Core 4 - Christian Impact on Western Civilization - Term 092
Core 4 Faculty
- John Egan - Music
- Fr. Jeffrey Kirch, C.PP.S. - Theology
- Michael Malone - Philosophy
- Heidi Rahe - Communication
- Fr. Kevin Scalf, C.PP.S. - Theology
- Ilicia Sprey - History
Core 4 Required Texts
- Augustine. Confessions. Translated by Albert Cook Outler. Dover Thrift Editions, 2002
- Beowulf. Translated by Heaney, Seamus. W.W. Norton: 2000
- Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Translated by Nevill Coghill. Penguin Classics, 2003
- Core 4 Syllabus - Rensselaer, IN. Saint Joseph's College: 2009
- Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy I: Inferno. Translated by Mark Musa. Penguin Classics, 2003
- The Everyday Writer. Lunsford, Andrea and Robert Connors, eds. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997
- Everyman Dover Thrift Edition: 2008
- Gallli, Mark. Francis of Assisi and His World. IVP Books, 2002
- Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. Edited by J. G. Nichols. One World Classics, 2010
- The New American Bible - Saint Joseph Edition (Large Type - Illustrated). Catholic Book Publishing Company. 1992
- Rule of Saint Benedict. Translated by Timothy Fry. Liturgical Press, 1982
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Translated by Burton Raffel. Penguin, 1970
- Spielvogel, Jackson. Western Civilization: A Brief History Saint Joseph's College customized edition. Thompson-Wadsworth, 2009
Collegial Agreements
Collegial agreements insure that students taking Core 4 have a generally common experience and work on specific skills that are important components of the larger Core Curriculum. The Core 4 faculty agree to the following:
- In reading the assigned text with care and thought, listening to lectures, and entering into discussions, students are encouraged and urged to examine and question the ideas and values presented over the course of the semester not only in terms of where and why they developed as they did, but how they could be applied to their lives today and in the future. Recall Socarates famous and insightful phrase, "The unexamined life is not worth living."
- Seating in the Shen Lecture Hall will be by discussion group to an effort to facilitate student learning and discussion group cohesion.
- Each student will give an oral presentation sometime during the semester.
- A minimum of twenty (20) pages of written work will be required of all students.
- Further specifications for the writing assignments:
- The development of thesis statements will be stressed.
- Papers that require textual and contextual interpretation of historical and cultural artifacts and sources are encouraged.
- Each student will complete at least one formal writing assignment that requires taking a moral stand on an issue relevant to course material, supporting that stand with solid principled reasoning and reference to texts used in the course, and working towards persuading the reader.
- Each student will complete at least one assignment that requires research and proper use of references and citations, as prescribed in The Everyday Writer, a text students are encouraged to use as a reference and a resource throughout the semester.
Lecture and Reading Schedule
| Unit I: The Rise of Christianity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Lecture | Required Reading |
| Mark's Portrait of Jesus | ||
| 01-12 | Mike Malone and Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S Introduction to the Christian Scriptures |
Gospel of Mark (Ch. 1-4) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 123-129) |
| 01-14 | Fr. Jeff Kirch, C.PP.S. The Gospel of Mark |
Gospel of Mark (Ch. 5-16) |
| The Spread of Christianity | ||
| 01-19 | Ilicia Sprey The Roman Empire and the New Religion |
Acts of the Apostles (Ch. 1-7) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 130-134) |
| 01-21 | Fr. Kevin Scalf, C.PP.S. The Opening to the Gentiles |
Acts of the Apostles (Ch. 8-15) |
| Letters & Instructions | ||
| 01-26 | Fr. Kevin Scalf, C.PP.S. Problems at Corinth |
First Corinthians, all |
| 01-28 | Mike Malone Augustine: The Journey of a Restless Heart |
Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 142-143) Augustine, selections from Confessions |
| Religious Life | ||
| 02-02 | Heidi Rahe Monasticism and Spirituality |
Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 138-142) The Rule of Saint Benedict (Ch. 1-7, 33-40, 52-55, and 71-73) |
| Unit II: Medieval Civilization | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Lecture | Required Reading |
| The Rise of Medieval Europe and Medieval Literature | ||
| 02-04 | Ilicia Sprey Islam |
Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 147-150 and 170-172) selections from the Koran in Syllabus |
| 02-09 | April Toadvine Beowulf as Literature |
Beowulf (pp. 3-104) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 134-137 and 154-163) |
| 02-11 | April Toadvine Appreciating Beowulf |
Beowulf (pp. 105-213) |
| 02-16 | April Toadvine The Literary Quality of Gawain |
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (pp. 49-81) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 163-166) |
| 02-18 | Ilicia Sprey Reflections on a Changing Society |
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (pp. 85-125) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 175-186 and 195-202) |
| St. Francis and the Changing Nature of Spirituality | ||
| 02-23 | Tom Ryan St. Francis |
Galli, Francis of Assisi and His World, chapters 1-6 Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 205-211) |
| 02-25 | Film: Saint Francis: Reluctant Saint |
Galli, Francis of Assisi and His World, chapters 7-12 |
| Aquinas and the Natural Law | ||
| 03-02 | Michael Malone Thomas and the Natural Law Theory |
"Thomas Aquinas" (Part I) in syllabus Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 186-190) |
| 03-04 | Brother Rob Reuter Applying the Natural Law |
"Thomas Aquinas" (Part II) in syllabus |
| Spring Break - March 8-12 | ||
| 03-16 | Heidi Rahe Inferno: An Overview |
Dante's Inferno (Cantos 1-8) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 235-240) |
| 03-18 | Michael Malone Lessons From Hell - Part I |
Dante's Inferno (Cantos 9-16) |
| 03-23 | Ilicia Sprey The Medieval Church And Its Art |
Dante's Inferno (Cantos 17-26) |
| 03-25 | Michael Malone Lessons From Hell - Part II |
Dante's Inferno (Cantos 27-34) |
| Fourteenth Century and the Canterbury Tales | ||
| 03-30 | Ilicia Sprey What A Bunch! |
The Canterbury Tales "General Prologue" (xi-xvii, 3-26) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 221-225) |
| 04-01 | Heidi Rahe What A Pair! |
The Canterbury Tales "Miller's and Pardoner's Tales" (86-106, 241-258) |
| 04-06 | Jody Watkins What A Wife! |
The Canterbury Tales "Wife of Bath's Tale" (258-292) |
| Unit III: From Medieval To Early Modern Europe | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Lecture | Required Reading |
| Late Medieval Morality Play | ||
| 04-08 | John Rahe Mystery, Miracle, and Morality: Medieval Drama |
Everyman, all |
| The Protestant Reformation | ||
| 04-13 | John Rahe Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation |
Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp.232-235, 262-263, and 268-273) Selections from Luther in the syllabus |
| 04-15 | Fr. Tim McFarland, C.PP.S. Reformation and Counter-Reformation |
Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 273-287) |
| Renaissance Art | ||
| 04-20 | Ilicia Sprey Art: Reflections of Changing New World |
Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp. 242-247 and 254-258) |
| Humanism | ||
| 04-22 | Ilicia Sprey On the Brink of a New World |
Machiavelli, The Prince, chapters 1-14 (I-XIV) Western Civilization: A Brief History (pp.248-253) |
| 04-27 | Mike Malone A Question of Values: Debating Ethics and Morality in The Prince |
Machiavelli, The Prince, chapters 15-26 (XV-XXVI) |
| 04-29 | Heidi Rahe Stepping over the Threshold |
No reading |
Core 4 Internet Sources
Here are some links that may be helpful to students in Core Four. You may find these helpful for study of the medieval world. As with all internet resources, students need to be critical in their assessment of materials on the internet.
- Resources for Biblical Studies - A rather interesting site with some good background information and some primary documents from other sources.
- Online Concordance - Looking for a verse in the Bible? Want to find what St. Paul says about something, try this on-line concordance. You can search for words in a variety of Bible translations...really an interesting site.
- St. John's Bible - Illuminated Manuscript - This site has some interesting pages from a project at St. John's University -- an illuminated Biblical manuscript for the new millennium. Definitely worth checking out.
- The Labyrinth - From Georgetown University, a wealth of materials for study of the Middle Ages.
- Digital Dante - An interesting collection of paintings on the Inferno.
- Inferno Illustrations - Here's a site that illustrates some of the various levels in the Inferno.
- Saint Thomas Aquinas - From Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a little background about Aquinas.
- People of Ideas - Middle Ages - Here you can find information about many of the people you will be studying in the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance/Reformation eras.
- Medieval Art - Located at the Catholic University of America, this site has some links to interesting and beautiful works of art from the middle ages and the Renaissance.
- A Digital Archive of Architecture - A nice site from Prof. Jeffery Howe of Boston College with lots of links to buildings in various architectural styles.
- A Feast for the Eyes - A rather interesting site with images of food and dining from the middle ages.
- The Medieval Sourcebook - A number of good resources here including some links to other medieval sources.
- Canterbury Tales - This site in old English has a handy little dictionary defining the words.
- Martin Luther - Find out more about the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. A number of Luther's works appear on this site as well as information about Luther.
- Protestant Reformation - Here's a site with lots of information about the Protestant Reformation that may be interesting.
- The CNN Millennium Project - A site that loaded with lots of information, including many media files. You can click on a century to discover what significant events happened during the era.
