James Keating (Theology and Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1542, T/Th 1:00-2:15
No prerequisites and open to all students; required for Catholic Humanities minors and Catholic Studies majors; satisfies the Oral Communication proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

The Humanities explore what it means to be human through literature, art, philosophy, theology, history, and related disciplines. In this course we will read and discuss philosophical reflections, essays, novels (graphic and otherwise), and poetry about human life. Our purpose will be to uncover what our authors wish to say about how one ought to live and how one oughtn’t. Much of what they say depends on how they view the nature of reality itself. We will read Christians and those who have ceased to be Christians. It’ll be great.

Patrick Macfarlane (Philosophy and Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1541, M/Th 8:30-9:45
No prerequisites and open to all students; required for Catholic Humanities minors and Catholic Studies majors; satisfies the Oral Communication proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

This is the foundational course for the minor in Catholic Humanities and the major in Catholic Studies and introduces students to the humanities through the concept of culture. We will consider a broad and interdisciplinary selection of texts and authors, including Sophocles, Plato, Shakespeare, Newman, Nietzsche, Eliot, Joyce, and Kafka. We will also read selections from the Bible and consider the theological work of David Bentley Hart. All are welcome!

Robert Duffy (Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1543, M/W 4:00-5:15
No prerequisites and open to all students; required for Catholic Humanities minors and Catholic Studies majors; satisfies the Oral Communication proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Miranda exclaims in wonder: “O brave new world, that has such people in it!” We all have some answer to the question, “What does it mean to be human?” How can we put our answers into words? How do we know we are right? This class considers philosophy, theology, literature, and the arts to help us find answers. Should we first pursue virtue or material success? What is the role of friendship in a good life? What does a good community look like? Is work a necessary evil or can it be humanizing? How should we relate to the natural world? How should we approach technology? Who is God and how is he important to our lives? Throughout we will be seeking to understand the true dignity and mystery of the human person.

Matthew Cuddeback (Philosophy and Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1559, Th 2:30-5:00
No prerequisites and open to all students; required for Catholic Studies majors. Satisfies the Ethics requirement of the Core Curriculum.

A humanistic, interdisciplinary consideration of man’s yearning for and pursuit of happiness, and of the possibility of attaining it through a life of virtue and openness to divine grace. We shall study works of Christian philosophy, literature, poetry, and film, including authors such as Josef Pieper, Walker Percy, and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Gilbert Donohue (Office of the Chaplaincy)
1.5 Credits, CRN 1544, T 2:30-3:45
No prerequisites and open to all students.

This Humanities Practicum examines the history and methods of Gregorian chant. We will learn the beginnings of Gregorian chant and its development through the present day, including its notation and performance. We will study and sing the different genres of chant, and will examine their place in the liturgy of the Mass and the Divine Office, both throughout their history and in their present form of the liturgy. Our overall purpose will be the acquisition of the basic skills of Gregorian chant and an understanding of the deep importance such skills have for human culture, both past and present.

Joseph Ribaudo (Engineering and Physics)
1 Credit, CRN 1545, T 6:30-7:20
No prerequisites and open to all students.

The universe is an incredible place, filled with beauty and wonder everywhere you look. Of course this applies to Earth, our celestial home, but it also applies when we look up, to the heavens where galaxies, clusters, and nebulae all wait in the relative dark to be discovered. In this practicum, we will learn about the myriad objects in the sky, the apparent motion these objects travel across the sky, and the modern hardware and software tools we can use to capture light that has traveled light-years (sometimes billions of them) to photograph members of our cosmic zoo. By the end you will have used a dedicated astrophotography setup to image celestial objects and process the data to produce a professional-quality photograph. No astronomy or photography background is required to thrive in this course (but if you have the background, that’s OK!). 

Colin King (Philosophy) and Gary Culpepper (Theology)
1 Credit, two sections: CRN 1547 and 1548; class held over spring break
No prerequisites and open to all students; registration by permission of instructor only.

Christ in the Desert emphasizes leadership development within the spiritual and intellectual context of the Catholic and Dominican tradition. Participants travel to the Moab Desert in Utah where they learn outdoor skills, including kayaking and canyoneering, within the context of Lenten spiritual and intellectual reflection and professional leadership development exercises. Hosted by COR Expeditions. For more information, contact Dr. Gary Culpepper, Associate Professor of Theology.

Jay Pike (Chemistry)
1.5 Credits, CRN 1546, Thursday 4:00-5:15
Open to all students who are at least 21 years old by January 15, 2026. Contact the instructors to receive permission to register.

This Humanities Practicum will educate the palate and the mind when it comes to beer and its full and virtuous enjoyment. Each week we will learn about—and drink samples of—different beer traditions (everything from lagers and wheat ales to sours and smoked stouts), with an emphasis on the art of brewing and the crucial role that beer has played in the history and development of Western civilization (especially regarding community and conviviality). Cheers!

Christopher Berard (Humanities)
1.5 Credits, CRN 1549, W 11:30-12:45
No prerequisites and open to all students.

Within the context of medieval courtly poetry and historical writings (c. 1100–1400), we will be studying tales of revenants, werewolves, and shapeshifters. First, we will read various accounts of the myth of King Arthur’s return from the dead in Britain’s darkest hour and tales of how he resides in an otherworldly abode. We will be exploring such relevant concepts as the Wild Hunt, ghostly apparitions, and the corporeal undead. Second, we will read the leading medieval werewolf stories, including Marie de France’s lai Bisclavret, the anonymous lai Melion, and Arthur & Gorlagon. We will explore the dividing lines between man and beast and consequently what it means to be human. Third, we will read tales of knights transforming into hawks and beautiful maidens transforming into loathly damsels. We will explore the nature of beauty and nobility.

Christopher Berard (Humanities)
1.5 Credits, CRN 2778, M 11:30-12:45
No prerequisites and open to all students.

This course will explore the history, literature, philosophy, and theology associated with the political office of kingship and the social estate of knighthood in the Latin West from the High Middle Ages to the Late Middle Ages (c.1100–1400). We will focus on mirrors for princes, a genre of advice literature that outlines basic principles of conduct for rulers and the structure and purpose of secular power, often in relationship either to a transcendental source of power or to abstract legal norms. Some of the major authors that we will be exploring include Bernard of Clairvaux, Wace, Marie de France, John of Salisbury, Thomas Aquinas, Dante Alighieri, and Christine de Pizan. This course offers students a unique opportunity to explore the foundations of modern political science and pearls of practical wisdom applicable to one’s own conduct and self-rule.

Alyssa Lopez (History and Classics) 
1.5 Credits, CRN 1552, Th 8:30-9:45
No prerequisites and open to all students.

This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of The Parable of the Sower and some of Octavia Butler’s other short stories that consider life in the United States after economic/ecological catastrophe. Of special interest are the intersections of racism, capitalism, and environmental degradation with an emphasis on questions of responsibility, morality, and human survival.

Fr. Simon Teller (Office of the Chaplaincy)
1 Credit, CRN 1550, W 2:30-3:20
No prerequisites and open to all students.

In this one credit Humanities Reading Seminar we will put the lyrics of Taylor Swift into conversation with great books of the Western Tradition. Do Taylor and Homer agree on the nature of Fate? How would Augustine respond to Taylor’s ideas about memory? Are Taylor and Dante on the same page about romantic love? This class will engage with the ideas in Taylor’s songs in concert with the main themes that appear throughout the Development of Western Civilization while developing the habit of thinking critically about pop culture through the lens of Civ.

Suzanne Fournier (English)
1 Credit, CRN 1553, F 1:30-2:20
No prerequisites and open to all students.

Hitchcock’s deeply entertaining films remain popular more than forty years after his death. This course is designed to deepen our appreciation for the artistry of his work, so apparent in his storytelling and visual style. The films we will consider include 39 Steps, Rebecca, Notorious, Psycho, Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, The Wrong Man, and North by Northwest. In the course of the semester, we will also discuss the Catholic dimension of several recurring Hitchcock themes.

Fr. Isaac Morales (Theology)
1 Credit, CRN 1551, Class held over spring break; registration by permission of instructor only
No prerequisites and open to all students.

This Reading Seminar offers an introduction to the life and thought of one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, C. S. Lewis, in the context in which he spent most of his adult life, the University of Oxford. We will read and analyze representative texts from across Lewis’s corpus and from writers who influenced him, as well as visit sites in Oxford that played a significant role in his spiritual and intellectual development or helped shape the Oxford he knew and loved. This course is attached to the Humanities Program’s spring break trip to Oxford, England.

Raymond Hain (Philosophy and Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1560, T/W/F 10:30-11:20
No prerequisites and open to all students; required for Catholic Studies majors; satisfies the Philosophy requirement of the Core Curriculum.

This course is an interdisciplinary consideration of God and the transcendent. It introduces the history, methods, and importance of humanistic reflection on the source and measure of all created things and its influence on human culture. Themes include the existence and nature of God, our experience of the divine, the search for transcendent meaning, and the human aspiration to contemplative union.

Raymond Hain (Philosophy and Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1554, T/W/F 9:30-10:20
No prerequisites and open to all students; satisfies a core requirement for Catholic Humanities minors and Catholic Studies majors; satisfies the Writing I proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of the history, methods, and central claims of the Catholic intellectual tradition. Organized around the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, we will focus on the Christian creed, the Church’s sacramental life, morality, and prayer. Besides the Catechism, we will reflect on philosophical and theological texts, short stories and novels, films, architecture, and music. Possible authors and artists include St. Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, J. R. R. Tolkien, Flannery O’Connor, Jacques Maritain, Alsadair MacIntyre, and filmmakers Terrence Malick and the Dardenne brothers.

Professor TBA
3 Credits, CRN 1555 T/Th 11:30-12:45
No prerequisites and open to all students; satisfies a core requirement for Catholic Humanities minors and Catholic Studies majors; satisfies the Writing I proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

The Dominican Order is inspired by and necessarily flows from the person of St. Dominic, who sought “the salvation of souls by the light of learning” (St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue). The task of the Order of Preachers is to set people free from the darkness of error. In this course, we will examine the genius of St. Dominic as the founder of the great intellectual tradition that guides this purpose. Topics to be discussed include the person of St. Dominic and the way of life that forms the Dominican Order, the purpose of the intellectual life and vocation, contributions from the Dominican tradition of prayer and theology, and the lived experience of the Saints and heroes of the Order of Preachers. The chief goal is to illuminate the Order’s charism of preaching the truth in the image of St. Dominic.

Paul Gondreau (Theology)
3 Credits, CRN 2623, T/Th 2:30-3:45
Satisfies the Theology 300 requirement of the Core Curriculum.

This discussion based course will be a literary and theological reading of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien including “On Fairy-Stories,” The Silmarillion (excerpts), The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, with supplemental secondary sources. We’ll pay special attention to the Catholic dimension of Tolkien’s works (Tolkien was a devout Catholic) and to the way a “Catholic imagination” or a “Catholic vision” is present in Tolkien’s writings. We will seek to understand what Tolkien meant by calling The Lord of the Rings “a fundamentally Catholic work.” At the heart of this Catholic vision are foundational theological notions and principles as well as philosophical notions and principles which often undergird the theological and which remain present and integral to the theological, just as human reason undergirds and remains in harmony with faith. We will bring these notions and principles to light as operative in Tolkien’s writings. We will supplement this with Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings.

Fr. Isaac Morales (Theology)
3 Credits, CRN 1492 M/Th 10:00-11:15
Satisfies the Theology 300 requirement of the Core Curriculum.

World War I veteran. Oxford don. Poet. Literary critic. Christian apologist. Writer of children’s fiction. Perennial bachelor turned married man and, not long after, widower. In his sixty-five years on this earth, C. S. Lewis wore many hats. At the heart of his life, however, was the transformation that followed upon his conversion to the Christian faith in 1931. Having spent his life to that point looking for “something other than God” to make him happy, he devoted the rest of his life to offering a compelling and winsome vision of Christianity. This course will explore that vision, considering Lewis’s perspective on such questions as the existence of God, the natural law, virtue and the spiritual life, grief, and the nature of friendship, among others. Because Lewis was first and foremost a man of letters, attention will be paid to both his nonfiction and his fiction, including some of his poetry, sermons, and shorter essays.

Terence McGoldrick (Theology)
3 Credits, CRN 1561, T/Th 1:00-2:15
No prerequisites and open to all students.

This course will explore St. Francis de Sales, his theology, times and influence. St. Francis de Sales is a doctor of the Church and a spiritual master for those living in the world. He anticipated Vatican II’s universal call to holiness and offered a flexible spirituality available to all. His opposed severe ascetical practices, promoted a new vision of marriage, and moderated the militant catholicism of Seventeenth Century France during the charged political conflicts of his day. His theology of the love of God is in the tradition of Francis of Assisi, Bonaventure, and Dionysius, and he offers a new synthesis of the Church Fathers, especially Augustine, and responds to the challenges rocking the Early Modern Church. He is a leading Christian humanist, founder of the Visitation sisters with Jeanne de Chantal and inspiration of the post Trent Catholic Reform. 

Dana Dillon (Theology)
3 Credits, CRN 2933, M 2:30-5:00
Satisfies the Civic Engagement and Theology 300 requirements of the Core Curriculum.

This class will offer a close study of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Sí: Care for our Common Home (2015) as well as a close look at how Rhode Island is being impacted by climate change. Students will engage theological themes from Catholic social thought, including the common good, solidarity, and the duty of participation in caring for creation. Students will be asked to investigate local organizations, particularly Catholic ones, and research concrete proposals from them to implement Pope Francis’ vision for a more sustainable future.

James Keating (Theology and Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1556, T 4:00-6:30 (day/time adjustable depending on student schedules)
Prerequisites: HUM 175, HUM 325 or HUM 326; open to seniors only, or with special permission of the Director of the Humanities Program. Satisfies the Writing II Proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

This is the required interdisciplinary capstone seminar for the Catholic Humanities minor. Themes will vary depending on the instructor and topics chosen by the students. Students will complete a substantial writing project designed in consultation with the instructor and requiring integration of prior coursework. Satisfies the Writing II Proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

James Keating (Theology and Humanities)
3 Credits, CRN 1557, T 4:00-6:30 (day/time adjustable depending on student schedules)
Prerequisites: senior status or permission of the Director required; Catholic Studies majors must have completed at least seven courses towards the major. Satisfies the Writing II Proficiency of the Core Curriculum.

This is the required interdisciplinary capstone seminar for the Catholic Studies major. Themes will vary depending on the instructor and topics chosen by the students. Students will complete a substantial writing project designed in consultation with the instructor and requiring integration of prior coursework. Satisfies the Writing II Proficiency of the Core Curriculum.