I was puzzled by the course at first: the 4-minute lectures, one question quizzes, and initial focus on Nazi use of Luther's antisemitism. But I soon caught the drift of the course's peripateticism: the various historical and doctrinal issues, links to Spinoza, Kant and King, the terrific Luther readings (now I see why the nuns in grammar school warned us against reading anything by Martin Luther) and the many excellent encyclopedia entries (skimmed)--all put Luther and the Reformation in historical and contemporary context. Good job. The 3 paragraph essay was also an excellent teaching device. You asked, 'Do you understand Luther's concept of freedom?' and I had to admit I was befuddled. So the essay and grading others' was spot on. Thanks. Bob Huberty (I met you at the CUNY conference. I was with David Lott, formerly of Fortress Press.)

This course was not overly interesting, it felt more like listening to someone wanting to paint everything with a socialist brush. I had better things to do. This has not been a class where I learned much. Its structure of super short videos (~4mins) with easy "tests" was neither challenging nor useful to confirm the value of the content, in fact a number of tests quiz you on material not yet covered (usually in the next unit). Not the best class there is.

Good course. Learned alot, especially about Luther & his contemporaries. Thanks for opportunity.

24 MAY 2022: This course piqued my interest in Luther's publications & commentaries enough to research & read them. Lutheran seminaries still use those texts to train, indoctrinate, & educate their students about Luther & his life, thoughts, & deeds.

Although I am not in any way a scholar or a theologian, after reading Luther's diatribes & invectives against the Jews, I came to the conclusion that the only clothing item missing from his wardrobe was a Nazi SS uniform with the accompanying Swastika accoutrments. He could have easily been a founder of the Nazi Party in the early 20th century. In fact, the ideas he promoted were part & parcel of Nazi theology & policy.

His shallow rationalizations for supporting his anti-Jewish views were at best laughable & appear to be there to justify the conflict he seemed to be having between his "Christian principles" & his personal twisted beliefs.

Again, thanks for the opportunity to further my perspective about this topic.

This course is well organized and thought-provoking, with very short lectures (around 4 min. or so) and lots of supporting materials, much of them Luther's own writings! Dr. Helmer's analysis of Martin Luther in his own time and cultural context would be reason enough to take her course. What follows, from Melanchthon to Kant to Martin Luther King, Jr. and beyond brings the echoes of the hammer blows to the Wittenberg door into sharp focus as they resound today. Anyone who lives in the " Western World" should take this course as a foundation for considering religion, race relations, civil rights, political realities or philosophical constructs active today.

The lectures are very short--usually around 4 minutes. But each of these succinct nuggets is replete with thoughtful analyses of Luther's theology. I am a social studies teacher and I feel like I know the story and historical impact of Luther fairly well. I still learned a great deal from this course. In particular I enjoyed the comparison of Luther's ideas with those of later significant figures in intellectual history, namely Spinoza, Kant, Martin Luther King and Max Weber. I really enjoyed learning more about the role of Kant and his role in the historical arc of Luther's protestant theology.

Great course. Gives great insight into the person and beliefs of Martin Luther as well as the effects of his ideas on the Western World. I very much enjoyed having access to so much of Luther's writings. Additionally, the 2003 movie "Luther" was fantastic. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in the Reformation, Western Civilization, or the study of freedom.

This is an excellent course. Not only it is a very clear and complete introduction to Luther and his times, but also includes a couple of units on the reception of his thought, both in I. Kant and M. Luther King. I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Helmer's lessons and learnt a lot from them.

A well presented course. Material is presented in an easy to absorb format and well structured. This course has increased my knowledge and understanding of Luther and provided excellent resources. The course has helped me to teach about Luther more effectively to my students.

This course was fun, engaging, and interactive. It really helped me appreciate Martin Luther's contributions to Western society and how other thinkers throughout the ages have borrowed from his ideas. I highly recommend to anyone, even if they are not interested in theology.

Quick, useful overview, even if you've read about this time in history before. The peer-graded writing assignment also helped me articulate what I learned from this course. Highly recommended for anyone, especially those living in the Western world.

very packed course....full of very dense information in the reading....the reading load is very heavy, especially for the first two weeks......it's more like two months...... but the assignment is very moderate.....just one....

The course is extremely informative and I appreciated, above all, the continuous links between Luther's theology and its implications for social, economic and political choices in our contemporary world.

This is a well-planned course that I learned a whole lot from. I was curious about Luther and church history to begin with, and this course satisfied that curiosity.

Excellent course covering the complete historical, political, and spiritual development of Martin Luther and his influence on Western intellectual thought.

An excellent course! I found the material interesting and informative. The professor was keen and easy to understand. I loved this course.

I really enjoyed the course, and think it is very well thought out and paced. I appreciate the access to additional reading materials.

Christine Helmer's classes opened me a whole new, rich and very useful world of Martin Luther. Great course. Thank you!

The course is not only amazing, but also interesting, because of the matters it treats and the things it brings along.

I loved this class. I learned a lot, became a better person, and have cited it a couple times in other classes.

LOVED THE COURSE. Very Comprehensive with the breadth of content. Now one can decide what to drill down on.