FALL COURSES - 2009

Art and Architecture (Prof. Elizabeth Lev)
This class presents an overview of almost two millennia of Christian art and architecture in Rome. Starting with the earliest images in the catacombs, students examine how the Christian community first expressed its beliefs and teachings through the visual arts, gradually mastering various media through the centuries up to our modern age. Classroom lectures explore the historical context of Christian art together with comparative views of the artistic production in other centers and religions, while site visits especially underscore the relationship between art and its liturgical function. Students learn to formally analyze works of art through an understanding of media and composition using the terminology  proper to art history. The class also presents the rudiments of Christian iconography as seen through the consistent theme in Christian art of the visual expression of the Incarnate Word.

Spiritual Theology (Fr. Paul Murray, O.P.)
The invitation to spiritual communion with God as presented in the First Letter of St. John.  Study of selected tests from the Christian spiritual tradition (eg. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, St. Augustine, Confessions) with special emphasis on the following themes: God’s saving mercy, prayer, the ascetical life, growth in holiness and contemporary spirituality.  Bibliography: Ample bibliography will be suggested during the lectures.

Europe and the Church, 1789 to the Present (Fr. Michael Keating)
It is hard to overestimate the impact of the striking changes that have occurred in the world during the last two hundred years, changes that have had their focal point in European civilization. These have also been years of great moment for the Catholic Church. This course aims both at dealing with key people, events and developments in the Church in its relation to Europe since the French Revolution, and at the same time investigating what it means to do history and to do history as Catholics. We will pay particular attention to the historical vision of Christopher Dawson, and will read mostly from primary sources. During our Rome semester we will also take advantage of our location to examine in some detail the important question of Italian unification and its impact on the Papal States.

Conversational Italian (non credit, pass/fail)

Electives:

History of Modern Philosophy (Fr. Michael Tavuzzi, OP)
Introduction to the central philosophical questions from Descartes to Kant.

Introduction to Patristic Teaching (Fr. Edmund Ditton, O.P.)
A historical and doctrinal survey of the patristic era concentrating on key individuals who  helped to shape the Church as we know it today. The emphasis will be on the reading of primary texts.

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16 credits plus the Italian are required; you have the option of taking an additional elective for a total of 20 credits.  If you wish to do so, please consult with Dr. Briel