This course explores the tenets and practices of theology through the study of the interpretations of Christian doctrines noted in the Nicene Creed and select catechetical texts. Issues of method, authority, and the interface of faith with modern culture are highlighted.

Prerequisite: one of the following: TH112, TH113, TH114, or TH115 (may be concurrent)..

Students survey examples from the Pentateuch, Prophetic, Historical and Wisdom texts, their forms, settings and theology. This survey incorporates an appreciation for some basic contemporary interpretive methods. Methods encouraged by Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation are studied.

Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: TH112, TH113, TH114, or TH115.

Students survey examples of texts from the Pauline, Catholic and Pastoral Epistles, the Gospels and Acts; Hebrews and Revelation are also introduced. Working with the interpretive strategies gained in TH210 Introduction to Old Testament, students begin to assess the dynamics of interpretation through the completion of an exegetical paper.

Offered spring semester. Prerequisite: TH210.

This course explores the set of Catholic Christian doctrines and interpretation surrounding the question “what does it mean to be a human person?”: for example, the creation to the image of God, sin, redemption, sacramentality, and vocation. There is a focus on modern questions of the mind, conscience, embodiment, gender, and sexuality.

Prerequisite: TH112, TH113, TH114, or TH115.

Students consider the history, theology, and practice of Christian sacramental life as they address the questions of ritual, celebration, and worship. The course also examines general principles of liturgy and ritual, as well as guidelines for planning and implementing pastorally effective liturgy.

Offered in alternate fall semesters. Prerequisite: TH209.

This course acquaints students with the modern history and current application of Catholic social teaching, focusing on the themes of economics and work, life and death, and war and peace issues. Students engage both primary and secondary literature and examine how Christians critically think through social issues. A service learning component is offered.

Offered in alternate spring semesters. Prerequisite: TH115 or TH209.

As the foundational class in moral theology, this course addresses the different moral theologies in the Catholic tradition, from Scriptural ethics to natural law. Contemporary issues are addressed as a means of explicating schools of ethical method and applying moral reasoning.

Prerequisite: TH115 or TH209.

Defining moments in Catholic tradition from earliest Catholicism up to the First Vatican Council (1869-70) are investigated. Official Catholic teachings, major thinkers and cultural movements are considered for their insights into Christian faith and human development.

Offered in alternate fall semesters. Prerequisite: TH115 or TH209.

After establishing familiarity with the history and texts of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), students consider theological and pastoral thought from the 20th and 21st centuries. Special attention is paid to ecclesiological innovations concerning lay and clerical leadership, the local and universal Church, and the universal call to holiness and justice.

Offered in alternate spring semesters. Prerequisite: TH115 or TH209.

This writing intensive course studies the development and interpretation of Christian theological doctrine on the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. The course treats issues from the various interpretations of the Gospel tradition to the development of doctrine (particularly in the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon) to modern interpretations of the role of Christ in systematic theology.

Offered in alternate fall semesters. Prerequisite: TH115 or TH209.

Majors prepare professional credentials as well as collaborate with a professor to conduct research within an area of their interest and the professor's expertise. Preparation of credentials may include development of a personal mission statement, resume, and certifications relevant to national standards for Catholic lay ecclesial ministry. Research approximates graduate-level study of classical and contemporary perspectives that are doctrinal, academic, and/or pastoral.

Offered spring semester. Prerequisite: junior or senior status in the Theology Department.

This course is an introduction to the Greek language, emphasizing grammar, inflections, syntax, vocabulary and pronunciation.

Emphasis on translation of selected readings, including passages from the New Testament. Study of Greek grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation to develop skill in reading and interpreting the original text.

Prerequisite: GK141.

The focus of this course is to provide learners with basic guides to further exegetical work using the Hebrew bible.

Prerequisite: consent of the instructor.

This course is for students who would like to gain a good reading knowledge of Latin in one term. The essentials of Latin grammar as well as vocabulary and idioms are presented for passive recognition, followed by translation and sight-reading.

Offered fall semester. Prerequisite: recommendation from the IHM Seminary rector or consent of the instructor.

This course is a continuation of L101.

Offered spring semester. Prerequisite: L101 or recommendation from the IHM Seminary rector.

This course, the first of four sequential courses in the history of philosophy, is a survey of Greek philosophy from its origins in the thought of Presocratic poets and philosophers to its later development in the dialogues of Plato and writings of Aristotle. Through the close reading of primary sources in their historical context and through a wide variety of other exercises, students gain an appreciation for the major texts, themes and problems that have shaped the Western philosophical tradition. Students also begin to develop a facility with the various tools and terms with which philosophers in the Western tradition have worked.

In this course, the second of four history of philosophy courses, students study the development of philosophy in the Middle Ages through its contact with Christianity. The goals of this course are to examine the following themes and philosophical problems: the relation of faith and reason, spirituality and philosophy; human knowledge and human freedom; and philosophy as a principle of integration within Medieval culture.

Prerequisite: PH253.

In this course, the third of four history of philosophy courses students study the major philosophical movements of the early modern period beginning with the rise of inductive natural science. Students then examine rationalism, empiricism and conclude with Kant’s critical philosophy. The central epistemological theme of the course reflects the modern conviction that before other sciences may be studied with profit, the possibility and modes of human knowledge must be determined.

Prerequisites: PH253 and PH254.

This course, the fourth of four history of philosophy courses, is an examination of the post-Kantian philosophy focusing on selected major movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as idealism, phenomenology, existentialism, and British analytic and ordinary language philosophy. Readings may include Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, James, Foucault, Wittgenstein, Ryle, and John Paul II, among others.

Prerequisite: PH355.