Distance Learning

SUMMER 2012 Distance Learning Semester

May 14, 2012 to August 17, 2012

Click here to download a printable copy of the Summer 2012 Registration Form for courses offered through Distance Learning.

The following courses are being offered through the Distance Learning program for the Summer 2012 semester.  For information regarding Required Materials for these courses, please click here.  We are currently adding the syllabus information to this page, please click on the course title to link to the syllabus.  We ask your patience as we work to get all of the course syllabi posted by April 18; thank you.

Please do not contact any professor about his or her syllabus until May 14. Prior to that date, all questions should be directed to the Distance Learning Office at 860.632.3015.

CH 610 - Psalms as Christian Prayer (Dr. Daniel Van Slyke)
The course focuses on the Psalter specifically as the prayer book of the Church. Students will explore the Psalms from five perspectives. (1) The historical-critical study of the psalms, including their genre and historical context. (2) The use of the Psalms by New Testament authors, who clearly see Christ as the fulfillment of the prophecies uttered in the Psalter, and continue to pray with it. (3) Christian interpretation of the Psalms throughout history. (4) The use of the Psalms in the sacred liturgy. (5) Spiritual studies and exercises on how to join oneself with the psalmist in the longing for and love of God.

CH659/STD659 – Documents of Vatican II (Dr. Cynthia Toolin)
This course is an introduction to the content of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Each document is read and studied in detail, with a focus on major theological concepts. The four goals of Pope John XXIII, articulated in his convocation speech, are examined and the results of the Council, as found in the content of the documents, are evaluated according to these goals.

CH 661 - The First 21 Ecumenical Councils (Dr. Daniel Van Slyke)
This course focuses on the twenty-one ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church. Readings, discussions, and research assignments will focus on the texts and the contributions of the councils themselves. The councils will be studied in their historical contexts, and from the perspectives their contributions to theology and ecclesiastical discipline.

CH 664 - Judaism through Catholic Eyes (Mr. Roy Schoeman)
This course will examine Judaism from a Catholic perspective,  focusing on the role that Jews and  Judaism have in God’s plan for the redemption of all mankind, both in the first phase of salvation history leading up to the Incarnation, and in the current period between the 1st and 2nd Comings of Christ.   We will study the core beliefs of Jewish theology, from the time of Christ into our own day; the interplay between the Jewish and Christian communities over time; the enduring and tragic mystery of anti-Semitism culminating in the horror of the Holocaust; the spiritual meaning of the conflict between Jew and Muslim; the Catholic teaching on Jews and Judaism from the Church Fathers to our current Holy Father; and the mysterious role that the Jews are to play in the 2nd Coming.  Sources will include the Jewish scriptures and other “dogmatic” Jewish writings; Church documents; the writings of Popes and saints; later Jewish theological writings; and expressions of Judaism in the current culture. 

CH 670 - Great Personalities in Church History: Saints, Sinners, and Interesting Characters (Fr. Gregory Lockwood)
This reading course surveys a panoply of sources, church fathers, heterodox writers, heretics and saints, men and women, throughout our history. The original works of the writers  themselves serve as the material basis for the class.

CH 675 - St. Catherine of Siena (Fr. Tom McDermott, O.P.)
A study of the life and spiritual teaching of St. Catherine of Siena, a 14th century Dominican who was proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1970.

CH676 - St. Teresa of Avila (Ms. Kristina Olsen, Ph.D. Cand.)
This course will explore the life, writings and spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila. Teresa's method of prayer and her reform of the Carmelite way of life to foster closeness with God will be emphasized. Her major writings will be studied, including The Book of Her Life, The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. The historical period of 16th c. Spain will be included in order to understand Teresa's work and life from within her context.

CH 682 - Islam through Catholic Eyes (Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, O.P. & Msgr. Michael Witt)
This course will endeavor to explore the relationship between Christianity and Islam couched in terms of Nostra Aetate’s statement that "the Church regards with esteem also the Moslems" and compare this relationship with the myriad ways in which Catholicism has encountered and continues to encounter Islam in the world. In addition to exploring Catholic writings on Islam, the course will encounter Islam in its own words with texts from the Qu'ran and with both didactic and creative literature written by Muslims.

CH706 - Early Popular Christian Literature (Fr. Gregory Lockwood)
This graduate level course concerns the wider tradition of Christian writings in the initial stages of the history of the Church.  Much material that was not considered canonical by the official Church was, nonetheless, very influential in the development of our theology, catechesis, apologetics, polemics, liturgy, and daily life within the larger society.  The variety of material and viewpoints represented in this corpus of literature lead one to also acknowledge the great diversity of the early Church in many areas of theological thought and practice.

PHL620 - Epistemology (Dr. Phillippe Yates)
Aristotle stated that “All men by nature desire to know” and he believed that this desire could be realized. When the Delphic oracle proclaimed that “No man alive is wiser than Socrates”, Socrates interpreted this to mean that he was wisest because, whereas others thought they knew, he alone knew that he did not know (Plato, Apology, 21-23). What is knowledge? Is it possible to know? What is it possible to know? How is it possible to know? These are the questions researched in epistemology. This course will give an insight into classical answers to these questions and give students the tools to devise their own responses.

PHL 630 - Contemporary Philosophy (Dr. Randall Colton)
This course introduces the thought and texts of principal philosophers from Kierkegaard to the present. The course is divided into five sections, beginning with Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. In the next three sections, we examine three prominent schools of twentieth- century thought: analytic philosophy, phenomenology, and pragmatism. The course ends with Thomistic responses to and interactions with these schools of thought. Focusing especially on the relation between the principles of intelligibility and being, the course examines topics in anthropology; ethics; language, epistemology, and truth; and first principles.

PHL 712– Political Philosophy (Dr. Don DeMarco)
This course involves the study of the basic concepts of political philosophy from a Thomistic point of view. Topics to be studied include the nature and purpose of political association; the origin of obligation; the nature of power and authority; the relationship of law and liberty; the role of property; and the nature of justice, political equality, and human rights; the relation of Church and state; and the moral political dimensions of war and international relations.

PHL 722 – Philosophy of Human Nature (Dr. Ronda Chervin)
In this course you will study human nature from the perspective of the perennial tradition of Catholic philosophy, as well as that of Catholic phenomenological and existential insights.

PHTH 600 – Philosophy for Theologians (Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P.)
Topics: Why theologians need worldly knowledge; why they must choose an epistomology; why they must know the liberal arts; theology’s difficulty with modern philosophy; science and religion: Kant, Newton, Einstein; the Human Person: Descartes, Heidegger; ethics and politics: Kant, Hume; technology and environment; history: Hegel, Thucydides; creation; incarnation; the Church.

PHTH 610 – Arabic Philosophy (Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, O.P.)
The medieval period opened an explosion of learning through translations both of Eastern Church fathers and of Aristotle. The challenge for Catholic Scholastics from Boethius to Thomas Aquinas was to reconcile faith and reason, and they turned for help to the writings of Islamic and Jewish philosophers who had already wrestled with this question. This course will provide an understanding of the historical and systematic development of philosophy as an aid to theology produced in the Arabic-speaking world during the classical period of Arabic scholasticism from al-Kindi (in the early 9th century) to Ibn Rushd (in the late 12th century).

PHTH 619 - Atheism and New Atheism (Dr. Ronda Chervin & Dr. Sebastian Mahfood, O.P.)
The first part of the course will deal with the many forms (literary, analytic, scientific, existentialist, Freudian,  Marxist, etc.) of atheism that began to flourish in the 19th century and gained ground in the 20th century. This will provide the context for the second part of the course, which will focus on how the new atheism is confronting today's world in the attempt it is making to secure political power in its assault against faith. The course will provide adequate ways in which Catholic leaders might respond to this onslaught.

PHTH 711 – Introduction to Thomas Aquinas (Dr. Donald DeMarco)
Topics include Aquinas on medieval education; rise of universities; faith and reason; Aristotelian thought; Aquinas on the world and man; man as a moral agent; the meaning of life; the ultimate end of human action; the parameters of moral action; difference between knowledge and faith; God; the spirit of Thomism.

PST 630 - Theological Reflection (Fr. Paul Rothschild)
Theological reflection is an attempt to draw together the scattered parts of our lives so that we can live meaningfully by Faith. It presumes to encompass the mystery of our whole person: head and heart, mind and body, thoughts and affections. Participants will explore feelings, images and insights that arise from everyday life-experiences and then learn to connect these with the resources of Christian tradition. Theological reflection requires a thorough grounding in one’s faith tradition, in our case, the Catholic Tradition. Students will learn methods of theological reflection useful for processing critical incidents in life and ministry.

SS 603ENG - The Gospel of Mark (Dr. Emilio Chavez)
We assume (or have verified) that the author of "the Gospel of Mark" has written a coherent and profound theological and literary presentation of Jesus, with the "Old Testament" and contemporary Jewish eschatological expectations as its background. Our goal, then, is to arrive at an understanding of what this presentation of Jesus is, as its author has written it.

SS 603SP - Jesús Como Salvador En El Evangelio Según San Marcos (Dr. Emilio Chavez)
Hemos podido verificar, y por ende, damos por establecido, que el autor del “Evangelio según san Marcos” ha escrito una coherente y profunda presentación teológica y literaria de Jesús, que tiene como trasfondo al “Antiguo Testamento” y las expectativas judías contemporáneas. Nuestra meta, pues, es llegar a una comprensión de esta presentación de Jesús, tal como la ha escrito el autor.

SS 649 - The Gospel of Luke (Fr. William Mills)
This course is an in depth study of the Gospel of Luke taking into consideration the historical, religious, and cultural background of this rich and inspirational gospel.

SS 654 - Wisdom Literature (Fr. Randy Soto)
This course invites the student to engage in a literary and theological study of the wisdom books of Job, Proverbs, Sirach, Qohelet, Psalms and Song of Songs. Therefore, the student will be introduced to the Sitz in Leben of the Near Eastern Wisdom; as well as to the Jewish practice of using Wisdom as means of teaching the meaning of life, suffering, death, through prayer and popular sayings. Finally, the student will be able to recognize Wisdom ways of teaching in the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ and the Apostolic Church. These overall frame is aimed at assisting each student to not just learn about Wisdom in the OT but to bring it to life in their lives.

SS 660 - Prophetic Literature (Dr. Emilio Chavez)
This course examines the phenomenon of prophecy in Israel. It explores its origins and  surveys some early “non-writing” prophets, and the classical prophets who have left us books which bear their names. These prophets are set in their historical contexts, which  include social, political and economic factors; their books and sayings are studied with modern literary techniques, including exegesis of selected texts. The overall aim is to uncover the theological message of the prophets (including their teaching on social justice) and to arrive at an understanding of the development of prophecy into eschatology and apocalyptic (including messianism).

SS 663 - Apocalyptic Literature (Fr. William Mills)
This course focuses on the eschatological dimension of biblical revelation. Exemplified especially in the book of Revelation, apocalyptic literature is found in both the Old and New Testaments.

SS 670 - Intro to Scripture, Theology, and Revelation (Fr. Randy Soto)
The course begins by expounding on the basic concepts and criteria used in Biblical Sciences: word, Revelation, transmission, Truth in Scripture, Canonicity, Authenticity, Integrity, Magisterium, Tradition, etc. Then it will acquaint the students with the Book of the Bible per se: languages; traditions, the text, translations, manuscripts, papyri, codices, uncials, the Textus Receptus, and contemporary editions.

In a second unit the course introduces the students to the Sitz im Leben in which Sacred Scriptures are embedded: geography, cultures, peoples, groups and, especially, the History of Salvation as it is unraveled in Sacred Scripture.

A third unit is dedicated to explaining the Catholic principles for hermeneutics and exegesis. A particular emphasis is placed in teaching the methods used by the Fathers of the Church and Lectio Divina.

Finally, a fourth unit concentrates on pastoral orientations which can help students engage in Bible Schools at the parochial or group levels. Also it assists the students in training to proclaim God’s Word in liturgical settings.

SS 704 - The Synoptic Gospels (Fr. Randy Soto)
This course will focus on the Synoptic gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Topics covered include the characteristic features and major themes of the Synoptic gospels and the similarities and differences between them. Priority will be given to the gospel of Mark since most theologians and scholars agree that it is the earliest gospel and the “model” for both Matthew and Luke. Questions regarding the immediate historical, social, and cultural background will also be considered.

SS 905 - Acts of the Apostles (Fr. William Mills)
Topics considered in this course include the structure, purpose, authorship, historical background and theological themes of the Acts of the Apostles; its relation to the Gospel of Luke; and an exegesis of selected passages.

STD 629 - Liturgical History (Dr. Daniel Van Slyke)
Liturgy is one of the most complex and controversial fields of study within the Church today. This course provides a thorough introduction to the sources and developments of sacred liturgy in several historical stages: the Old Testament, early Christianity, medieval Latin Christianity, the period following the Council of Trent, the liturgical movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the revisions of the Roman liturgy following the Second Vatican Council.

STD 707 – One and Triune God (Dr. Cynthia Toolin)
Topics include the Trinity and major heresies; God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct, Divine Persons; the Trinity in tradition; two processions and three Persons; intellectual generation of the Son; spiration of the Holy Spirit; internal Divine relations; the three Persons are subsistent relations; circuminsession and works; missions and Divine indwelling.

STD 800SP - The Seven Sacraments (Spanish Version) (Fr. Luis Luna, MSA)
La vida de perfección que debe alcanzar el Cristiano es ayudado por medio de la Palabra de Dios y los Sacramentos. Así la presentación de los siete sacramentos de la Iglesia es una manera de ayudar a los cristianos, especialmente a los líderes de nuestra fe, a prepararse mejor y ayudar a los demás fieles en esta tarea. Por ello hemos dividido nuestro tratado en cinco secciones:
I. Introducción
II. Sacramentos en General
A. Definición de los Sacramentos
B. División de los sacramentos
C. Administración de los Sacramentos
III. Sacramentos de Iniciación Cristiana
A. Bautismo
B. Confirmación
C. Eucaristía
IV. Sacramentos de Sanación
A. Reconciliación
B. Unción de los Enfermos
V. Sacramentos de Servicio
A. Sagradas Ordenes
B. Matrimonio

STM 618 - Governmental Structures (Canon Law) (Msgr. James Ramacciotti)
Governmental Structures is an investigation of the power of government in the Church, focused in the hierarchical constitution of Church, as found in Book Two of the 1983 Code (cc. 330-572). Envisioned outcomes: an appreciation for the role of Canon Law in the life of the Church; an ability to interpret the law, given the context and subject matter of a particular Canon; a sense of canonical equity as a tool for the work of a shepherd in the Church; an ability to fulfill the function of Church leadership by empowering the people of God in their rights and obligations. Format: audio lectures and posted discussions.

STM 620 - Fundamental Moral Theology I (Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P.)
This course will examine the nature of the fundamental principles of moral theology.  Topics include the ultimate end of man, moral responsibility, moral absolutes, the passions, conscience and law.  The primary emphasis will be on the thought of Thomas Aquinas and John Paul II.

STM 645 -Temporal Goods: The Canon and Civil Law of Church Property in the US. (Dr. Phillipe Yates)
Sacred Scripture expresses a detachment from material goods, yet the Church exists in the world, but is not of the world. The nature of the Church as a society, with the mission given to it by Christ of preaching the gospel message to the whole world, requires it to administer temporal goods in order to fulfill that mission. Thus the Code of Canon Law (c. 1254, §1) teaches that the Church has the innate right to acquire, retain, administer, and alienate temporal goods independently from civil power. It also specifies that the principal purposes for temporal goods are to order divine worship, to care for the decent support of the clergy and other ministers, and to exercise works of the sacred apostolate and of charity, especially toward the needy (c. 1254, §2). This course will help develop an understanding of the Code’s treatment of temporalities at the service of the Church. 

STM 658 - Practical Problems in Jurisprudence (Fr. Luis Luna, MSA)
This course enables students to answer frequent questions they face in their apostolate. Students will be trained in using canon law and the official documents of the Church in their mission.

STM 672 - An Introduction to Biology and Biotechnologies for Ethicists (Drs. Hermann & Laura Frieboes)
In this course we will study the basic biological principles related to ethical issues such as in vitro fertilization and other reproductive technologies, embryonic and adult stem cells, artificial contraception, and genetic engineering. As these technologies and issues are constantly changing, we will also cover a basic grounding in the study of biology. The results of scientific studies filtered through the lens of the popular media can be inaccurate and misleading. As such, we will also practice reading and analyzing scientific journal articles, so that we are prepared to study scientific advances from their original sources. Finally, we will read key documents that evaluate related ethical issues from the standpoint of the Catholic faith.

STM 805 – Catholic Social Ethics (Dr. Cynthia Toolin)
This course traces major themes in Catholic social teachings by using the U.S. Bishop's document, Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions. The topics, suggested by the U.S. Bishops, are Life and Dignity of the Human Person; Call to Family, Community and Participation; Rights and Responsibilities; Option for the Poor and Vulnerable; Digntiy of Work and the Right of Workers; Solidarity; and Ecology. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace), and the Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science and Social Policy are used.