Mar 28, 2024  
Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2017-2018 
    
Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Catholic Studies Minor


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Objectives


Catholic Studies is an academic interdisciplinary minor program designed to expose students to the study of the intellectual, social, cultural, and spiritual expressions of Catholicism. It is grounded in Vatican II’s discussion of the Church in the modern world, with its focus on human culture, dignity, and justice. On the one hand, Catholic Studies’ interdisciplinary nature mirrors the complex diversity that is Catholicism, as it intersects and interacts with history and culture. On the other hand, its intellectual and academic focus gives it purpose and direction as a program intent on studying, exploring, critiquing, and understanding the relationship between faith and culture. Therefore, it welcomes students and professors from any religious background and/or faith commitment and viewpoints.

Catholic Studies students pursue such issues as the influence of Catholicism upon the development of philosophy and the arts; the relationship between Catholicism and the history of world civilizations; the intellectual and ethical issues raised by the interactions of theology, science, and modern culture; Catholic social thought and practice; and the theological foundations of Catholicism. In addition, it offers students opportunities to explore the Ignatian tradition that grounds LMU’s founding orders, the Society of Jesus and the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Moreover, it also makes available opportunities for community service and spiritual activities, expressions of the University’s commitment to a faith that does justice. Catholic Studies celebrates Catholicism as a living heritage.

Faculty from a number of LMU’s departments, schools, and colleges teach courses cross-listed with Catholic Studies.

Catholic Studies Student Learning Outcomes


  1. Students minoring in Catholic Studies will be given opportunities to learn about Catholicism as an intellectual, social, spiritual, and cultural tradition within the history of ideas.
  2. Students minoring in Catholic Studies will be given opportunities to develop
    1. their ability to do scholarly work on various topics having to do with Catholicism, ranging from theology and philosophy to the creative and critical arts, the humanities, business, and the social and natural sciences
    2. their ability to appreciate and evaluate Catholic contributions to and expressions in all fields of learning
    3. their ability to make connections among the many disciplines focusing on Catholicism
  3. Students minoring in Catholic Studies will be encouraged to examine and value the distinctive contribution of Catholicism to world civilization.
  4. Students minoring in Catholic Studies will be able to draw on their own experience and insights to further their self-reflection.

CATH Minor Requirements


The Catholic Studies minor program consists of 5 courses, with at least 4 being upper division, structured as follows:

A. Foundational Course (1 course):


B. Foundations (1 course):


One cross-listed course with core attributes in one of the following: Theological Inquiry, Philosophical Inquiry, or Studies in American Diversity.

C. Explorations and Integrations (2 courses):


Two cross-listed courses with core attributes in one or more of the following: Creative Experience, Historical Analysis and Perspectives, Nature of Science, Faith and Reason, Ethics and Justice, or Interdisciplinary Connections.

D. Catholic Studies Capstone Course (1 course):


Note:


A service-learning course with a Catholic focus would replace any one course from the Foundations or Explorations and Integration categories.

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