26 courses with the subject RLS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
RLS 100Biblical Studies3
Biblical Studies is the study of selected Christian and Hebrew scriptures directed toward the development of an awareness of what the biblical authors meant to communicate to their contemporaries with special attention paid to literary forms, sociological factors, theological insight, and historical settings. Fall/Spring
Students will learn about the major religions of the world and become familiar with the ways these religions differ from each other in regard to gods, rituals, scriptures, founders, the arts, and their concepts of the principal purposes of life. Fall/Spring
Presents students with the principles of theology and a practical methodology for relating the major resources of the Christian faith with human experience. Selected readings, the use of case studies and/or actual experience provide the reference point for reflecting theologically upon human experience. Fall/Spring
Feminist consciousness and theory will provide the context for this course as it explores biblical texts, and the life and writings of medieval women including Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, and Teresa of Avila. The course will examine the rich and varied expressions of spirituality found in the traditions of African and Native American women healers, their understanding of art as a sacred process, and their reverence for the body and the earth. Fall/Spring
Presents students with the historical, cultural, and theological contexts for understanding the nature and mission of Christian ecclesial communities. Special attention will be given to the Roman Catholic Church from the Reformation to Vatican II and to the recent ecumenical developments. Fall
Presents the major developments in Christian thought from the early church and medieval periods including the life and writings of dominate figures in each period and the debates that surrounded the issues of faith and reason, nature and grace, salvation, and scripture. Spring
Examines religious diversity in America with special emphasis given to the principle tenets of Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic Christianity as well as the tenets of Judaism, Native American religion, Islam, and other traditions. Fall/Spring
Explores ways in which Americans and American institutions shaped United States Catholic identity and how Catholics contributed, in turn, to the intellectual, political, cultural, and social life of the nation. Particular attention will be given to the influence of Catholic social teaching on American life and to the theological and cultural pluralism which continues to inspire and challenge American Catholic identity. Spring
This course will examine health care ethics primarily within a Christian theological context. The course will cover the role of ethics in health care and the process of moral decision making in a health care setting. This includes analysis of a variety of moral problems and dilemmas in health care, including but not limited to abortion, critical care at the beginning and end of life, reproductive technology, research issues, and the health care system itself.
RLS 118Catholic Social Teaching and Mercy Spirituality for the 21st Century3
This course will examine the history and elements of Catholic social teaching. These principles will be put into practice through the student’s experience of service learning in the community working directly with the Sisters of Mercy and their ministries. This course will explore a brief historical background on Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, while incorporating the nature and mission of the Sisters of Mercy and how the mission is relevant today.
Mercy and justice are fundamental virtues of Christian ethics. These virtues guide our reaction to many ethical problems today, including wealth inequality, climate change, and poverty. This course will explore virtue ethics using justice and mercy as a primary focus, and analyzing the way in which these virtues direct and shape the Christian response to issues in social ethics. We will also compare the Christian understanding of justice and mercy with other conceptions of these virtues outside the Christian theological tradition.
Explores the Mesoamerican civilization in its highest form, the civilization of the Maya, surveying its history from the Olmec period circa 1000 BCE to the time of the Spanish conquest circa 1500 CE. Mayan myth and ritual will be examined as evidenced in monumental architecture, sculpture, painting, and literature. Students will learn the fundamentals of the Mayan system of writing and of the calendar with particular attention paid to the use of calendrical mythology in the political legitimization of Palenque’s dynasty. Fall
In this course, students will examine and analyze the basic beliefs and practices of Christianity as these relate to the most meaningful questions of human life: Why are we here? What does it mean to be human? What is the good life? What is the origin of the Universe? What can we hope for? Students will also examine and compare the approaches to these questions found in other religious traditions.
This course provides a Catholic theological overview of the topics of marriage, sexuality and family. For the purpose of cross-cultural and interreligious analysis, this course will also include a selective examination of the treatment of these topics in non-Catholic Christian traditions and non-Christian traditions. Topics examined will include sexual morality, marriage practices and teachings, and visions of family life. The course will examine traditional beliefs and practices as well as the modern evolution of these beliefs and practices, religious communities and in and secular contexts.
This course provides an overview of the topics of death and dying. Specifically, in this course students will examine the topic of death as a universal for cross-cultural analysis and as a site of contested meaning in American society. Among the themes dealt with in this course are the beliefs regarding death held by the world’s major religions, the death rituals of representative global societies, the evolution of attitudes toward death and the afterlife in western society, the process of grieving, ethical concerns surrounding the topics of death and dying, and the manner in which hospitals shape the end of life.
Students will explore the subject of angels, which are spiritual beings other than human beings and God; emphasis will be given to Christian angelology, which is much more fully developed, but doctrinal comparisons will be made to other faiths, especially Judaism and Islam. After setting forth the reasons why belief in the existence of angels is credible, these spiritual beings will be examined in terms of their nature, knowledge, freedom, mission, and range of action. The methods used to address these issues include philosophy, theology, biblical principles, authoritative texts from other religious traditions, reflections of specific Church Fathers and medieval theologians, private revelations, and the reports of exorcists.
This course examines nature and mission of Jesus Christ using methods from the disciplines of history, scriptural exegesis, Christian theology, and comparative religion. Following an order that is generally chronological, the class will address the most significant Christological topics; these topics include His existence, the credibility of the Gospels, His birth, biblical titles, claims to divinity, His resurrection, and doctrines of the incarnation, redemption and priesthood. Competing interpretations of who Christ is and what He came to do will be considered along the way
This course examines hope and despair in the history of Christian thought and in contemporary experience. In particular, the course will compare ancient theological accounts of despair (e.g., the sin of acedia) with modern psychological and sociological accounts of anxiety and depression. Finally, we will explore ancient and contemporary analyses of hope as a theological virtue and psychological practice.
RLS 254Inside Out: Justice, Mercy, and the American Prison3
This course explores mercy and justice in the context of the contemporary American prison. Students will examine the evolution of mass incarceration in the United States during the past half-century; the ways in which race, gender, and class are implicated in the American criminal justice system; and the theory and practice of restorative and rehabilitative forms of justice.
RLS 255Solitude and Silence: An Introduction to Christian Prayer3
This course examines the theory and practice of Christian prayer from the ancient period to the present, focusing on significant Christian figures and communities of prayer such as the Desert Fathers and Mothers, St. Benedict, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, Simone Weil, and Kallistos Ware. Students taking the course should be prepared to engage in practices of prayer, silence, and contemplation as a course requirement.
RLS 256Cathedral, Cloister, and Conflict: An Introduction to Medieval Christianity3
Medieval Christianity is known for its great beauty and richness, and the medieval church has shaped contemporary Christianity in important ways. This course will examine significant forms of Christian life and expression in medieval Europe, including literature, art, architecture, pilgrimage, theology, and monasticism.
This course explores the beliefs and practices of the digital era, the changing nature of human attention in relationship to contemporary technologies, and the evolving impacts of the digital era on traditional forms of religious belief and practice.
This course will explore major historical and contemporary forms of Buddhist spirituality, from the Buddha’s earliest recorded dialogues on meditation theory and practice 2,500 years ago, to the subsequent development of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in the medieval period. Students will also learn about recent investigations into the neuroscientific foundations of Buddhist practice, as well as the therapeutic applications of meditation practice to chronic pain and the emotions. This course is especially designed for students interested in problems and practices of human healing.
Special topics courses in the University’s Core Curriculum focus on a topic not currently offered as a standing course within a department’s contribution to the Core Curriculum. Special topics courses in the Core may be offered in two semesters (which do not have to be consecutive) with multiple offerings in each semester.
Qualified advanced students may arrange independent study in areas not covered by existing courses. The permission of the involved faculty is required before Independent Study may be pursued. (On demand)
This offering allows students the opportunity to pursue the investigation of a selected topic through research and/or study/travel courses. Topic may vary from semester to semester and will be announced with preregistration information and course outline. (On demand)
