Catholic Studies Courses
Spring Semester 2008

Art History

AH 318-51: Medieval Art
Dr. Guest (MWF 11:00-11:50)
Fullfills core requirements for Division II and International “S” designation

Art and architecture of Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to the start of the Renaissance with emphasis on monumental church decoration, the secular art of the nobility, and the place of Jewish and Islamic art in Medieval Europe.

AH 430-51: The Age of Michelangelo
Dr. Linda Koch (T 6:30-9:15)
Fulfills core requirement for Writing Intensive “W” designation

Italian art and culture during a period dominated by the genius of Michelangelo (1490’s-1560’s). Topics to be studied in connection with Michelangelo and his influence include artists’ competition with antiquity, Mannerism, art theory, Medici patronage, the Florentine Academy, and artists’ biographies.

English

EN 299E-51:  Catholic Novelists
Mr. Tom Hayes (TR 9:30-10:45)

Overall, this course is designed as a specialized reading course in American literature.  The readings are such that one without a specific literature background and certainly without a Catholic background can still enjoy and discover value.  This course will examine the “voice” of contemporary American fiction writers who are also Catholic. In doing so, the course will look at the cultural phenomena of writing as a Catholic in America and determine if the readings reflect the person’s Catholicism.  Whether being Catholic offers a unique and individual perspective, beyond the idea that every person provides a “unique and individual perspective,” will be the focus of the readings.

EN 312-51:  Late Medieval Literature
Dr. Patrick McBrine (MWF 1:00-1:50)
Fulfills core requirements for Division II & Literature "L" designation

This course offers a survey of late medieval literature in English.  Over the semester, students will read a variety of texts in a variety of genres, many of which concern Christian themes.  Among other selections, students will have the opportunity to explore The Canterbury Tales, the romances of Arthur and Middle English translations of the Bible.  No previous language is necessary, though students will be taught in the original.

EN 416-51 Chaucer (Honors)
Dr. Patrick McBrine (MW 3:30-4:45)
Honors courses are open to all students

This course offers an introduction to the language and literature of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, one of the great masterpieces of English literature.  In the first weeks, students will learn the fundamentals of Middle English, in order to access the language of the original.  No previous language experience is expected or required.  Along the way, students will read several “tales” closely, appreciating Chaucer’s use of language and his gifts for characterization, genre manipulation, and irony.  Chaucer also has a deal to say about the society of his time, including some rather pointed criticisms of the Church.

History

HS 113-51(Honors) & 52: Saints and Scoundrels
Dr. Paul V. Murphy (MWF 9:00-9:50 & 11:00-11:50)
Fulfills Core requirements for Division II & International "S" requirement.  Honors courses  are open to all students

This course will examine one of the most prominent, notorious, talented, and despised groups in the modern world – the Jesuits.  We will seek to clarify the historical and cultural significance of the Society of Jesus, the largest religious order in the Catholic Church.  This will include study of their founder, Ignatius of Loyola; their place in the world of Renaissance and Reformation learning and culture; the works of the Jesuits in Asia and Latin America during the period of Eurpean expansion in the sixteenth to the eighteenth century; the roles played by the Jesuits during the Enlightenment and French Revolution; the suppression of the Socity of Jesus in the eighteenth century; and the place of the Society in the modern world, particularly their reaction to Liberalism in the Western society and their role in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Philosophy

PL 220-51:  Medieval Philosophy (Honors)
Dr. Brenda Wirkus (TR 3:30-4:45 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V.  Honors courses are open to alll students.
 
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 intelletual tradition.  We will begin with an analysis of early Church Fathers (Irenaeus and Origen), move to the early medieval period (Augusitine 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 Franciscan thinkers Scotus and Ockham.  The overall aim of this course is to give students both a competence in and an appreciation of the extraordinary depth of thought present in these thinkers.

PL 230-51: Christian Thinkers
Fr. Harry Gensler, S.J. (MWF 11:00-11:50 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

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 298-51 SP TP: Augustine and the Philosophy of Late Antiquity
Dr. Brenda Wirkus (TR 12:30-1:45 PM)
 Fulfills core requirement for Division V

The task of the philosopher is to reflect, both speculatively and critically, on our experiences, on the world, on human “nature” and behavior, on the very nature of reality, and on our claims to knowledge.  Augustine of Hippo, though often identified as a theologian certainly counts as a philsoopher in each of these respects.  In this course we shall examine his philosophical work and explore the nature of the distinction between philosophy and theology in the first few centuries of the common era.  Our first objective, then, will be to understand the work of Augustine of Hippo. Our second objective will be to understand the philosophy of late antiquity within its own context, and thirdly, we will attempt to understand Augustine’s relationship with the theological developments of early Christianity.

PL 307-41: Philosophy of Religion
Fr. Jerry Bednar (M 6:30-9:15 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V. 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 315-51 Applied Ethics
Dr. Andrew Trew (MW 6:30-7:45 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V.

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: uses of bioethics in the practical resolution of ethical dilemmas faced by Catholics in medicine biotechnology.

PL 425-41:  Philosophy of the Human Person
Dr. Chad Engelland  (TR 4:20PM-5:35 PM)
This course will meet at BorromeoSeminary

This course will provide philosophical reflection on some fundamental and enduring questions about human beings and their relationship to the universe. It will include readings from classical and contemporary sources. Offered at Borromeo Seminary.

Religious Studies

RL 101-52 and 53:  Introduction to Religious Studies
Fr. Thomas Schubeck (MWF 9:00-9:50 AM; 10:00-10:50 AM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

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 some consideration of Islam.  The course is open to all students interested in fuller understanding of religion with a focus on the Catholic tradition.

RL 101-62:  Introduction to Religious Studies
Dr. Doris Donnelly (TR 12:30-1:45 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

This course will introduce students to the study of religion from the perspective of contemporary Catholic theology.

RL 205-41:  New Testament Introduction
Bro. Charles McElroy, OFM Cap. (TR 2:55-4:10 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V. 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:  New Testament Introduction
Dr. Shelia McGinn (TR 9:30-10:45 PM & 11:00-12:15 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V and international “S” designation.

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 220-21 History of Christianity
This course will take place in London as part of the Boler Buisness School’s study abroad program.

RL 220-51 History of Christianity
Dr. Joseph Kelly (TR  2:00-3:15 PM)
Fullfills core requirements for Division V

This course studies Christianity from its origins to 1300: the earliest communities, the encounter with the Roman world, establishment of Christian intellectual and artistic life, monasticism, converstion of the barbarians, rise of the papacy, the Gothic age.

RL 228-51:  American Christianity
Dr. Joseph Kelly (TR 9:30-10:45 AM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

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 of the course will be devoted to how the various topics listed above have 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
Bro. Charles McElroy, OFM Cap. (TR 8:30-9:45 AM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V. 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
Fr. John Dister, S.J.  (TR 9:30-10:45 AM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

Besides the 'overview of theological themes and issues' since the Vatican Council as proposed in the JCU undergraduate bulletin, this course will relate these theological topics to current questions being discussed in the Church.  We will not overlook the theological ferment that was going on during the years before the Council which influenced some of the Council documents and which in turn color the current controversy in interpreting the Council.  The class time will be about equally divided between presentation and discussion.

RL 272-51:  Christian Spirituality
Fr. Donald Cozzens (MW 3:30-4:45 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

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 299c-41:  SP TP: Third World Culture: Honduras
Fr. Thomas Dragga (TBA)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V and will meet 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 299a-51 Theology Behind Bars
Dr. Doris Donnelly (TR 3:30-4:45 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

Sometimes people in jail write about freedom and faith as powerfully and often more eloquently than those who are on the outside. Martin Luther King Jr. did so with his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” when he was confined in Alabama after being arrested for his part in a non-violent protest. So did Malcolm X of his conversion to Islam after his pilgrimage to Mecca. Of the Jesuits captured in Elizabethan England, Edmund Campion, SJ, among them, the torture in prison before their execution involved being forced to climb wicker steps that were then removed so that they hung for hours manacled to an iron bar. When Christianity was forbidden in Japan, Jesuit brother Michael Nagascima would not renounce his faith and was subjected to waterboarding and finally was thrown into boiling sulfurous water. We will read their testimonies of grace under torture, along with the witness of St. Paul in the Captivity Epistles, Boethius, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Iulia deBeausobre and Feodor Dostoyevsky in the Russian Gulag, Viktor Frankl and others in Nazi concentration camps, Langdon Gilkey in China, and prisoners released from Guantanamo. The primary source accounts from these men and women reflect, in varying degrees, hope, despair, contrition, intense mental and spiritual suffering, courage, solidarity, conviction, faith, purpose, and often, wisdom. In addition, video clips are included in the syllabus available from Professor Doris Donnelly at ddonnelly@jcu.edu.

RL 229b-51 SP TP: Ehics of War and Peacemaking
Dr. Thomas Schubeck (MWF 1:00-1:50 PM)
Fullfills core requirements for Division V and International “S” designation.

This course will introduce students to the just war-nonviolent peace traditions that arise from both the Jewish-Christian and Islam traditions.  It examines the causes of conflict, how it can be controlled, and finally how peace achieved through negotiation and policies.  The course is divided into three parts: The first part traces the development of just war theory and pacifism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  The second part assesses the morality war in modern times 20th and 21st centuries, including nuclear war and terrorism.  The third part deals with peace building that tries to eliminate injustices that lead to war. 

RL 368-41:  Christian Social Justice
Bro. Charles McElroy, OFM Cap. (TR 11:20-12:35 AM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V and will meet 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
Fr. Donald Cozzens (TR 11:00 AM-12:45 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

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 385-1 Women in the Catholic Tradition
Dr. Kelly McCarthy Spoerl (W 6:30-9:15 PM)
Fulfills core requirements for Division V

This course is designed to introduce students to the involvement and achievements of women in the Catholic Christian tradition from New Testament times through the twentieth century.  This will be done through focusing on the lives and works of several prominent women in Christian history.  Lectures will be given on these women’s biographies, and then students will have an opportunity to read and discuss certain literary works that illustrates these figures’ most characteristic contributions to Catholic Christian thought.