week 4: Man Between God and the Devil: Luther’s Reformation of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and Salvation

Week 5: Early Modern Memes?: How Protestantism Spread in an Illiterate Era

Week 6: A Church Unprepared?: Early Catholic Responses to the Reformation

Week 7: Turning Swiss: Zwingli, Anabaptists and The Early Evangelical Movement

Week 8: Things Fall Apart: The Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster

  • • “Reformations” is a seminar on the history of Christianity in the West, roughly between 1517 and 1530. It explores how western or "Latin" Christendom, a geographic sphere of perceived spiritual unity and political diversity, was transformed into a collection of nations defined by religious differences, political competition, social upheaval and military conflict.

  • • The central questions of this seminar focus on how a late medieval religious dispute in just one small segment of the globe forever altered our notions of the relationship between God and humankind, individuals to each other, and individuals to nation states.

  • • As this is a very short course, the period under consideration has been contracted to focus on the earliest stage of the Reformation period of European history. Our geographic scope will focus on the German speaking areas of Holy Roman Empire, with forays into Switzerland and the Netherlands.

  • • Future courses will cover the English Reformation, John Calvin and the French Reformation, The Catholic and Counter Reformations, and the Wars of Religion – all of which trace at least a good portion of their origins to the events covered in this course.

  • •In addition to examining the broader historical implications of religious change, our course will also carefully examine the theologies and religious programs of Martin Luther and other reformers, as well as those of so-called radicals such as revolting peasants, peaceful Anabaptists, and the short-lived, murderous and polygamous kingdom of Müntzer. We will also examine how the Reformation spread in an era without newspapers or twitter, and how the Roman Catholic Church responded to the significant challenges to its doctrines and authority brought about during this tumultuous era.

Week 1: From Brother Martin to Condemned Heretic: Martin Luther through 1521

Monday 27 Apr 2026

From Brother Martin to Condemned Heretic: Martin Luther through 1521

Week 2: Storming Heaven! The Theology of Martin Luther

Monday 4 May 2026

Storming Heaven!: The Theology of Martin Luther

Week 3: The Peasants’ Revolution of 1524-25

Monday 11 May 2026

The Peasants’ Revolution of 1524-25

Week 4: Man Between God and the Devil: Luther’s Reformation of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and Salvation

Monday 18 May 2026

Man Between God and the Devil: Luther’s Reformation of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and Salvation

Week 5: Early Modern Memes? How Protestantism Spread in an Illiterate Era

Monday 25 May 2026

Early Modern Memes?: How Protestantism Spread in an Illiterate Era

Week 6: A Church Unprepared? Early Catholic Responses to the Reformation

Monday 1 June 2026

A Church Unprepared?: Early Catholic Responses to the Reformation

Week 7: Turning Swiss: Zwingli, Anabaptists and The Early Evangelical Movement

Monday 8 June 2026

Turning Swiss: Zwingli, Anabaptists and The Early Evangelical Movement

Week 8: Things Fall Apart: The Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster

Monday 15 June 2026

Things Fall Apart: The Anabaptist Kingdom of Münster

Meet our Instructor

Professor of History and Religious Studies Dr Adam Duker, PhD

Professor Duker is an expert in medieval and early modern Christianity. He was won numerous research and teaching prizes. He was a Fulbright Fellow in Switzerland, where he worked at the Institute for Reformation History at the University of Geneva. He spent over a year in France conducting research at the BnF and multiple other archives as a visiting research fellow at the Sorbonne. He taught a political science course at Berkeley and undergraduate courses in History, Theology, and Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame. After completing his doctorate, he became a Professor at the American University in Cairo – where he held the largest university endowed chair in the Arabic-speaking world and where he served as the Director of the only non-sectarian Religious Studies program in any Muslim-majority country. He then became a Professor of History, Religion, and Jewish Studies at Mount Holyoke College before moving onto Alphacrucis College in Australia. He has held a visiting research fellowship at the University of Waikato and is currently a Research Fellow at Laidlaw College in Auckland.

Location:

This is a live-streamed course only and accessible via Zoom.

The course is live-streamed from our Hamilton, New Zealand classrooms.

Course curriculum:

Week by week new material will be posted throughout the duration of the course. Video recordings of each weekly session will be posted here after 1-2 days after each class.

    1. EarthDiverse Course information

    2. EarthDiverse Zoom Instructions

    1. Week 1: Terms and Concepts - Luther PDF

    2. Theses Excerpts PDF

    3. Luther - Bondage of the Will PDF

Additional course info:

  • Video and PDF content of class presentations or whiteboard notes are uploaded weekly after each live session
  • Begins on Mon 27 Apr 2026
  • NZ time: Mondays 7:00-8:30pm

Pricing options:

• All prices are in New Zealand dollars and include GST.

• Unwaged includes students, seniors, retirees and unemployed.

• Prices remain the same regardless of your chosen method for accessing this course.

• Please note that If you live in the US or Canada, an additional tax may be applied as per local tax regulations.

Distance Learning:

This course has distance-learning options for those unable to attend the live class sessions in Hamilton, New Zealand. Students have two options for attending this course once they have registered:

  • Attend our live on-line classroom sessions via Zoom at the regular scheduled day and time.

  • Watch the live-recorded class sessions at your leisure, at a time, day and place more suited to your schedule.

Distance-Learning options:

Live Zoom sessions or video-recordings

  • • This course offers distance learning options only via Zoom as there is no in-person component. Live-streamed classes are available via free Zoom software for those living outside the Waikato. Live-streaming allows you to participate fully in your own learning, ask questions of the instructor and participate fully in the same way as if you were in the physical classroom.

  • • Those unable to attend the scheduled date and time of the actual class sessions, or those who need to miss a class or two due to previous engagements or unexpected illness, can watch any or all of the live-recorded video sessions on their computers, laptops, tablets or mobile devices and study at their own pace and in their own time.

  • • Detailed instructions on how to access our distance learning components will be sent after completing your registration. There are no additional fees for this service. However, distance learners will need access to a desktop or laptop computer with a good quality web-camera (tablet devices and mobile phones can also access our live-streamed classes), a built-in microphone (most modern laptops have built-in microphones) or a headset with a microphone. You will also need to download and install the free Zoom software on your computer or device. Those accessing the video recordings will be able to do so with a simple web browser on any device.

Notes:

Those who cannot make the class meeting day and time via live Zoom sessions may consider accessing this course through the weekly recorded video sessions. Class videos are usually posted within 1-2 days of each live class session and are available for your own personal learning on a day and time of your choosing.

  • • Any Term can be taken independently of the others, and there are no prerequisites for any of the Term courses.

  • • This course has no assignments, required readings, quizzes, tests or exams.

  • • All classes encourage questions and group discussion.

  • • PDFs of class presentations and video recordings of each session are posted 1-2 days after each session for the duration of the course. You are most welcome to come, sit back, relax, take part in and enjoy the discussions!

  • • There are no refunds for missed classes. If you miss a class, you can watch the video recording!

  • • Please note that if no one shows up for a particular class, either in person or via Zoom, we will make every attempt to postpone the class and make it up at the end of the Term. However, this may not always be possible. Teachers are not required to teach a class if no students show up, but the teacher has the discretion to record a video with no students present if s/he is unable to postpone a class. Please email or text your teachers if you are unable to attend any specific class session.

  • • Guests of registered participants are welcome to attend a single session without registering.

  • • If, however, this course is cancelled due to insufficient enrollment please note that your registration fee will either be refunded in full or you may select to receive a course credit. Your choice!

  • • Certificates of Completion for any particular Term Course or Series are available for Professional Development purposes upon request at the end of each Term or Series.

Materials:

All materials are included in the course fees. These are developed by our instructors and distributed as PDF files on the course webpage.

  • • Course materials (if any) are provided to all registered students as digital materials made available to you on the course webpage for download (accessible after registration). There is no need to purchase any additional textbooks for this course.

  • • You will only require a pen or pencil, a notebook for taking your own class notes.

  • • Our instructor's materials (when available) are posted to the class webpage on your dashboard as a PDF file so that you can print these out at home and add them to your own notebook.

Prerequisites:

There are no formal prerequisites for this course, other than a curious mind and eagerness to learn.

• But as our course jumps right into the life and thought of Martin Luther, students are highly encouraged to have taken my previous EarthDiverse course “Christianity in Late Medieval Europe – c. 1417-1517.”

• Students who have not taken this course and feel they need a primer are encouraged to either take the late medieval course simultaneously to this one, or to take the late medieval course first and wait until next term to begin “Storming Heaven.”

• Alternatively, EarthDiverse is offering students the option of watching the first three of my lectures on 15th-century Christianity for the lower price. These three lectures will provide the background necessary to engage with the “Storming Heaven” lectures without the full commitment of taking the entire Late Medieval Course.