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Catholic
Studies Courses Communications CO 240-51: Communication and Catholic Thought
Communication and Catholic Thought begins with the rhetorical history of Early Christian preaching and evangelization and moves through the Middle Ages and the impact of printing up to Contemporary Catholicism with its reliance on mass media to communicate the teaching and the doctrine of faith. The course requires readings in each of these periods. Some of the questions to be explored are: To what extent should mass media be used to communicate Catholic thought? Are the media helpful or not in this communication? Does the Church operate a system for this communication? What is the underlying theology that should form or does form the basis of using mass media as a tool of communicating Catholic thought and teaching? History HS 195- 51: Catholicism and America We live in a pluralistic society. Catholic thought in many ways has affected our democracy and likewise our democracy has in many ways effected Catholic thought. Within these United States the majority of religions have interacted with Catholic thought and have had various effects upon one another especially in their relationship to democracy. The scope of interactive relationships is extensive and include: beginnings of missionary work and diffusions of the arts and sciences; the religious liberty questions; slavery and abolition; women's suffrage; civil rights; immigration; and Catholic education. This course is intended to give one an extensive and deeper understanding and appreciation of the intermingling of religion and democracy in the United States through the prism of Catholic thought.
ML 285-51: Literary Women, Science and Religion
in Early Modern Italy This course will begin with an introduction to the significance and meaning of encyclopedic knowledge in the Middle Ages as seen through Saint Augustine.Then we will study the role that Clare of Assisi, the first Franciscan woman, played in the development of the Franciscan Order.Specifically, we will analyze her epistolary literature to Agnes of Prague.These letters document how their experiences were not any different from the content found in a treatise or sermon written and delivered by a learned friar.Then we will compare Clare of Assisi’’s literature to that of Saint Catherine of Siena, (1347-80) a Dominican nun and Doctor of the Church, who played a significant role both in the public affairs of her day and in the relationship of emerging medical science to religious experiences.Specifically, we will look at those writings in which she describes the extraordinary richness of creation, the nature of reality and the search for truth.Moving to the Renaissance, we will analyze the correspondence between Galileo and his daughter, Sister Maria Celeste, a Poor Clare of the Franciscan Order, and between Galileo and the Grand Duchess Christina.These two women played an influential role in the development of Galileo’’s debate with the Church.We will also study women’’s literature, which delineates the intellectual and theological debate that takes place with their male counterparts, e.g., theological and scientific discussions surrounding Galileo’’s trial, and we will examine how the unity of science and faith was fractured by the Copernican revolution. Philosophy PL 220 -51/52: Medieval Philosophy In this course we will survey the central problem areas of medieval philosophy, reading Catholic thinkers such as Augustine, Anselm, Abelard, Aquinas, Scotus, and Ockham along with Jewish and Islamic thinkers for comparison. Our goal will be two-fold: first, to learn how these authors thought through philosophical issues; second, to think them through for ourselves. The issues we will be focussing on include freedom of the will, proofs of the existence of God, the problem of universals, the nature of virtue, and mysticism. PL 270-51: 19th and 20th Century Anglo-American
Philosophy- This course will study the history of contemporary philosophy in the English-speaking world from the perspective of the Catholic tradition in philosophy. Emphasis will be placed on the Catholic influences (as shown in individual philosophers and their questions) which contributed to the development of this way of doing philosophy. It will be seen that the long tradition of Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy placed an important role in what has come to be the dominant philosophy in the English-speaking world. The course counts towards the three-course philosophy core. PL 420-41: The Metaphysics of St. Thomas
Aquinas This course explores the field of metaphysics, from the Catholic perspective, as exemplified in the work of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas Aquinas, named Doctor of the Catholic Church because of his sound teaching, is the primary authority in the field of Catholic Metaphysics. He synthesized the metaphysics that preceded his and established the intellectual framework for the metaphysics that came afterward. Generally, metaphysics is the study of being as such. It is a philosophical attempt to understand the question of being and related concepts such as essence, existence, thing, poetry, event, matter, mind, space, time, and causality. This course approaches each of these questions within a Thomistic (Catholic) context. PL 425-41: Philosophy of the Human Person
The expressions of contemporary thought and culture reveal images of the human person springing from diverse philosophical presuppositions. The Philosophy of the Human Person explores critical philosophical reflection on some fundamental and enduring questions about human beings and our relationship to the universe. A wide variety of thinkers, both classical and contemporary will be considered critically from the viewpoint of the great Catholic philosophical tradition, culminating in the contribution by Karol Wojtyla / Pope John Paul II and his brand of philosophical Personalism. Political Science PO 398-51: Topics in Medieval Political
Thought This course takes up a series of issues in medieval political thought that have strong echoes in modern political thought and political life. The thesis of the course is that the medieval European intellectual world was shaped by the Church, and that originally religious arguments provided the template for theoretical discussions- for example, of rights, property, the nature of political authority, and the location of sovereignty- which have framed western social and political understandings down to the present day. The goal of the course is to expand and deepen students' knowledge of medieval political thinking through reading selections from select medieval figures such as Christine de Pizan, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Giles of Rome, John of Paris, Dante, William of Ockham. It is hoped that the insights at which students arrive will then inform their understanding of issues in contemporary political and social thought. Religious Studies RL 376-41: Franciscan Movement This course will study the Franciscan Movement from its birth in the life of St. Francis of Assisi to its modern-day manifestations. Through reflections upon the historical and spiritual aspects of the movement, the course will give the student an overall perspective of the Franciscan experience, identifying its unique and vital charism within the Church. The course is structured in a seminar format, and students will be asked to present a paper (i.e., 3-5 pages) once per week for peer review analyzing various elements from the assigned readings. RL 399A-1: Personal Search for God: Spirituality
as Lived Example "Of the several paths that lead to virtue, the broadest and the most obliging is the way of imitation. By observing the deeds of holy men and women and imitating their deeds, we become virtuous" [Robert L. Wilken, Remembering the Christian Past]. This course will study narratives both from the early Christian tradition and from more contemporary experiences, which witness to the encounter with the holy and contribute to what we mean by spiritual theology. Requirements will be to read eight to ten narratives, to submit a short, critical essay on each work read, and then to contribute a final essay examination designed to synthesize the course. As a Catholic Studies concentration offering, this course will focus on what Vatican II called "the universal call to holiness," integrating this summons to the pastoral significance of the communion of saints as mentors of the faith. RL 399B-51: The Word of God in Catholic
Perspective Study the meaning of the biblical canon and the developing Catholic doctrine of inspiration, while drawing out consequences for interpreting Scripture. After study of selected Church Fathers as interpreters, the values and limits of contemporary scholarly exegesis. Sources: the biblical encyclicals of 1893 and 1943, Vatican II’s Dei Verbum, recent documents (1993, 2002) of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Student work: (1) compare the interpretation of a Church Father and a recent commentary on the same passage; (2) state the meaning of "the truth of Scripture" |