I don’t have full descriptions of all my courses, not even all the college-level ones, but I have a few, so these might be interesting:
Social Justice in Dante’s Vision
(401, senior level)Dante’s masterwork is about the theology of sin and salvation, pilgrimage, and the relationships people real and legendary have with God, and their own impulses. But it is also about the relationship the Church has with God, and with society. There is a close relationship between Dante’s vision of divine justice and cosmology and his concerns for social justice and social order. In this course, we will read the Divine Comedy and seek to understand Dante’s humanism and his model of both divine and human justice, as well as explore Dante’s impact in his own time and today.
Renaissance Humanism & The Ethical State
(401, senior level)Our contemporary understanding of the state has its foundations in the political thought of Renaissance Humanists such as Machiavelli, Thomas More, and Erasmus. In this course we will engage in a close reading of the political treatises of these three masters of humanist political thought, and consider them not only in light of their times and their relation to the Church, but in light of our own turbulent political times.
Self, Place and Culture
(301, junior level)How does a sense of our place in the world influence our cultural awareness, and our identity? How have different cultures sought to communicate their understanding of their place in the world? How do identity and self-concept find expression in the culture we share? We will explore cultural artifacts from Greek Myth and medieval maps and cathedrals to video games using contemporary cultural theory from Foucault, Baudrillard, and others as we attempt to answer these questions, and better understand our own relationship to place and culture. In addition, students will learn how to select an cultural artifact and analyze it using a theoretical approach.
Disaster and Memory in Jewish Narrative
(301, junior level)From the early days of Rome to the present day, the history of Jews in Europe is a turbulent one. For Jewish culture, “Zakhor,” remembering, even in the face of oppression and violence, is the key to identity and survival across time and place. In this course, we will read a selection of narratives from across European Jewish history, from Talmud and Midrash through the Holocaust and into contemporary Jewish authors as we explore the thread of Jewish cultural memory and its transformation around the world. Through close reading and extensive in-class discussion, we will explore the relationship between remembering and Jewish cultural identity, and come to a deeper understanding of Jewish culture not only in the past, but today as well.
Advanced Graphic Communication
(301, junior level)This course uses a combination of in-class computer exercises, group projects and research, lecture, and independent design projects to build on previous introductory coursework in the study of graphic communication. It continues a focus on design and communication theory with practical application.
Utopia/Dystopia
(101, freshman level)From Thomas More to the Matrix, we explore the meaning of Utopia, consider the possibility of an ideal society, and examine societies gone wrong. Readings also include George Orwell, Henrik Ibsen, and Margaret Atwood.
Digital Game Culture
(101, freshman level)In recent years, video games have not only become commonplace, but have emerged as forms of narrative comparable to written fiction, television, and film. At the same time, we’ve been changing the ways in which we carry on relationships and express ourselves digital spaces. This course will survey the culture of video gaming from both perspectives, understanding video games as both a virtual spaces in which we live, interact and experience, but also as a dynamic, relevant, and revealing form of cultural expression. We will look at current scholarship on gaming and game culture, survey some of the most prevalent game theories applied to video gaming, and examine the impact gaming has had on our own culture.
Theories of Religion
(101, freshman level)In this course, we will be exploring several classic theories of religion in culture. Readings will include Mircea Eliade, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and others. We will be reading selections from each theorist’s original work, reading commentary, and then applying each theory to real-world examples of religious experiences around the world.
Development of Christianity
(201/101, sophomore/freshman level)From the early heresies of the patristic era to the many denominations of today, we will explore why and how different forms of Christianity arise, and how they reflect their times. We will also seek to discover the core questions that drive division and diversity within the Christian faith.