Theological Explorations

These courses each include four key elements:

• An introduction to theology as an academic discipline.
• An examination of some of the theological beliefs that have shaped Christian understandings of the divine, especially in the Catholic Jesuit theological tradition, and a consideration of their implications for life today.
• An exploration of a key issue, person, or text that has had a formative role in shaping this theological tradition.
• An opportunity for students to reflect on their own spiritual life and become more thoughtful and articulate in expressing their own spiritual values.

Sample Sections

Ignatian Spirituality

Faculty: Luke Lavin

This course will introduce students to some of the primary characteristics of Ignatian spirituality and the ways in which this spiritual heritage has shaped the approach of Jesuits and others to education, the arts, issues of social justice, and interreligious dialogue.

Technology and Human Identity

Faculty: Sara-Jo Swiatek

In an age of rapid technological change, this class provides a space for students to wrestle with the profound impacts of innovation on human identity, values, and relationships. Drawing from traditional and contemporary resources in theological anthropology, we will investigate the role of technology in human life and push ourselves to articulate what kind of futures we truly hope for.

Black Lives Matter and MLK

Faculty: Osagyefo Sekou

Through the lens of Ferguson Uprising, this course argues that BLM is a rejection of the popular myth of King and the Civil Rights movement and an extension of the tradition of Black Liberation Theology. A careful re-reading of Martin Luther King offers both a corrective to a mythological narrative and sets the stage for critical assessment of a contemporary social movements and theological reflection. Both BLM and MLK will be viewed through the work of womanist and Black Liberation Theology.