Summer 2013 Distance Learning Semester for Undergraduates

May 13, 2013 to August 16, 2013

The following courses are scheduled to be offered through theDistance Learning program, undergraduate level, for the Summer 2013 semester. 

For information regarding Required Materials for these courses, please click here.

PLEASE NOTE: Syllabi are being added as they are received. Note: At the start of the term, the syllabi that are located in the Info tab of your courses in Populi should be considered the most updated.  Please do not contact any professor about his or her syllabus until May 13th. Prior to that date, all questions should be directed to the Distance Learning Office at 860.632.3015.

Added 3/11/2013 -

THL 514 Theology of the Body (Fr. Augustine Ibok, SMP)

The first part of this course will go through the biblical foundations for the theology of the Body as expressed in the writings of Blessed John Paul II. The second part of this course will seek to relate the Theology of the Body in the practical encounters of life, love and Marriage. This course will end by highlighting how the theology of the body as presented to us through our beautiful Catholic Tradition can enable us promote life and the institution of Marriage today, and how it will help to shape our lives hereafter. This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit. 

Course descriptions for the Summer 2013 semester undergraduate course offerings are listed below. 

CH 300 Introduction to Church History (Prof. Heather Voccola)

This is a survey course of the history of the Roman Catholic Church.  Topics to be examined will include development of the early Church, the Age of the Fathers, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Reformation period, and the Modern Era.

LA 110 Introduction to Poetry (Dr. Angelyn Arden)

This course introduces students to classics in poetry. Focus will be on close-reading and interpretative skills in a study of the work of representative authors from Biblical times to the present. An emphasis will be on lyric poetry that is the source of other forms of poetry as well as drama and then the novel.

LA 511 Ecclesiastical Latin II (Dr. Philippe Yates)

**Pre-requisite LA 510

Latin is at the root of many modern languages, including large sections of English. Historically it was the language of record and of scholarly discourse in Western Europe. It is also the primary language of the western part of the Catholic Church, which is even called the “Latin Church”. Latin is the normative liturgical, legislative and bureaucratic language of the Catholic Church. Many important historical, philosophical, theological and canonical texts are not translated, and translations are not always reliable. For all these reasons, an understanding of Latin is essential for any in-depth study of western history, canon law, liturgy, theology and philosophy – especially for those who would seek to understand the Catholic Church's contribution to western culture.

This course is designed to build upon LA510 Latin I so that by the end of this course the student will be familiar with the majority of Latin grammar and a significant amount of theological and philosophical Latin vocabulary. It is the second of three courses designed to give the student the skills to read modern ecclesiastical Latin (including that used in the Code of Canon Law) and medieval Latin theological and philosophical documents (such as St. Thomas' Summa). The first two courses combined (LA510 AND LA511) are usually considered a sufficient basis to undertake research degrees in theology1

1DISCLAIMER: this claim must be verified by the student for particular programs. HACS is not liable should any research degree program not accept these two courses as a basis for a theological research degree. Students should verify if programs require achieving certain grades in these Latin courses.

LA 512 Ecclesiastical Latin III  (Dr. Philippe Yates)

Latin is at the root of many modern languages, including large sections of English. Historically it was the language of record and of scholarly discourse in Western Europe. It is also the primary language of the western part of the Catholic Church, which is even called the “Latin Church”. Latin is the normative liturgical, legislative and bureaucratic language of the Catholic Church. Many important historical, philosophical, theological and canonical texts are not translated, and translations are not always reliable. For all these reasons, an understanding of Latin is essential for any in-depth study of western history, canon law, liturgy, theology and philosophy – especially for those who would seek to understand the Catholic Church's contribution to western culture.

In this course we are transitioning from learning the grammar and basic vocabulary to putting it into practice in translating significant texts of ecclesiastical Latin. This course is designed to build upon LA510 Latin I and LA511 Latin II so that by the end of this course the student will be confident in being able to understand any Latin text and especially comfortable in dealing with those texts important for theology, philosophy and Church history.  This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.

LA 521 Greek II (Prof. John Hornyak, Ph.D. Cand.)

**Pre-requisite LA 520

Introduction to Biblical Greek II will build upon the foundation laid in LA 520 Greek I, emphasizing basic grammar and vocabulary drawn from philosophic and biblical Greek texts. The course will provide students with a basic understanding of the Greek language and a working vocabulary of words and terms used in both Attic and Koine dialects. Each lesson will contain relevant contemporary resources, etymological examples, and historical background, and biographical vignettes. This course is a prerequisite for Greek Readings. This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.

LA 522 Biblical Greek III (Prof. John Hornyak, Ph.D. Cand.)

The third in a series of courses on Koine Greek, this course continues the exploration of the language with selections from the New Testament, Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers. Students will have the opportunity to revisit basic Greek grammar as well as becoming acquainted with new vocabulary and etymology. Short, project-based assessments are designed to help each student build a personalized Linguistic Toolkit to aid further study/ministry. This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.

PHL 101 Voyage to Insight: An Introduction to Philosophy (Dr. Ronda Chervin)

Before a student takes specific subjects in the field of philosophy, Voyage to Insight: An Introduction to Philosophy, is designed to offer a way to explore this exciting way of thinking in a unique and personal manner. The course is based on a co-authored book by Ronda Chervin, Ph.D., a professor at Holy Apostles College and Seminary.  Voyage to Insight helps the student figure out what ideas need to be cast over-board before seeking truth. There is a chapter on “Navigating” to find truth by means of  logic, experience, and intuition. In the chapter called “Captain” we study the nature of the human person. In “Shipwreck” doubt, cynicism and despair threaten the voyage. The student is guided by “The Sun…” in finding God. Then he or she explores enchanting islands in pursuit of beauty, romantic love, and religious experience. On a “utopian island” the reader, with the help of a group, works out ethical and political problems. With this introduction the course proceeds with reading of famous longer excerpts from the writings of great philosophers.

PHL 502 Epistemology (Dr. Philippe 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. This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.

PHL 510 Philosophical Anthropology: On 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.  This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit. Assignments will be for both undergraduate and M.A. students with additional work assignments for M.A. Students listed each week when so designated.

PHL 590 Metaphysics (Dr. Timothy Smith)

Topics include the metaphysics of Aristotle; presuppositions of metaphysics (incorruptibility of the human soul / proof of Prime Mover); the subject matter of metaphysics; the scandal of generality; substance and essence; from finite to Infinite Being; the nature of existence; the names of God. This course will include an online participatory live discussion component.  Students unable to make the live sessions at the time chosen by the majority would be able to fulfill the participation requirement by listening to the podcast of the talk and posting a response to it in the discussion area. This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.

PHTH 530 Natural Theology (Dr. Randall Colton)
An introduction to the philosophical study of God’s existence, attributes, and operations. After considering the nature of natural theology itself and some objections to it, we will investigate St. Thomas’s five ways to demonstrate God’s existence as well as some other arguments to the same conclusion; and finally, after briefly considering atheism, we will finish with a survey of God’s attributes and operations. This course can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit.

THL 110 Fundamental Theology (Prof. Randy Watson)

This course will provide you with an understanding of the sources, concepts, and history of fundamental theology that are a vital foundation to future topics in theology. Attention will be given to the origins of doctrine and its form, which are important to almost all branches of theology. This course will cover the following five categories of studies:

1. the role of philosophy in theology,

2. the use of the Bible in theology,

3. the resources of tradition for theology (Fathers, councils, creeds, liturgy, art and the sense of the faithful),

4. the two aides to discernment in theology (Christian experience and the Church’s magisterium), and

5. the plurality and unity in Catholic theology.  

THL 201 Building Catholic Character (Prof. Matthew Menking)

This course is an analysis of character: how it is constituted, developed, preserved and perpetuated. What are the hallmarks of the good human being, and how can integrity and virtues (as in 2 Pt.1:3-9) be taught and learned? The course will examine customary social challenges to Christian family life and character development; explore possible remedies advanced by "character education"; and - through Scriptural readings, lectures and other literature- evaluate particular crises as they occur in various cases in the Old and New Testament, culminating in the perfect human character demonstrated by the Life of Christ. [Open course but limited enrollment: Parents, deacons, and Church DREs and Catechists are especially welcome.]

THL 300 Moral Theology (Prof. Jacob Torbeck)

This course is designed as an introduction to the foundational concepts of Catholic moral theology.  Throughout the course, we will seek to gain a mastery of the questions: what is moral theology?  What are its underlying precepts? How can we use these to help ourselves and others lead a moral life?

THL 510 The Catechism of the Catholic Church I (Prof. Steven Schultz & Dr. Cynthia Toolin)

This course is being taught by Prof. Steven Schultz and Dr. Cynthia Toolin. This course, the first of a two-sequence series, presents an overview of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Students will read and reflect on the first two parts, “The Profession of Faith” and “The Celebration of the Christian Mystery” in order to grasp its presentation of revealed truth in the light of Vatican Council II and to be familiar with the text as a sure norm for teaching the faith. Through imparting a broad understanding of the whole message of faith, this course is particularly intended to assist those who will be undertaking theological studies as well as those engaged in catechesis. This course is being taught on the undergraduate level.