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Catholic
Studies Courses Art History AH 319-51: Gothic Art This course considers European art from the 12th through 14th centuries. We will begin with a consideration of the Gothic cathedrals of Europe and the complex interplay between medieval spirituality and social reality that they represent. We will then move on to consider painting, sculpture, and the decorative arts (stained glass, metalwork, ivories, textiles etc.). Special attention will be paid to the diverse artistic cultures of France, England, Germany, and Italy. AH 399-51: When East Meets West: from Marco
Polo to Giuseppe Castiglione This course considers the different ways in which European culture impacted the art of China. The subject will be approached broadly beginning with the earliest contacts between China and the West in the ancient period. Special attention will be paid to the influence of Christianity on Chinese culture, especially in connection with the Jesuit missions that first reached China in the 16th century and continued to the 19th century. The course examines a wide range of Chinese art, including mural paintings, metalwork and architecture. English EN 299B-51: The Bible as Literature Embarrassed when a professor asks to recapitulate the temptations of Sampson, when you don’t remember how Paradise Lost will end? Wipe away those blushes of shame with a course which reads the Bible. Old and New Testaments, from the perspective of literature. What kinds and types of stories are used, what are the various literary genres employed by the authors and why those literary types make an essential difference for rational adults in making sense out of the sacred writings. The authentic and ancient Catholic reading of scripture always presupposed that the holy books were to be understood in more than just a literal fashion, and also interpreted according to the literary forms used. We’ll also look at the source stories that authors of scripture mined to make their psalms, war stories, court histories, tragedies and the like. This is not a religion course, but it will help you to make sense out of the deep sources of Western literature and civilization. EN 312-51: Late Medieval Literature Pilgrimages! Anchorites! Manuscripts! Knights! This course will explore the literature of Later Medieval England (c. 1200-1500). We’ll develop a sound reading knowledge of Middle English, then read a bunch of texts in the original (“Thy drasty ryming is nat worth a toord!”). On the docket: Chaucer (of course); Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Julian of Norwich (a holy lady who lived the whole life in a room the size of a closet); Margery Kempe (a lady who though she was holy, but spent most of the time annoying everyone she met, from her husband to the Archbishop); and some of the best stuff Anonymous has ever written. We’ll examine the birth of British Theatre and legends of King Arthur, and I’ll bring my axe to class. History HS 196B-51: The Crusades The greatest adventure of the Middle Ages: Taking the Cross and making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem – killing as many Muslims and Jews as possible along the way! Warriors as famous as film-stars: Richard Lion-heart, St. Louis of France, Raymond of Toulouse, Peter the Hermit, Pope Innocent III. Invasions which inflamed the Muslim world, too. The jihad response from bigger-than-life heroes: Saladin, Baibars the Tiger, Saif-ad-Din, Nur-ad-Din. And all for what? Plenary indulgences. Admission to Paradise. Entry into a priesthood which stressed poverty and bathing in the blood of Infidels. A chance to kill and maim on behalf of your God. The greatest “turf wars” since Hadrian exiled the Jews from Israel. Too crazy to be true? Take this class and learn more about the two-hundred year struggle for control of the Holy Land. HS 208-1: Irish in History For a small society on the geographical periphery of Europe, Ireland has had an outsized impact on the culture and imagination both of Europe and of North America. This class will consider the many paradoxes of the Irish past. The Romans considered Ireland a barbaric society not worth the trouble to conquer, and Ireland was Christianized very late, not until the fifth century. But as Roman society collapsed, Irish monks played a critical role in preserving Latin culture, and in re-Christianizing Western Europe. We will explore these paradoxes and more as well as learn about the culture many Americans claim as their heritage. HS 405-11: Rome: City of Emperors, Popes,
and Saints This course requires travel to Italy during Spring Break and travel fee required. This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth examination of the history and culture of the city of Rome from its origins to the 20th century. We will focus on the institutions and historical figures that have played prominent roles in the shaping of the city, its culture, its religion, and its politics. The course requires a spring break study tour of Rome from February 22 to March 1, 2008. Philosophy PL 220-1: 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 focusing on include freedom of the will, proofs of the existence of God, the problem of universals, the nature of virtue, and mysticism. PL 230-51: Christian Thinkers Christian thinkers have long struggled with the philosophical ramifications of their faith and praxis. They have engaged in a centuries-long examination of the intellectus fidei: the knowledge of the faith. This course will critically examine some of the key texts written primarily, but not exclusively, by Catholic members of this tradition (since this course has a Catholic Studies designation). These texts will be analyzed on the basis of some important themes in this tradtion: the question of God’s existence and essence (or nature), and how (or whether) they are known; the relation between faith and reason; the analogy of being and its relation to unity, truth, and goodness; philosophical anthropology: the human person’s capacity for empirical knowledge, moral action, and aesthetic/religious expression and enjoyment; realism in epistemology; and natural law theory in ethics. The overall aim of the course is not only to provide a broad historical examination of this philosophical tradition, but also look at the impact it has had both on Christian theology and on philosophy generally. PL 240-41: 17th and 18th Century Philosophy This course meets at Borromeo Seminary. This course explores the genesis of modern philosophy and science in Bacon and Descartes. It contrasts the modern project of mastering nature with the classical program of contemplating nature. The course then studies the effect of the modern transformation on our understanding of human nature and political life by looking at such thinkers as Pascal, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant. PL 307-41: Philosophy of Religion This course meets at Borromeo Seminary. Philosophy of religion explores the relationship between faith and reason through an investigation of some of the classical texts that have commented on the issues it raises. Specific topics include the concept of God, the existence of God and modern atheism, the problem of suffering and miracles. Readings from Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, Mark Twain, and C.S. Lewis will form the core of the course. Multimedia approaches will supplement class discussion, lectures, and numerous written assignments. PL 310-41: Contemporary Ethical Problems This course meets at Borromeo Seminary. This course is an introduction to ethics and its application to contemporary issues. The class will explore various ethical theories as hey developed over the centuries, our modern era has been shaped into the multifaceted ethics tht guide our personal and global decisions. Our course will then attempt to answer the many perspectives of our times with regard to the most pressing issues through a Catholic, philosophical response. 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 traditions 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, withdrawal 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 398A-51: Special Topic: Ethics of Forgiveness We move throughout our lives from one situation to another, and realize quickly, and readily admit, that we are fallible; we can and do at times make mistakes. Human sociability demands that we take seriously our mistakes and do something about these mistakes, especially when they directly affect others. The point of departure for our study will consider the following aspects of the human person: Human individuality, uniqueness, human consciousness, sociability, interpersonal communication, personal freedom, morality, etc., all of which will be considered in the existential perspective of “Who I am is related to who I am yet to become.” Lectures, with emphasis on discussions, will constitute the basic structure of every class. Interesting and exciting textbooks will be assigned, and handouts distributed in class. Several movies will be shown, and hopefully several guest lecturers will present their ideas and lead a discussion. Religious Studies RL 101-53 and 54: Introduction to Religious
Studies This is an introductory course to the study of religion
taught through the lens of Catholic RL 101-62: Introduction to Religious Studies This is an introductory course to the study of religion
taught through the lens of Catholic RL 205-41: Introduction to New Testament This course meets at Borromeo Seminary. Permission is required from the department chair or instructor to take this course. This course is an introduction to the study of the New Testament in the Roman Catholic tradition. The development and composition of the New Testament as part of the Catholic Canon of Scripture; the historical, cultural, and religious environment out of which it arose; and the various theologies and their impact on the Catholic Biblical imagination will be interpreted in light of the Catholic church, and expose the student to the authentic Catholic exegesis rooted in the Tradition of the Church and exemplified by contemporary Catholic Biblical Scholarship. RL 205-51 and 52: Introduction to New Testament This course is an introduction to the earliest Christian communities, the collection of literature which they produced (i.e., the New Testament), and their historico-cultural contexts. Some aspects considered are: the origins, formation, and development to these communities as they interact with their socio-political environment; their different theological perspectives- in regard to Jesus, his life, teachings, death, resurrection, and his community of disciples- especially with regard to regional differences; the influence of Paul; and the apocalyptic perspective of early Christians. This course is part of the Catholic Studies curriculum because it engages the student with the Roman Catholic theological tradition of interpretation of the New Testament, both as an entity and in its respective parts. The ecclesial nature of authentic scriptural interpretation is fundamental to this tradition. RL 228-51 and 52: American Christianity This course will trace the development of Christianity in North America from the colonial period until the contemporary era. Topics will include the Puritans, religious liberty, abolitiionism, revivalism, nativism, the Industrial Revolution, immigraion, prohibition, fundamentalism, and modern secularism. In keeping with the focus of the Institute of Catholic Studies, half the course will be devoted to how the various topics listed above impacted and interacted with American Catholics. There will also be separate treatment of Catholic education as well as the making and unmaking of the Catholic subculture. RL 231-41: Contemporary Catholic Theology This course meets at Borromeo Seminary Permission to take this course must be granted by the department chair This course will be an overview of Roman Catholic theological themes and issues developed since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) with special attention being given to selected areas: scripture, grace, sin, redemption, the role of Jesus, the Church, ethical norms/morality, and sacraments. RL 231-51: Contemporary Catholic Theology An overview of Roman Catholic theological themes and issues since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) with an attention to selected areas: scripture, grace, sin, redemption, the role of Jesus, the Church, ethical norms and morality, and sacraments. RL 272-51: Christian Spirituality Spirituality, that illusive quality of soul that dwells on the borders of mystery and grace, resists definition. Christian spirituality is the concrete experience of grace and healing in the paschal mystery, the daily dying, rising, experience of communion and alienation, of virtue and sin that constitute our redeemed lives in Christ. This course is a way to reflect upon the experience of being in commuinion with the ultimate. RL 299A-41: Special Topics: Third World
Culture: Honduras This course meets at Borromeo Seminary Permission to take this course must be granted by the department chair This course will use the discipline of theology to study and evaluate the political, social, historical, and religious themes that emerge from a study trip to Honduras. Instructor and students will go to Honduras in February to experience and observe life in a Third World culture. They will prepare for the trip by reading about the principles of Catholic Social Justice, as well as books by and about the people and Church workers in Honduras. Students will read and discuss the texts with the instructor before and after the trip. Students will keep journals of their thoughts and experiences during the trip. Students will present insights from their study and experience to a larger group of students when they return. RL 325-51: Women in Christian Tradition What has been women’s place in the two-thousand-year history of Christianity? This is a broad topic and could be approached in a variety of ways. We will approach this in the following ways. We will start with the contemporary feminist theology. Starting with briefly understanding contemporary feminism, we will then explore how this modern secular movement is affecting Christian theology today. Next we will take the Scripture study approach. We will look at the role played by women in the origins of Christianity. Finally, we will follow the historical and literary study approach where we will meet some of the most fascinating and important women in Christian history. RL 368-41: Christian Social Justice This course meets at Borromeo Seminary Permission to take this course must be granted by the department chair. This course will present an overview of some contemporary conceptions of justice with reference to social and economic issuses as they are treated in the Roman Catholic tradition. The course will trace the development of important documents and movements in Catholic social justice efforts. RL 374-51: Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton This course examines the life and writings of two of the most prophetic and controversial figures in U.S. Catholicism in the twentieth century. It traces the influence of Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day on the Church’s self-understanding and mission, social reform, war and nonviolence, spirituality, racism, and inter-religious dialogue. RL 399B-1: The Catholic Experience Permission to take this course must be granted by the department chair. As a capstone course for the Catholic Studies Program
at John Carroll University, this course invites students to synthesize
their course work in the program in light of the wisdom that emerges
from Catholic systematic, ethical, and spiritual sources. Through
a careful reading of contemporary and classical selections and authros,
students will be encouraged to explore the foundational elements
of a world view in which faith seeks understanding and does justice
as a response to God’s revelation. Because it is a Catholic
Studies course, we will rely on that religious tradition; however,
we also see this as a truly catholic (understand here as univerisal)
inquiry and will necessarily look at other efforts to make some
ultimate sense out of learning and living.
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