Catholic Studies
Director: (Acting) Daniel C. MacLeod
Program Office: 118 St. Paul’s College
Telephone: 204 474 9165
E-mail: catholic@umanitoba.ca
Website: umanitoba.ca/catholic_studies
Program Information
The historical relationships and ongoing encounters that the members of the Roman Catholic Church have had with disciplines such as history, the arts and sciences, as well as human thought comprise the framework around which the Catholic Studies program is formed. It seeks to explore the Catholic tradition in ways that do justice to its full contributions and challenges as a historical and contemporary phenomenon.
For entry, continuation and graduation requirements for the General Degree, Advanced Degree and Honours Degree, see: Basic Faculty Regulations for the B.A. General, Advanced and Honours Degree Programs.
Minor Program
For entry to the Minor (Concentration), the prerequisite is a grade of “C” or better in CATH 1190 and a grade of “C” or better in at least three credit hours from the List of Approved Courses in Catholic Studies.
Programs
| Degree/Diploma | Years to Completion | Total Credit Hours | Has Co-op Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree/Diploma Catholic Studies, Minor (Concentration) | Total Credit Hours 18 | Has Co-op Option no |
Courses
Catholic Studies
An initiation into diversity, richness, and significance of Roman Catholicism in its many different forms and expressions, seeking to highlight the resources and techniques available for pursing an interdisciplinary study of Catholicism as a field of intellectual inquiry.
Attributes: Humanities, Written English Requirement
The subject matter of this course will vary from year to year, but it will deal with a special topic of current interest in the interdisciplinary program in Catholic Studies. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190] or written consent of program coordinator.
Mutually Exclusive: CATH 2700
Attributes: Humanities
The course will focus on the portrayals of Catholic Culture in literature of the 20th Century prior to Vatican II Council. Students will also study the formal features of poetry, drama, and prose focusing on the Catholic Tradition.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190 or ENGL 1200 or ENGL 1201 or ENGL 1300 or ENGL 1301] or [ENGL 1400 (the former ENGL 1310) and ENGL 1340] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities, Written English Requirement
The course will focus on the portrayals of Catholic Culture in literature of the 20th and 21st Century following Vatican II Council. Students will also study the formal features of poetry, drama, and prose involving the Catholic Tradition.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [ENGL 1200 or ENGL 1201 or ENGL 1300 or ENGL 1301] or [ENGL 1400 (the former ENGL 1310) and ENGL 1340] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities, Written English Requirement
Offered as part of the Summer Session, this course consists of on-campus study followed by travel to major sites and museums.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: none, but CATH 1190 is recommended.
Attributes: Humanities
This course explores the Catholic Church's understanding of sexual expression with a focus on topics such as reciprocity and performance, fidelity, romantic love, sexual identities, and intimacy with special attention given to the works of Pope John Paul II and other contemporary Catholic thinkers. Students may not hold credit for both CATH 2200 and CATH 2000 when titled "Catholicism and Sexual Expression."
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities
The Society of Jesus (the Jesuit order) has aroused admiration and respect as well as fear and suspicion throughout its eventful history. The Jesuits have left an indelible mark on the Catholic Church as well as the modern world itself in their roles as explorers, intellectuals, artists, scientists, and teachers. This course focuses on Jesuit contributions to science, education, the fine arts, politics, and social reform since the order's foundation in 1534. Students may not hold credit for both CATH 2300 and CATH 2000 when titled "The Jesuits: Their Legacy and Influence."
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities
This course will explore the Roman Catholic notion of sanctity as it developed over the course of history. From martyr to mystic and ascetic to activist, variations of holiness will be examined in relation to the regions, periods, and interests that shaped them. It provides both a chronological and an interdisciplinary overview of sanctity from the New Testament to the present with a special focus on the lives of the saints, relics, shrines, and canonization treatises.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities
A survey of Catholic identity in Canada as it has shifted from the arrival of French missionaries in the 17th century until today. Emphasis will be placed on the roles that early Catholic immigrants from Europe played in the development of both the Church and the national character of Canada as well as how recent immigrants from South America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa continue to shape them.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities
The historical and contemporary fascination with holy places continues to permeate Catholic tradition. This course focuses on the identification and analysis of regions in which localized piety has either once existed or thrives today. It also places a strong emphasis on how the quest for sacred space remains a fundamental part of wider devotion within the Church.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities
A critical introduction into the Catholic Church’s historical and contemporary reactions to the supernatural with a focus on topics such as apparitions, levitation, ghosts and possession, mystical visions, Eucharistic miracles, bilocation, the occult, stigmata, as well as other unexplained religious phenomena. Students may not hold credit for both CATH 2700 and CATH 2000 when titled "Catholicism and the Paranormal."
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190] or written consent of instructor.
Mutually Exclusive: CATH 2000
Attributes: Humanities
This course examines the ways Catholicism and cinema have interacted both historically and artistically over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. By viewing and analyzing several films from various historical eras and cultural milieus, the course explores the artistic, religious, practical, and cultural concerns of Catholicism through the lens of commercial filmmaking, and gains an understanding of the popular perceptions of the Catholic faith, its structures, and its practitioners.
Attributes: Humanities
An introduction to Catholic social teaching with a dual focus on critical theory and praxis. Students will engage the Church's position on issues such as human dignity, solidarity with minority and oppressed populations, the common good, subsidiarity, rights and responsibilities, as well as the preferential option for the poor.
PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [CATH 1190 and an additional 3 credit hours of CATH courses] or written consent of instructor.
Attributes: Humanities