Catholic Studies Major (B.A.)

Walsh Library Room 428
(973) 275-2525
catholicstudies@shu.edu
https://www.shu.edu/academics/artsci/catholic-studies
Chair: Ines Murzaku, Ph.D.
Administrative Assistant: Gloria Aroneo, M.B.A.

Catholic Studies is an innovative curriculum with uniquely designed tracks focusing on history, philosophy, theology, literature, art, religion and the University Honors Program. Students may choose a Bachelor of Arts (30 credits), a minor (15 credits) or a certificate (12 credits) in Catholic Studies. The Catholic Studies program can appeal to students of any creed who seek to deepen their knowledge of Catholicism’s rich intellectual tradition and living heritage. An interpersonal approach to learning and many opportunities for spiritual reflection invite students to a more profound and mature understanding of faith. A good number of students are enrolled as double majors or minors, thus enhancing their primary majors. A degree in Catholic Studies complements their primary majors in diplomacy, business, philosophy, theology, social work and other disciplines. Because of its emphasis on close interaction with faculty members, students and alumni, those who choose to participate in the program are part of a unique intellectual community.

Students pursuing a degree in Catholic Studies may apply for several competitive scholarships including Scholarships for Catholic Studies Majors; Scholarships for Catholic Studies Minors from the Diplomacy, Business or Sciences programs; Scholarships for Incoming Freshmen in Catholic Studies; Father Walter Debold Scholarship for students participating in foreign study and the Reverend Richard M. Nardone (‘50) Endowed Scholarship in Catholic Studies. Additional scholarships are provided by the University of Münster to students who take either a semester or a year-long study in Germany.

Catholic Studies Student Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a major in Catholic Studies will be:

Knowledgeable of Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the key ideas of the discipline.
Knowledgeable of resources from the Catholic Intellectual Tradition that will allow them to explore critically and creatively the history and contemporary significance of Catholicism.
Knowledgeable of major Catholic figures from a variety of historical-cultural settings.
Able to connect Catholicism to particular disciplines and professions and apply different disciplinary perspectives and methodologies to the study of Catholicism drawing upon the perspectives of the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Professions.
Able to apply Catholicism and Catholic Social Teaching to real-life situations.
Able to identify and offer solutions to ethical-moral issues applying principles of Catholic Intellectual Tradition

Requirements for a CAST Major

Except for dual-degree programs appearing in the undergraduate catalog, at most 12 credits will be accepted from another program or major. Further, at least 18 credits must be taken as distinct CAST upper level courses under the CAST program designation.

No exceptions will be permitted without the explicit and prior consent of the Catholic Studies Director.

Link to College Core requirement.

CAST 1001 The Search for Human Fulfillment (3 Credits)

What is human fulfillment and how does one find it? Beginning with the Scriptural understanding of the great human drama, the course will explore the Catholic understanding of who we are and therefore what kind of human fulfillment is suited to us. The course will investigate the basics of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition through theology, history, literature, philosophy and end with a look at ultimate fulfillment in the life of heaven. The course will look at primary resources from several disciplines, including theology, philosophy, history, and literature, and from different ages of the Church, ancient, medieval and modern.

CAST 1600 The Practice of Catholic Liturgical Music (3 Credits)

The course will feature a study of key elements in the development of sacred music practice as seen through the prism of 2000 years of musical development in the Roman Catholic Church, from Plainchant, commonly known as Gregorian Chant, to Vatican II.

CAST 3003 Creation and Science (3 Credits)

This course seeks to deepen a student’s understanding of the relationship between the Catholic theology of creation and contemporary empirical science. Topics to be covered include the birth of science; the historical-philosophical environment of this birth; the interventions of recent Popes on the issue; the specificity of the cosmos as shown by current science; the unity of the cosmos and its beauty; the importance of philosophical realism; the doctrine of creation ex nihilo et cum tempore; the theory of the Big Bang; and the theory of evolution. Primary sources will be emphasized.

CAST 3004 Catholic Theology of Science (3 Credits)

The history of science is often told as a chronological account of practical and theoretical developments from antiquity to modern times. Because of the modern assumption that science and religion have no relation, the theological influences of religions in various cultures are often ignored, or they are interpreted according to the historian’s biases, which is difficult to avoid. The worldview instilled by theologies, however, influenced how people of different cultures fundamentally understood the universe, so the fuller consideration of the history of science is the consideration of the theological history of science. In this course, the students will read a variety of writings with differing opinions and original sources. Cultures/periods will be treated in this order: Egypt, China, India, Babylonia, Greece, Arabia, Biblical cultures, early Christianity, European Middle Ages, and the Scientific Revolution.

CAST 3005 Christian Theo-Sci in Dialogue (3 Credits)

CAST 3006 Refugees, Religion, & Politics (3 Credits)

CAST 3015 Catholicism and Literature (3 Credits)

Christianity is literally the religion of the Word, and Catholic writers have been expressing, exploring and communicating the mystery of “the Word made flesh” for two thousand years in every genre of the literary arts. The course will examine this legacy of “artful theology” in its many variations and in its constant features. Representative authors and works from different epochs will be examined both in their socio-historical context and for their enduring theological and spiritual significance.

CAST 3016 Global Christianity (3 Credits)

CAST 3017 Saints Alive (3 Credits)

CAST 3018 John Newman - Life - Teaching (3 Credits)

CAST 3019 Christians Muslim Dialogue (3 Credits)

CAST 3021 Modern Women of Faith (3 Credits)

CAST 3022 Spirituality and Sports (3 Credits)

CAST 3023 The Pope and Science (3 Credits)

CAST 3024 Literature Catholic Conversion (3 Credits)

This course is designed to help students to understand and to explore the experience of voluntary conversion in the Catholic tradition. Beginning with conversion even before Christianity with the story of Moses, moving through the New Testament and St. Augustine to later converts like John Henry Cardinal Newman and Dorothy Day, the course examines the nature of conversion, what led to it in each case, and the impact on the life of the converted and his or her society.

CAST 3025 New Jersey Catholic Experience (3 Credits)

CAST 3026 Faith and fashion (3 Credits)

CAST 3028 Holy Images - Worship (3 Credits)

CAST 3031 Catholicism Hlthcare Human Con (3 Credits)

CAST 3040 Spirituality of Work (3 Credits)

CAST 3041 Science - Theology of Food (3 Credits)

CAST 3042 Christian Peace Stories (3 Credits)

CAST 3193 Integrating Sem Catholic Stu (3 Credits)

This course represents an integrating experience of the student¿s participation in the Catholic Studies program, whereby theological understanding and lived experience of Catholicism become intertwined. Particular attention is paid to how Catholicism¿s incarnational theology necessarily applies to and acts within the specific setting of the student¿s life, parish and community.

CAST 3251 Science and the Church (3 Credits)

This course is concerned with the development of the experimental sciences (viz., physics, chemistry and molecular biology) within the western tradition and the influence that the Church and science have exerted upon each other since the beginning days of Christianity.

CAST 3397 Latin American Catholicism (3 Credits)

CAST 3749 Philosophy-Theology -Lonergan (3 Credits)

CAST 3891 Intrnshp Cath Stu (3 Credits)

CAST 3994 Foundations-Christian Culture (3 Credits)

Drawing from a variety of sources - historical, literary, philosophical and theological - this course examines the origins and nature of Christian culture, exploring in particular the value of culture itself as an aspect of revelation and incarnation. Looking at figures such as the historian Christopher Dawson, the poet-philosopher-playwright G.K. Chesterton, the novelist-philologist J.R.R. Tolkien, the theologian Bernard Lonergan and the novelist-Christian apologist C.S. Lewis, it offers some answers from the contemporary Christian tradition to the ancient questions: How am I meant to understand the world? How am I meant to understand myself? This course is part of Catholic Studies foreign study tour program.

CAST 3998 Sp Top-Italy in Ftsteps-Saints (3 Credits)

Italy enjoys a pre-eminence as a spiritual center for the Christian world alongside its importance in the development of Western civilization's art, music, architecture and political thought. The course will examine the interplay between Italy's profound spiritual heritage and cultural achievements, focusing on the contributions of such key figures as the Apostles Peter and Paul, Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Ignatius of Loyola. This course is part of Catholic Studies foreign study tour program.

Catholic Studies Major (B.A.)

Catholic Studies Student Learning Outcomes

Requirements for a CAST Major

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