HONS - Honors Program (HONS)

The works of the ancient world as well as the growth of Christianity are discussed and debated. Studies include the religion, literature, philosophy, art and politics of the ancient Near East, Greece and Rome, Africa and Asia.

The growth and expansion of Christianity and Islam and their interactions with Judaism and the culture of the Greco-Roman world-religious views predominate. The rebirth of the classical traditions invigorates the growth of science and the creation of modern philosophy, politics, art and culture. The age of global exploration begins.

The great advances of science and geographic expansion continue; during the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment, modern philosophy, literature, politics and the social sciences emerge. Global trade, commerce and settlements grow as European cultures expand their hegemony.

Industrialization, urbanization, popular movements and world wars catapult peoples, nations, and cultures into interactions on a global scale.

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.