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Catholic
Studies Courses
AH 301-51: The Northern Renaissance Painting, sculpture, and prints of Northern Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, with special attention to artists such as Jan van Eyck, Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Dürer, and Pieter Bruegel. AH 431-21: Sixteenth Century Art in Rome:
Mannerism to Counter-Reformation This course examines developments in art in Rome during the 16th century. It focuses on the transition from Mannerism to the Counter Reformation age. It starts with Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and Raffaello’s Rooms where the signs of Mannerism are already visible. Then it goes on to explore the main mannerist artists active in Rome in the first half of the century. It analyzes the influence of the Italian and foreign northern culture and the presence of some northern artists in Rome around the middle of the century: both will help the passage to “nature” and to the representation of religious subjects. English EN 299-51: Religion and Literary Imagination The language of literary criticism often has a great deal in common with the rhetoric of religious revelation. Most of us, when we think about what literature offers, think of a moment in a novel or short story when the veil of appearances is thrust aside and an inner truth is revealed; the reader is presented with a single moment of radiant vision that invests both inner and outer realities with a fresh significance. James Joyce called this moment an epiphany, which, in a traditional religious context, is the showing forth of the divinity of the Christ child. To adapt the solemnity of this moment for literary purposes, as Joyce tried to do, was a moment of pure ambition: he wanted to pick up the majesty and the mystery of religious experience and deposit it in the middle of literature. This class will offer students an opportunity to explore this connection and think about the collision (and collusion) of literary and religious experiences by looking at a number of short stories, novels, and plays as examples of how the literary imagination has represented human religious experience. EN 311-51: Medieval Literature An English course like no other: we will learn to
read English from over 1000 years ago. Of all the European languages
English has one of the richest medieval histories; hundreds of texts
survive, ranging from the monumental epic Beowulf to the earliest
translations of the Bible into English. Students will gain an introduction
to the language itself and the literature and culture of Anglo-Saxon
England. Students who complete this course will be eligible to continue
the study of Old English texts in the Spring in EN 411. EN 320-51: Renaissance: Tudor Lit In this class we will focus on four main goals.
1. To praise God. 2. To know thouroughly a representative set of
Tudor authors and genres. 3. To embed Tudor literature within Tudor
culture, history, and ideology. 4. To produce a research paper on
Tudor literature which acquaints the student with the work of major
scholars and journals. History RL/HS 326-21: History of the Papacy Rome, the ‘Eternal City’, central in the history of Western culture, changed from Antiquity to Modern times passing through a medieval evolution that made the capital of the Roman Empire the centre of Christianity. To understand how and why Rome became the most important city of Christendom it is necessary to reconstruct the historical evolution of the Papacy. Indeed, the presence of popes in Rome shaped the city role, culture, politics and architecture of the Eternal City. This course will study topics related to the evolution of the papal primacy from Late Antiquity to the Medieval period in relation to the Byzantine Empire, where Constantine founded the “New Rome”. In the course we will analyze the relation between the Rome of the Roman Empire and the centre of Christianity: how the heritage of the Roman Empire influenced the role played by the papacy and how the new imperial see reacted against the evolution of the papal primacy. HS 397-51: Our Unruly Daughters Most scholars agree that the study of gender in Early Modern Spain and Latin American should consider the substantial differences that existed among women as a group. Consequently, this course incorporates such a factor in the study of the relationship between women and the Catholic Church, arguably the most influential factor in their beliefs, values, ideas, and social roles. Hence, it explores the lives of women that reached predominant intellectual positions in their societies thanks to their affiliation with the Catholic Church and the nurturing that the Catholic tradition provided to their thinking. Additionally, the course also sheds light on the relationship that common women established with the Catholic Church as it was conveyed in the roles assigned to black or white-veiled nuns in colonial societies. Finally, the course also explores the lives of women Saints and sinners in Spain and Latin America. Its understanding of how the inextricability of gender, ideas, faith, economy, female values, Patriarchalism, and Catholicism shaped women’s roles in Hispanic pre-Modern societies. HS 406-51: Medieval Society and Institutions This course will introduce students to the history of the Medieval World from ca. 500 to 1500. We will look in particular at those forces that contributed to the growth of characteristic institutions, movements, and mentalities of the Medieval World. These include monasticism, feudal society, scholasticism and the medieval universities, courtly literature, the monarchies of Europe, the Crusades, the papacy, the Byzantine Empire, and attitudes towards women, Jews, and Arabs. Study of these areas of medieval life will include comparison of different regions of Europe including Italy, France, England, Germany, and Spain and their relationships to the broader Mediterranean world. International Cultures IC 261-21: Italian and Italian American
Spirituality Through Literature and Film Franciscan ideology and theology and its culture, literary and artistic influences on Italian and Italian-American literature and film. Philosophy PL 220-51: Medieval Philosophy The Christian philosophical tradition emerged most perspicaciously in the medieval period. The purpose of this course is to reconstruct the emergence, and to pay particular attention to the way in which medieval philosophers shaped the foundations of the intellectual analysis and criticism integral to the Catholic intellectual tradition. We will begin with an analysis of early Church Fathers (Irenaeus and Origen), move to the early medieval period (Augustine and Boethius), and then to works of the High Middle Ages (Lombard, Anselm, and Aquinas). Finally, we will examine the transition from the medieval into the modern period prompted by the Francisican thinkers Scotus and Ockham. The overall aim of the course is to give students both a competence in and an appreciation of the extraordinary depth of thought present in these thinkers. PL 230-21: Christian Thinkers Philosophical problems raised by selected Christian writers, both classical and contemporary. PL 315-51: Applied Ethics: Medical Ethics Bioethics provides a range of theoretical underpinnings to assist in the resolution of clinical dilemmas presented by the practice of modern medicine. In order to answer the question “what ought I do?” patients, their families, health care professionals and religious advisors face increasingly complex challenges to traditional views about the sanctity and value of human life. In this Catholic Studies course, we examine five main bioethics concerns contrasting a faith based perspective provided by Catholic tradition and Magisterium with secular bioethics perspectives. We consider 1) valuing life: being pro-life in an age of science and relativism: personal autonomy over life and death in medical treatments; 2) creating life: the ethics of assisted reproduction, and genetically engineered human and animal life; 3) modifying life: the ethical limits of transplantation, genetic modification, and the use of stem cell technologies; 4) ending life: the ethics of assisted suicide, withdrawl of artificial life support or nutrition; 5) real life using bioethics in the practical resolution of ethical dilemmas faced by Catholics in medicine and biotechnology. PL 395-51: Metaphysics We will attempt to understand what kinds of things there are in the world through the questions of Being and related concepts of existence, thing, property, event, matter, mind, space, time, and causality.
Examination of the nature and sources of knowledge and the means for establishing knowledge claims. Readings from classic works and contemporary writers. PL 398-51: Special Topic: Catholic Social
& Political Thought This course examines major themes found in the Catholic social thought and searches out the theoretical principles behind it. Issues to be addressed include: the dignity of the human person, respect for life, the human family, natural rights and responsibilities, option for the poor and vulnerable, the dignity of work and the rights of workers, the challenge of peace, and care for the environment. Sources include papal encyclicals, documents from Vatican Council II, and documents prepared by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Analysis and critical commentary on the principles and teachings will be taken from scholars in the fields of applied theology and the social sciences. PL 425-41: Philosophy of the Human Person Philosophical reflection on some fundamental and enduring questions about human beings and their relationship to the universe. Includes readings from classical and contemporary sources. Offered at Borromeo Institute.
RL 101-41: Introduction to Religious Studies Introduction to the academic study of religion. Topics include the nature of religion; the human search for meaning; revelation; symbol, myth, and ritual; faith as it relates to reason, experience, and morality. Introduction to the areas of scripture, theology, ethics, and religious traditions. This class is designed to prepare students for courses at the 200 and 300 levels. RL 101-52 and 53: Introduction to Religious
Studies This is an introductory course to the study of religion taught through the lens of Catholic Christianity. The course will explore how scriptures, symbols, myths, rituals, and creeds of the Catholic Church respond to the human search for meaning. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the course will include attention to contemporary practice, issues in morality and methodology, reflection on personal faith as it relates to reason, as well as a sympathetic appreciation of the beliefs of others with special consideration of Islam. The course is open to all students interested in fuller understanding of religion with a focus on the Catholic tradition. RL 101-60 and 61: Introduction to Religious
Studies This is an introductory course to the study of religion taught through the lens of Catholic Christianity. The course will explore how scriptures, symbols, myths, rituals, and creeds of the Catholic Church respond to the human search for meaning. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the course will include attention to contemporary practice, issues in morality and methodology, reflection on personal faith as it relates to reason, as well as a sympathetic appreciation of the beliefs of others with special consideration of Islam. The course is open to all students interested in fuller understanding of religion with a focus on the Catholic tradition. RL 200-41: Old Testament Introduction This course is an introduction to the scholarly study of Sacred Scripture in the Roman Catholic Tradition. More specifically, it will examine the historical and cultural environment of the Old Testament, its nature and composition, its religious and theological developments, and its significance for today’s Christians.
This course investigates contemporary moral issues in light of certain theological and philosophical methods for evaluating the issues. The issues will address dilemmas in the area of human sexuality, bioethics, criminal justice, economics, and war and peace. Specific issues handled largely through cases include abortion, stem cell research, euthanasia, capital punishment, war in Iraq, international trade and sweatshops, just friendships and same-sex relationships, marriage and divorce. The methods-divine command theory, ethics of virtue and Kantian ethics-attend to human experience, divine revelation, church teaching, and philosophical reasoning. Format calls for some lecture and much class discussion. RL 299B-51: Sacramental Theology This course will study the realities of Christian faith life as expressed in the concrete rituals of the Catholic Church. We will begin by examining what is called a "sacramental imagination" that helps us to see created things as means of disclosing God’s presence and action in our lives. We will proceed to study the historical development, theology, symbols, rituals and communal practices of the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist), sacraments of healing (Penance and the Anointing of the Sick) and sacraments of service and vocation (Holy Orders and Marriage). Students will learn to articulate the nature of the sacramental system in Catholic worship, and to define the key concepts and religious practices that are part of the discourse of sacramental theology. RL 320-51 and 52: History of Christmas This course will examine how the feast of Christmas developed in the Christian Church. Emphasis will be upon the relation of this development to larger developments in Church and society, especially in the nineteenth century. RL/HS 326-21: History of the Papacy Rome, the ‘Eternal City’, central in the history of Western culture, changed from Antiquity to Modern times passing through a medieval evolution that made the capital of the Roman Empire the centre of Christianity. To understand how and why Rome became the most important city of Christendom it is necessary to reconstruct the historical evolution of the Papacy. Indeed, the presence of popes in Rome shaped the city role, culture, politics and architecture of the Eternal City. This course will study topics related to the evolution of the papal primacy from Late Antiquity to the Medieval period in relation to the Byzantine Empire, where Constantine founded the “New Rome”. In the course we will analyze the relation between the Rome of the Roman Empire and the centre of Christianity: how the heritage of the Roman Empire influenced the role played by the papacy and how the new imperial see reacted against the evolution of the papal primacy.
It is widely held today that the human race is undergoing a massive cultural mutation in the area of sexual values, ethics, and behaviors. Christian Sexuality explores this claim from the perspective of the church’s wisdom and teaching and, from the perspective of human experience, wrestles with the mystery and meaning of human sexuality as revelatory of our deepest urgent longings for communion with God. RL 376-41: The 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, indentifying its unique and vital charism within the Roman Catholic Church. RL 399A-51: Ignatian Spirituality This course will study the history behind the formation of the Jesuit order and especially its foundation documents, most notably the Spiritual Exercises and the Constitutions, for the purpose of understanding the value of Ignatian Spirituality for living the Christian life today. After a brief introduction of essential terms, Part One begins with the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, and explores how certain characteristics of Ignatian spirituality emerged from his own personal experience, from the written sources and traditions available to him, and from the culture in which he lived. Reading materials for this part of the course are the writings of Ignatius himself. Part Two moves beyond Ignatius and his personal experience to see how Ignatian spirituality was disseminated across the globe through the creation of the Jesuit order. We will explore how that spirituality was lived out in the mission and ministry of the first Jesuits, guided by the history of the first Jesuits written by John O’Malley, SJ. Part Three carries the story of the growth and development of Ignatian humanism and spirituality beyond the earliest Jesuits through the centuries, by studying the lives and works of significant Jesuits, all under the tutelage of Ronald Modras. The course will end with a discussion of the relevance of Ignatian spirituality for the 21st century. RL 400-1: Introduction to Biblical Interpretation This course considers the problems of and approaches to understanding scripture. It focuses on the methods essential for doing biblical exegesis, interpretation, and application. The purpose of this course is threefold: to introduce you to the tools and techniques used in biblical analysis; to examine the ways this analysis can help to understand and interpret the biblical materials; and to involve you in this hermeneutical process. Through lectures, class discussions, readings, and class presentation, we will examine the major scholarly methods for analyzing, understanding, and interpreting the biblical materials. In a research paper you will apply these various techniques to a particular passage in order to elucidate the content, meaning, and significance of that passage. RL 499-51: “Rejected” Books
of the Bible An introduction to the non-Biblical writings of formative Judaism and early Christianity. Intensive study of selections from the intertestamental, apocryphal, and pseudepigraphal literature of the Old and New Testaments (e.g., 1–3 Enoch, The Gospel of Judas, The Acts of Pilate, The Shepherd of Hermas, The Proto-Gospel of James, The Infancy Gospel of Thomas); the Mishnaic and later Talmudic literature; and the writings of early Christian authors (e.g., Barnabas, Clement, Justin Martyr).
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