Summer 2024
Module 1: June 10 – June 28
Module 2: July 1 – July 19
Online Courses
THEO 60181: Theology of Revelation: The Word in Scripture & Tradition
Professor: A. Pagliarini
Dates: Week of May 22 until July 19.
Description: God Speaks to us through the Word in Scripture and Tradition. This course intends (1) to provide a deeper knowledge of the Word as He conveys Himself through these two "Streams" of Revelation and (2) to give students the skills necessary to lead others (and themselves) in the ongoing task of theology -- of, that is, faith seeking understanding. In particular, we will study (1) the relation of natural knowledge and divine revelation; (2) the "streams" of revelation that are Scripture and Tradition; (3) the relation between these two and the means of interpreting them; and (4) the salient content of this revelation as it is communicated in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the first several centuries of the Catholic Tradition.
THEO 60890: God & Atheism
Professor: Ryan Borello-Wise
Dates: Thursdays, 8:30-9:45 PM EST, June 3-July 26
Description: This course offers a historical and systematic introduction to the philosophy of atheism, as well as major responses emerging from the Christian theological tradition. While our primary focus will be on the modern and postmodern periods, covering the so-called “masters of suspicion” (e.g., Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud), as well as more contemporary figures associated with the “death of God” and other attendant movements (e.g. Thomas J.J. Altizer, Slavoj Žižek, Judith Butler), we will also cover important ancient, medieval, and early modern figures in the attempt to understand the development of the atheist project through and across Western history. In discussing theological responses, the program of our course will be less to simply counterpose theist and atheist philosophy, than to examine how the conversation between the two has variously informed and clarified both. We will be simultaneously attentive to the many theoretical and terminological issues arising from these debates, focusing on contested understandings of God, Trinity, Church, the Last Judgment, and so on.
Hybrid Symposia Courses
THEO 60905: Symposium: Culture, Evangelization & Guadalupe
Professor: L. Albarran
Dates: Online from week of May 28, In person: July 9-July 13.
Description: This hybrid Symposium course considers the role of Our Lady of Guadalupe both in the history of culture and evangelization and in today's intersections between culture and evangelization. Note: This course requires coursework to be done online & in person. Two different symposia courses are required in the hybrid online track curriculum.
THEO 60906: Symposium: Culture, Evangelization & The Catholic Worker
Professor: Casey Mullaney
Dates: Online from week of May 28, In person: July 9-July 13.
Description: This hybrid Symposium course studies the cultural renewal effected by the Catholic Worker Movement and its evangelizing presence in today's society. Note: This course requires coursework to be done online & in person. Two different symposia courses are required in the hybrid online track curriculum.
Residential Courses
THEO 60817: Religion & Literature
Professor: Abigail Favale
Dates: June 10-28
Description: In A Secular Age, Catholic philosopher of religion Charles Taylor traces the rise of secularity in the West, examining how we have come to inhabit an age where disbelief in the transcendent is not only optional, but the default setting for many. Through the vantage point of literature, this course will consider the arc traced by Taylor and explore how the shift from enchanted cosmos to disenchanted universe is manifest in the content and form of literary works themselves. Assigned works of fiction and poetry will be enjoyed and discussed in their own right, and also in light of Taylor’s narrative of secularity. A key focus of the course will be encountering modern literary responses to what Taylor calls “the immanent frame,” with particular attention to texts that seem to crack open that frame and recover--or at least glimpse--a reenchanted cosmos. (Elective)
THEO 60894: Art of Catechesis
Professor: Tim O’Malley
Dates: June 10-28
Description: In this course, students will be introduced to the art of catechesis as a sacramental and aesthetic ministry within the Church. In the first week of the course, students will learn the major principles governing the ministry of catechesis as related to a participation in divine Revelation. They will also read chief classics in catechesis within the history of Christianity. After this introduction, the course will be structured around the experience of education as described by Luigi Giussani. How does the catechist provoke the student to encounter the living God? How does the catechist introduce the student to the ultimate hypothesis at the heart of Christianity? And how does the catechist initiate students into practices within a community of faith that allow for the verification of the Gospel in one’s life? In answering each of these questions, the students will deepen their theoretical and practical capacity to function as a catechist within the Church. In the final week, students will consider the Catholic school as a place of evangelization, focused on the intellectual formation of the students. Here, readings will be centered on a Catholic philosophy and theology of education. (Echo Requirement/Elective Course)
THEO 60453: Catholic Sacraments
Professor: Kevin Magas
Dates: June 10-28
Description: "Lumen Gentium" says that in the Church, "the life of Christ is poured into the believers who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ who suffered and was glorified" (7). This course will look at the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church as the means whereby Christians are mystically united to the life of Christ. Although we will use a historical framework to organize our material, the main focus of attention will be on the theological dimensions of each sacrament. This will give us the opportunity both to examine particular questions that conditioned the development of current sacramental theology, and the content of each rite as it exists today. Some attention will be paid to the nature of sacramental symbol in general, but the course's primary focus is on the sacraments as liturgical rites by which Christian life is celebrated. (Core Course)
THEO 60893: Teaching Theology
Professor: Todd Walatka
Dates: June 10-28
Description: This course will provide an introduction to pedagogy for theological educators. The primary focus of the course will be on a) the vocation of teaching theology and b) basic pedagogical principles for the theology classroom. Students will engage educational and sociological research relevant to teaching high school theology and learn pedagogical techniques which build upon this research. Much of the class will be spent working through how to teach key doctrinal moments in the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ High School Curriculum Framework in a pedagogically effective manner. (Echo Teacher Requirement; Elective)
THEO 60848: Theological Integration
Professor: K. Haas
Dates: June 10-28
Description: In Theological Integration, students pursue the integration of theological competence with pastoral skill in their developing ministerial identity. The primary learning dynamic for the seminar is dialogical and incorporates theological reflection on ministry/teaching experiences using a case study method originally designed for use by the Master of Divinity Program at the University of Notre Dame. Each student is required to design and facilitate one case study during the seminar. In advance of their case study presentation, individual students are required to work with the course professor on Zoom for 45-60 minutes to design the case using a narrative and six analytical lenses. Students then present their case studies to their peers and facilitate conversation during Zoom class session. In addition, students engage in affirmation and critique of their peers' case studies, the written versions, as well as their classroom presentations/facilitations. Finally, students are required (either singly or as a pair) to outline and facilitate a classroom conversation on theological articles pertaining to ministerial identity and praxis. (Echo Requirement)
THEO 60884: The Trinity
Professor: Leonard DeLorenzo
Dates: June 10-28
Description: The doctrine of the Trinity represents the uniquely Christian conception of who God is and how God is related to the world. Recent theological reflection has recognized that an authentic appropriation of Christian faith must consider Trinitarian doctrine not merely as an exotic appendix to Christian confession but as the "summary of Christian faith" (Rahner). This course follows this approach by analyzing how Trinitarian doctrine contains a comprehensive interpretation of the entirety of Christian existence, and especially involves a conception of Christian salvation as participation in God's own life (deification). (Core Course)
THEO 60709: Catholicism in the United States
Professor: Timothy Matovina
Dates: July 1-19
Description: The story of Catholicism in the United States is a tale of triumph and tragedy, unity and diversity, struggle and endurance, sinners and saints. This course is a survey history of the Catholic Church in the United States with particular focus on its multicultural origins and development. The course encompasses a chronological survey of Catholicism in the United States, a thematic treatment of select topics in greater depth, and assessment of pastoral practices that address U.S. Catholic faith communities within their broad historical and contemporary contexts. (Core Course/Elective-ask Katie)
THEO 60181: Theology of Revelation
Professor: Ian Gerdon
Dates: July 1-19
Description: God Speaks to us through the Word in Scripture and Tradition. This course intends (1) to provide a deeper knowledge of the Word as He conveys Himself through these two "Streams" of Revelation and (2) to give students the skills necessary to lead others (and themselves) in the ongoing task of theology -- of, that is, faith seeking understanding. In particular, we will study (1) the relation of natural knowledge and divine revelation; (2) the "streams" of revelation that are Scripture and Tradition; (3) the relation between these two and the means of interpreting them; and (4) the salient content of this revelation as it is communicated in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the first several centuries of the Catholic Tradition. (Core Course)
THEO 60222: Christian Doctrine for Catechists
Professor: TBD
Dates: July 1-19
Description: This course is intended to serve as a resource for catechists and religious educators. It provides a basic theological introduction to the material represented in Pillars I and II of the Catechism of the Catholic Church : the Creed and the Sacraments. The course is specifically designed to cover this material in a way that will provide facility in teaching it in a variety of contexts. Readings will come not only from the Catechism , but from various primary sources, both traditional and contemporary illustrative of the theology that forms its background. The course will be especially useful for anyone wishing to acquire an understanding of the basic doctrines of the Catholic faith and of the theological integration of these doctrines. (Echo Requirement/Elective Course)
THEO 60231: Visions of the Kingdom
Professor: Ulrich Lehner
Dates: July 1-19
Description: This course looks at visions of church and Christian life in ecclesiology and spiritual theology from the Council of Trent to the present. (For MA-Theology Students, this course can count as your Ecclesiology core requirement.) (Core Course/Elective-ask Katie)
THEO 60601: Fundamentals of Moral Theology
Professor: Paulinus Odozor
Dates: July 1-19
Description: This course introduces the history and patterns of thought that provide the foundations for contemporary discussions about moral theology in the Roman Catholic Church. Its central aim will be to position moral theology as a practical and pastoral expression of Christian faith, but also as a tradition of inquiry relevant to wider discussions about moral matters in the academy and in society. Topics to be considered include: sources for moral theology, genres of moral writing, the nature of the human person and her relationship to the community of disciples, the dynamics of moral action, and the topics of freedom, experience, authority, virtue, and forgiveness. Course requirements include two short reflection papers and a final research paper, which may be customized to students’ own ongoing pastoral and/or academic questions. (Core Course)
Hybrid Capstone Courses
THEO 68804-01 & THEO 68804-03 MA Capstone - (Non-Echo Students)
On Campus Days: June 24-26
Professor: T. Walatka/K.Cavadini
THEO 68804-02, & THEO 68804-05: MA Capstone - (Echo students)
On Campus Days: June 24-26
Professor: A.Pagliarini/K.Haas