Everyone wants happiness, but does anyone know how to find it? Should we even expect to find it in this life—or just pursue it? In this course, we will examine ancient, medieval, and contemporary writing about the universal human desire for happiness—and the many ways it can elude us. How can we identify true happiness, and why are we often drawn to false imitations? Is everyone happy in the same way? Is it possible to be happy without virtue—or without God? Can suffering and happiness coexist in the good life? Drawing on philosophy, theology, literature, and art, we will map out the unique character of Christian happiness.
The heart of any culture, as well as its continuity, can be found in its educational tradition, the distillation for the next generation of its highest ideals and most important truths. For the West this began with the Greeks, who set in place, some five centuries before Christ, the main aspects of a tradition that lasted, with significant developments, up until very recent times. This course will trace that tradition, using both primary and secondary source material, and will include: its origins in fifth-century BC Greece; its universalization during the Hellenistic period; its encounter with Christianity in the Patristic era; its Christian instantiation under the Carolingian Empire; the great Medieval educational synthesis and the rise of the University; the development of Renaissance humanism and the Ratio Studiorum of the Jesuits; Newman’s classic expression of the tradition in The Idea of a University; and the great challenge to that tradition and change that has taken place during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
This course considers particular topics in the area of Catholic Studies and History. Although the topics will vary, the courses will have both historical foundation and an interdisciplinary focus. These topics courses will fulfill the area requirement of Catholic Studies and History.
This course considers particular topics in the area of Catholic Studies and the Arts. Although the topics will vary, the courses will have both an aesthetic foundation and an interdisciplinary focus. These topics courses will fulfill the area requirement of Catholic Studies and the Arts.
This course considers particular topics in the area of Catholic Studies and the Arts. Although the topics will vary, the courses will have both an aesthetic foundation and an interdisciplinary focus. These topics courses will fulfill the area requirement of Catholic Studies and the Arts.