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 will examine Shakespeare’s use of Christian imagery and theology across four of his most enduring plays: King Lear, Othello, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. We will supplement our close reading and discussion of Shakespeare’s text with some recent scholarly treatments of Shakespeare’s engagement with the Christian tradition. Our aim is to gain a better appreciation for the catholic Christian context and components of Shakespeare’s dramatic artistry.
How, and to what extent, can we use language to understand God? How can supra-rational, religious experiences of silence, contemplation, and love be communicated? What does it look like for a human soul to journey towards union with the divine? This course considers these and related questions through diverse genres within the tradition of Christian mysticism: theology, personal revelations, poetry, and more. We will examine both canonical texts from mystics like Julian of Norwich and John of the Cross as well as more modern grapplings from figures like T.S. Eliot and Simone Weil. Along the way, we will think about how and why they work to articulate what’s inarticulable, illuminate what’s dark, and explicate what’s hidden.