Spring 2016 Course Descriptions

Course Title: Introduction to the Old Testament

Course Number: THST 6000.01

Sections Time/Day: T 4:30 – 7:00

Instructor: Dr. Daniel L. Smith-Christopher

Course Description:

This course is intended to be a challenging introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The emphases of this course are historical and literary familiarity with the Hebrew Bible, although questions about the Hebrew Bible as a religious text will not be out of place. This is a “historical-critical” approach to Textual analysis. There will be a secondary emphasis on the role of the Old Testament in informing contemporary Christian Theology.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will:

(1) Have a basic orientation to all the books of the Old Testament.

(2) Have a basic grasp of essential dates of Old Testament History, and the importance of those events for the study of the Bible.

(3) Have a basic understanding of the different genres of Old Testament Literature, such as Poetry, Wisdom, Prophetic Texts, Law, Story.

(4) Have a basic understanding of critical approaches to the study of the Bible.

(5) Have a good command of central theological themes that are informed by a study of the Old Testament

Prerequisites/Recommended Background:

There are no prerequisites to this course.

Required Texts:

Bible - New Revised Standard Version (New American Bible is OK.)
John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (SECOND EDITION: Fortress Press, 2014)

Course Work / Expectations:

(1) Class attendance is required

(2) 6 quiz-type short tests, spaced every two-three weeks, covering BOTH reading and lecture material. Each test is worth 10 points.

(3) All students will write the final paper (15-20 pages), an analysis of a selected Bible passage, which is worth up to 40 points. Full Research Paper expectations – citations, bibliography, etc. There will be detailed instructions.

**NOTICE: THERE WILL BE SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BEGINNING OF THIS COURSE BECAUSE OF THE ABSENCE OF THE PROFESSOR FOR THE FIRST THREE WEEKS. YOU WILL BE CONTACTED ABOUT THESE ARRANGEMENTS.**

Course Title: Foundations of New Testament Theology

Course Number/Section: THST 6010.01

Times/Days: T 4:30 – 7:00pm (off site in Orange Diocese)

Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey S. Siker

Core Area: N/A (Graduate Class)

Flagged: N/A (Graduate Class)

Course Description/Principal Topics:

The course objective is to acquire a working knowledge of and appreciation for the literary, historical, social, and theological dimensions of the biblical writings and their worlds. The course also encourages students to make connections between the Bible and contemporary issues.

The content of the course includes reading of significant portions of the Bible, as well as broad readings in contemporary study of the Old and New Testaments, historical methodology, and various critical and pastoral issues in contemporary interpretation of the Bible.

Student Learning Outcomes:

(1) Students will know both the content of the New Testament writings and various historical, theological, ethical, social, and pastoral issues/approaches associated with the interpretation of the New Testament.

(2) Students will be able to engage in detailed exegetical analysis of New Testament passages, both from the Gospels and from the letters of Paul.

(3) Students will value critical and constructive approaches to theologizing on the basis of the New Testament writings. Students will also value such critical/constructive uses of the New Testament in contemporary theological discourse.

Prerequisites/Recommended Background:

None presumed

Required Texts:

The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
Aland, Synopsis of the Four Gospels (English Ed)
Dunn, Unity & Diversity in the New Testament
Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament

Course Work/Expectations:

Lecture/discussion
readings
Midterm, Final
two 5-page papers
class participation

Course Title: THST 6030: Introduction to Systematic Theology

Times/Days: M 4:30-7:00 pm

Instructor: Rev. Thomas P. Rausch, S.J.

Office: University Hall 3722; 310-338-2931

Course Description:

This course explores classic themes in systematic theology, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, faith, Christian anthropology, the Church and the sacraments, creation and eschatology. It will seek to place them in their biblical origins, historical development, and contemporary significance in light of the current philosophical, cultural, ecumenical, interreligious, and pastoral concerns.

Student Learning Outcomes:

(1)    Know the major themes, methods, and authorities in systematic theology
(2)    Facility in speaking and writing about the these themes
(3)    Appreciate Roman Catholic and ecumenical approaches

Required Texts:

Francis Schüssler Fiorenza and John P. Galvin, Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives
Thomas P. Rausch, Eschatology, Liturgy, and Christology: Toward Recovering an Eschatological Imagination
Articles and texts from the professor (My LMU Connect)
Stephen Duffy, “Hour Hearts of Darkness”
Avery Dulles, “Symbolic Mediation”
Elizabeth Johnson, “Jesus and Salvation”
Hans Küng, “The Preaching of Jesus”
Thomas Rausch, “Catholic Anthropology”
_____________. “Systematic Theology” and “Changing Cultures, New Hermeneutics”
David Tracy, “The Pluralist Concept of Contemporary Theology”

Course Work/Expectations:

(1)    The course will be a seminar, requiring attendance and intelligent participation. Each student's contribution to the seminar process will be an important factor in determining the final grade. Therefore, regular attendance and quality participation is important.
(2)    Completion of readings before class discussion
(3)    Weekly 2 page reflection on readings:

Basic thesis and synopsis of argument
Your evaluation and critique of argument
Significant question(s)

(1) Midterm examination
(2) Research paper, a critical study, 12-15 pages in length, well-documented with footnotes and bibliography, with both analysis and critical evaluation, using appropriate theological sources, of some issue in systematic theology. The topic should be approved by the professor in advance and an outline, showing proposed development and basic bibliography, should be submitted no later than Monday February .

Course Number: THST 6053.1

Course Title: Psychological Foundations Of Pastoral Ministry

Section Times/Days: M, 7:15 PM TO 9:45 PM

Course Description/Principal Topics:

This course explores the psychological aspects of pastoral ministry, and in particular, the ministry of spiritual direction as a helping relationship. The focus in this course is the cultivation of the communication skills needed to be an effective pastoral minister and spiritual director. Principal topics to be covered include the following: a generic helping process for spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, and formation in various pastoral settings; the importance of self-knowledge and personal awareness on the part of ministers; the nature of empathic understanding and its relationship to psychological and spiritual growth; basic listening skills.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will demonstrate their understanding of the difference between spiritual direction, pastoral counseling and psychotherapy by describing the process of spiritual direction in facilitating spiritual development and the role of the spiritual director in that process.

Students will demonstrate the skills of active listening, empathic understanding, and facilitative intervention in the helping relationship through structured classroom experiences.

Students will deepen their self-knowledge by reflecting on their personal traits, attitudes, and characteristics that relate to their effectiveness as spiritual directors and pastoral ministers

Prerequisites/Recommended Background:

For those concentrating in Spiritual Direction in the Master’s in Pastoral Theology, THST 685, The Theory and Practice of Spiritual Direction, is a prerequisite for this course.

Required Text:

(1) A Course Reader (TO BE PURCHASED ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS)

(2) Urgings of the Heart: Toward a Spirituality of Integration by Noreen Cannon and Wilkie Au (Paulist Press, 1995).

(3) Transforming Our Painful Emotions by Evelyn F. Whitehead and Janes D. Whitehead (Orbis Books, 2010)

(4) How to Be an Adult: A Handbook on Psychological and Spiritual Integration by David Richo (Paulist Press,1991)

(5) Care of Mind, Care of Spirit: Psychiatric Dimensions of Spiritual Direction, by Gerald May, M.D. (Harper and Row, 1982)

Course Work/Expectations

(1) All students will be expected to do the required reading, turn in a weekly summary/personal reflection paper on that week’s assigned reading, and participate in both class discussions and structured classroom experiences.

(2) All students will be expected to have a weekly (30 minute taped) listening praxis outside of class and to keep a weekly journal of reflections on each experience. Further explanation of this assignment will be given during the first class meeting.

(3) All students will be expected to write a final 10-page integrative paper that articulates their reflections and insights gained during the semester from both cognitive and experiential aspects of the course.

(4) All students will give a class presentation based on their final integrative paper.

**Due to the experiential nature, structure and personal participation of this course each student is expected to attend each class and to arrive on time.**

Course Title: Foundations of Theological Ethics

Course Number And Section: THST 6060.1

Section Time/Days: T 7:15PM-9:45PM

Instructor: Prof. Matthew Petrusek

Course Description:

This graduate-level seminar provides an in-depth examination of the central ideas and methodologies that constitute the field of “theological ethics.” The course will identify and evaluate how foundational thinkers in the history of theological ethics respond to the fundamental theological, ontological, anthropological, epistemological, and ethical questions that ground and motivate theological-ethical inquiry. Within this broad interpretive framework—which will include philosophical as well as religious texts—we will also examine and evaluate specific theological-ethical paradigms (e.g., natural law, virtue, agape/caritas, different forms of “sola scriptura,” imago dei, imitatio Christi, mysticism, liberation, etc.), the constitutive components of moral action (e.g., freedom, responsibility, rationality, desire, will, conscience, experience, vulnerability to individual and social sin, etc.), and relevant socio-economic contexts (e.g., persecution, the formation of the early Church, Protestant and Catholic Reformations, modernity, industrialization, post-modernity, globalization, poverty, war, etc.). The course will also ask students to take stands on normative theoretical questions (e.g., Which theological-ethical alternatives seem most justified and why?) and practical moral problems (e.g., How can theological-ethical inquiry help us address concrete economic, legal, political, biomedical, social, etc. issues?). Seeking to tie these strands together, the course’s overarching goal is to establish a conceptual framework for appreciating and evaluating the methodological and substantive unity-in-diversity and diversity-in-unity that constitutes the discipline of theological ethics.

Student Learning Outcomes:

The purpose of the course is to help students to:

-Establish a broad and sophisticated understanding of some key themes, ideas, and methodologies in the history of theological ethics.

-Appreciate the “dialectical” or “conversational” character of theological ethics by examining how different viewpoints often respond to each other in the form of preserving insights of competing views while seeking to redress their perceived shortcomings.

-Think critically about how theoretical theological-ethical reflection directly relates to various spheres of concrete action, including individual decision-making, the creation and implementation of social and political norms and laws, the role of the “church” both internally (including pastoral issues) and within a religiously-pluralistic society, etc.

-Examine the conditions for the possibility of moral action and how it relates to the human good.

-Explore the relationship between philosophy and theology in an ethical context.

Prerequisites:

Graduate status

Required Texts:

-St. Thomas Aquinas. Introduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas, ed. Anton C. Pegis. The Modern Library, 1948.
-Day, Dorothy. Loaves and Fishes: The Story of The Catholic Worker Movement. Orbis Books, 1997.
-Gustavo Gutiérrez. We Drink from Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People. Orbis, 2003.
-Martin Luther. Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings, ed. John Dillenberger. Anchor Books, 1962.
-Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World, ed. James M. Washington. HarperSanFrancisco, 1992.
-John Howard Yoder. The Royal Priesthood: Essays, Ecclesiological and Ecumenical, ed. Michael G. Cartwright. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994.
-Additional readings will be available through MYLMU Connect, including selections from Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, St. Augustine, John Calvin, the Radical Reformers, Papal Encyclicals, Reinhold Niebuhr, and John Paul II

Course Work:

Attendance/Participation (including leading seminar discussion): 10%
Take Home Midterm: 25%
Seminar Presentation: 10%
Research Paper: 25%
Take Home Final Exam: 30%

Title: Foundations of Pastoral Theology

Course Number: THST 6070-01

Section Times/Days: T 4:30-7 pm

Instructor: Dr. Brett C. Hoover

Description:

Pastoral theology serves the academy and real-life communities of faith by equipping students with the language and tools to make connections between ministerial or everyday spiritual practice and diverse elements of Christian tradition. This course offers a foundation in pastoral theology, examining this basic purpose of the sub-discipline as well as its methodologies, contemporary contexts, and major themes. This effort requires adequate grounding in biblical, historical, social scientific, and theological sources for pastoral theology, knit together by the critical use of appropriate methodologies. These methodologies—such as the pastoral circle or practical theology—depend on 1) careful interpretation of the multiple contexts in which ministry and everyday spiritual practice occur today as well as 2) critical attention to the gifts and demands inherent in diverse interpretations of Christian tradition. The course will practice pastoral theology by exploring the lay ministry explosion in Catholicism today as well as other contemporary trends in both ministry and everyday spiritual practice.

Student Learning Outcomes:

As a result of this course, students will be able…

(1)    To locate the place and particular function of pastoral theology in the larger theological matrix, that is, the theological discipline and its various subfields (biblical, historical, etc.);
(2)    To analyze the general social, cultural, and ecclesial context of Christianity in various locations and articulate how that context shapes pastoral questions and practices;
(3)    To make conscious use of pastoral theological methodologies;
(4)    To make theological arguments about key issues in pastoral ministry and practice today;
(5)    To name and develop selected elements needed to construct a theology of ministry that is faithful to the biblical and historical heritage of ministry, and adequate to the contemporary experience of Catholic lay and ordained ministers.

Pre-requisites:

THST 600.

Required Texts:

Cahalan, Kathleen. Introducing the Practice of Ministry. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2010).
Gula, Richard M. Just Ministry. New York: Paulist, 2010.
Scharen, Christian. Faith as a Way of Life: A Vision for Pastoral Leadership. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdsmans, 2008.

Course Work:

Expectations for this class include a written summary analysis of reading, oral presentations on class topics, theology of ministry papers at the beginning and end of the course, a contextual analysis, and a final integration paper.

Title: Supervised Pastoral Field Education (Contextual Education Seminar)

Course Number: THST 6078-01

Section Times/Days: Wed. 4:30-7 pm

Instructor: Dr. Brett C. Hoover

Description:

Drawing upon an interdisciplinary framework, this field education seminar addresses ministerial leadership aimed at the whole person in the service of faith communities for the sake of God’s Reign. It offers foundational concepts and skills required for effectiveness in ministry that is contextually driven and performed in collaboration with other ministers. In a dialogical classroom context that models collaborative ministry, THST 689 seeks to engage students in theological reflection and ministry skill development. It helps students reflect on required supervised field education experiences either at their full-time ministry or in some other approved ministry environment. It aims to enable students to weave together theological, ministerial, and educational insights and understandings. As present and future leaders in the Church, students learn so that they may also be able to teach and train others in what they learn.

Learning Outcomes:

As a result of this course, students will be able to:

make use of pastoral theological methodologies in theological reflection;
articulate with appropriate terminology the connections between their experiences of ministry and the theology they are learning;
articulate key contextual factors—environmental, cultural, psychological, spiritual and ecclesial—that impact particular ministry sites and pastoral questions;
facilitate work and learning groups in the context of ministry;
identify key administrative and legal issues important in pastoral ministry;
demonstrate improvement in prayer leadership and oral presentation (preaching) skills;
demonstrate improvement in the interpersonal and leadership skills necessary for effective ministry in particular contexts today.

Pre-requisites:

THST 600 and THST 670.

Required Texts:

Jeffrey H. Mahan, Barbara B. Troxell, and Carol J. Allen in Shared Wisdom: A Guide to Case Study Reflection in Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993)
Marti R. Jewell and David A. Ramey, The Changing Face of Church: Emerging Models of Parish Leadership (Chicago: Loyola, 2010).
Edward Foley, Theological Reflection Across Religious Traditions: The Turn to Reflective Believing (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015

Course Work:

Expectations for this class include some form of ministry, regular meetings with a ministry supervisor, keeping a theological journal, an interview with an accomplished minister in an area different from that of the student, an oral presentation including prayer leadership, and a final project.

Course Title/Course Number:

Yoga Philosophy: Text and Practice YGST 620

Hinduism: Vedānta and Yoga THST 6083.1

Section Time/Day: M 4:30-7:00 pm

Instructor: Professor Christopher Chapple

Course Description/Principal Topics:

In this course we will explore the foundational teachings of two traditional philosophies of classical India. Vedānta, which includes the study of the Vedas, the Upaniṣads, and later commentarial literature, develops a theology of Brahman that sees an intimate relationship between the inner workings of the human person and the larger rhythms of the cosmos. Yoga, which tends to be less theologically specific, emphasizes practices of ethics, movement, and meditation that have been applied in several religious traditions. We will read and discuss several primary texts and interpretive materials.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will learn the major theological categories of the religious traditions of India, including the Vedic approach to multiple deities, Upaniṣadic approaches to embodied spirituality, Yoga’s emphasis on applied asceticism, and the attempt through the Bhagavad Gītā and the Yogavāsiṣṭha to mediate and reconcile these views. Students will acquire a working vocabulary of Sanskrit theological terms and enrich their writing skills through the preparation of two papers.

Required Books:

Meditations through the Ṛg Veda, Antonio T. deNicolas
The Thirteen Principal Upaniṣads, Robert Ernest Hume, tr.
Avatāra: Humanization of Philosophy through the Bhagavad Gītā, Winthrop Sargeant
Yoga and the Luminous, Christopher Key Chapple
The Concise Yogavāsiṣṭha , Swami Venkatesananda, tr.
Classical Sāṃkhya, Gerald Larson
Karma and Creativity, Chapple

Course Work/Expectations:

The first paper, of about 15 pages, will integrate the student’s understanding of key ideas from the Vedas or Upaniṣads. Topics to be explored may include specific gods and/or goddesses of the Vedas, including research on how these are integrated into the tradition of Hindu household worship; the four “languages” or concept areas of the Vedas; or a close explication of one hymn or a series of hymns. Other themes might include: the concept of Brahman; the role of Self; the “Great Sentences” of the Upaniṣads; the nature of faith; the role of the elements, senses, and body; the significance of food; theories of health and well being; the role of ritual. One could also do a close read of one section of one of the larger Upanisads or devote the paper to a close analysis of one of the shorter texts.

The final paper will explore a topic pertaining to the practice of Yoga, the philosophy of theBhagavad Gītā, or the story tradition of the Yogavāsiṣṭha. It may include a close exposition of portions of a specific text.

Course Title: Judaism

Course Number/Section: THST 6088.01

Times/Days: T 7:15-9:45 pm

Instructor: Gil Klein

Core Area: n/a

Flagged: n/a

Course Description/Principal Topics:

This course explores Jewish culture, religion and history from ancient to modern times. It focuses on select texts and works of art, which mark significant moments in Jewish thought and practice. Through a critical analysis of sources such as Biblical passages, rabbinic dialogues, Kabbalistic teachings, philosophical writings, synagogue paintings and sacred architecture, students will also learn to identify different media and genres of Jewish creativity. As the course demonstrates, each of these modes of expression evolved in correspondence with non-Jewish cultures and inspired different understandings of Judaism. Finally, by exploring notions such as origins, law, worship and nationhood, students will come to see Judaism as an ongoing response to fundamental religious, social and cultural questions.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will: 1. Know the chronological sequence and geographical framework in which Judaism developed and was practiced since the time of the ancient Israelites till today. 2. Analyze primary Jewish sources of multiple varieties. 3. Become familiar with the debates over the interpretation of historical evidence pertaining to Judaism. 4. Explore fundamental religious questions as they were formulated by Jews in specific historical circumstances. 5. Evaluate the complex sets of relationships between Judaism and other religious traditions.

Prerequisites/Recommended Background:

None

Required Texts:

(1) David Biale, ed., The Cultures of the Jews, vol. 1 – Mediterranean Origins (New York: Schocken Books, 2006).

(2) David Biale, ed., The Cultures of the Jews, vol. 2 – Diversities of Diaspora (New York: Schocken Books, 2006).

(3) Howard Schwartz, The tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).

(4) Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds., The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).

(5) Additional sources on MYLMU Connect.

Course Work/Expectations:

Assignments in this course include: exams and quizzes; reading reports; oral presentations; field trips; and an extended research paper.

Course Title: Theological Hermeneutics

Course Number: THST 6998.1

Section Times/Days: M 7:15-9:45

Instructor: James L Fredericks

Course Description/Principal Topics:

This course is designed for graduate students in Theology interested in investigating the ongoing discussion of the nature of interpretation and its impact on theology. Material will be presented chronologically, beginning with medieval scriptural exegesis and continuing into the modern period with Schleiermacher, Bultmann, Heidegger, Gadamer and Tracy.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Learning outcomes are threefold: (1) a comprehensive understanding of the diverse ways in which the problem of interpretation has developed since the medieval period, (2) an appreciation of the richness and pluralism that characterize theology today, and (3) honing of skills for theological argumentation, critical reading and expository writing.

Prerequisites/Recommended Background:

This is a course for THST graduate students who have taken most of their courses.

Required Texts:

David Tracy, The Analogical Imagination, Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism (NY: Crossroad, 1998).
Various PDFs

Course Work/Expectations:

Weekly readings
Short essays submitted weekly
Class presentations
Research essay at the end of the semester

Course Title: Foundations Of Theological Ethics

Course Number: THST 6998.2

Section Time: T 7:15-9:45 pm

Instructor: Dr. Roberto Dell’Oro

Course Description:

The course will introduce students to the foundations of theological ethics. After a historical introduction dealing with different models of ethical thinking, the course will look at the following: biblical roots of moral theology, the mediation of faith and moral reason -- with special reference to the relation of philosophical and theological ethics, the ecclesial dimension of Christian morality, the debate on normative theories and the integration of virtue ethics, fundamental moral option and action theory. Applications to contemporary issues in the fields of bioethics, social and sexual ethics, as well as pastoral theology will be used to exemplify the meaning and function of different foundational frameworks and the relation between theory and practice in moral theology.

Student Learning Outcomes:

To introduce students to basic methodological questions in fundamental moral theology

To learn critical tools for ethical decision making

To relate foundational frameworks to concrete normative problems

To understand how theological themes inform and shape moral arguments and ultimately moral life.

Prerequisites:

Undergraduate Degree

Required Texts:

Richard M. Gula, Reason Informed by Faith: Foundations of Catholic Morality (New York: Paulist Press, 1989)
Klaus Demmer, Shaping the Moral Life: An Approach to Moral Theology, transl. by Roberto Dell’Oro (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2000)
Klaus Demmer, Living the Truth: A Theory of Action, Brian McNeil, translator (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2010
In addition, a Reader, prepared by the professor, will be available for purchase on the first day of class.

Course Work/Expectations:

This graduate course is a combination of lectures and student participation through discussion sessions. Assignments include in-class presentations, essays, and a research paper (15-20 pages) by the end of the semester.

Course Title: Integration Seminar

Course Number/Section: THST 6998

Times/Days: T 7:15-9:45pm (off site in Orange Diocese)

Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey S. Siker

Core Area: N/A (Graduate Class)

Flagged: N/A (Graduate Class)

Course Description/Principal Topics:

The course objective is to acquire an applied and practical knowledge of NT exegesis and interpretation with the life of the church in view, all the while taking the contexts of early Christianity, the history of interpretation, and contemporary ecclesial contexts into consideration. The course seeks to facilitate making critical and thoughtful connections between the worlds of the New Testament and the worlds of modern readers.

Student Learning Outcomes:

(2) Students will be able to engage in detailed exegetical analysis of New Testament passages, both from the Gospels and from the letters of Paul.

Prerequisites/Recommended Background:

None presumed

Required Texts:

Gorman, Elements of Biblical Exegesis (2nd edition)
Furnish, The Moral Teachings of Paul (3rd edition)
Course WORK/EXPECTATIONS
Discussion, exegetical analysis, applying NT to modern contexts

Course Title: Trent to Vatican II

Course Number/Section: 6998, Sec. 5 (CRN 77369)

Times/Days: W 7:15-9:45PM

Instructor: Paul G. Monson, Ph.D.

Course Description/Principal Topics:

The course is a graduate-level seminar in historical and systematic theology. Assigned texts and class discussions survey the development of Catholic thought from the Reformation to the present while further analyzing how the church’s intellectual tradition has charted the relationship between faith and reason in the context of modernity. In particular, the course explores questions of church and state, ecclesiology, epistemology, sacramentology, liturgy, popular piety, theological aesthetics, and moral theology. Topics of study include Baroque Catholicism, the Catholic Enlightenment, Jansenism, Romanticism, the Oxford Movement, ultramontanism, Vatican I, Neo-Scholasticism, the Modernist Crisis, the Liturgical Movement, the Nouvelle Théologie, and the rise of ecumenism.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully meet the expectations of the course will be able to (1) understand the historical context and development of Modern Catholicism, (2) assess competing narratives of the history and reception of various councils and intellectual figures, (3) grasp how historiography informs systematic theology and vice versa, (4) appreciate the diversity of Catholic thought after the Reformation, and (5) contribute original insights through in-depth research and analysis.

Prerequisites/Recommended Background:

Graduate status and a love of reading

Required Texts:

Bulman, Raymond F. and Frederick J. Parrella, ed. From Trent to Vatican II: Historical and Theological Investigations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0195178074
Lehner, Ulrich L. The Catholic Enlightenment: The Forgotten History of a Global Movement. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-0190232917
Newman, John Henry. Apologia Pro Vita Sua. Edited by Ian Ker. New York: Penguin Books, 1994. ISBN: 9780140433746
Nichols, Aidan. The Conversation of Faith and Reason: Modern Catholic Thought From Hermes to Benedict XVI. Mundelein, IL: Hillenbrand, 2011. ISBN: 9781595250346
O’Malley, John W. Trent and All That: Renaming Catholicism in the Early Modern Era. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002. ISBN: 978-0674008137
O’Malley, John W. What Happened at Vatican II. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0674047495

Course Work/Expectations:

Regular attendance and active participation: 15%
Oral presentation on a relative journal article: 15%
Four book reviews (4-5 pgs each): 40%
Final research and analysis paper (15-20 pgs): 30%