Catholic Studies Minor

A philosophical inquiry into the rationality of religious belief, focusing in particular on two questions: 1) Does God exist? and 2) Is religious belief rational? Discussion of these questions normally involves discussion of the following issues: arguments for the existence and nature of God; the problem of evil; the questions of immortality, religious pluralism, and the relationship between religion and morality; the nature of religious experience; faith vs. reason; religion vs. science; etc.

This course explores the relationship between law, justice and society from the ancient world until the 17th century. The course will emphasize law as it developed in medieval Europe, particularly the revival of Roman law and its influence. Students will also examine methods of dispute resolution and social control in the pre-modern world, both formal methods, in the development of criminal justice systems, and informal methods, such as the vendetta. Topics will also include women in pre-modern law, the development of laws of proof and evidence, incarceration and punishment.

The course covers the development of perspectives held by Christians throughout the ages wrestling with God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and benevolence in the face of the human experience of suffering and evil. Thus, the course treats foundational Catholic theology in depth, and subsequently various Protestant points of view, as well as Eastern Orthodox beliefs and perspectives. Primary focus is on the articulations of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas and their respective theodicies, supplemented by that of Irenaeus (recently proclaimed a Doctor of the Catholic Church) and other Eastern Christians.  Later responses, such as those of Leibnitz, are also addressed. 

This course will survey Irish writing in English, with emphasis on the literature of the early 19th century to the present. It will consider, in particular, works of major figures such as James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, G.B. Shaw, Seamus Heaney, and Brian Friel, as well as the contexts of Irish history and cultural politics.

Studies of the representative writers of the Spanish Golden Age (1500-1680), which may include the “Lazarillo”; plays by Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Miguel de Cervantes, and Calderón; and selections from Santa Teresa, San Juan de la Cruz, Fray Luis de León, Quevedo and Góngora.