Erasmus Core Courses

Humanities I—The Ancient World:

Ancient Literature, Politics, and Philosophy 6 credits / clock hours

Pre-classical civilization: Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Hebraic tradition:

the figure of the priest, prophet, and king. The foundations of

Western civilization in ancient Greece and Rome. The nature of the

hero. Emphasis on Homer, the Old Testament, Herodotus.

 

Humanities II—The Ancient World:

Ancient Literature, Philosophy, and Politics 6 credits / clock hours

A continuation of Humanities I. The nature of tragic action and the

flowering of philosophic discourse. Emphasis on writings of Aeschylus,

Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides.

 

Humanities III—Rome and the Early Middle Ages:

Early Medieval Theology and Literature 6 credits / clock hours

The foundation and history of Rome followed by the rise of Christian

culture after the fall of Rome. Includes such topics as the political

and religious transformation dramatized in the Roman persecution,

the origin of Christian hospitality, the rise of monastic culture,

the Gnostic movements. The new understanding of personality

which results from the revelation of the mystery of the Trinity. Vergil,

Roman historians, the New Testament, Patristics, Augustine’s

Confessions, The City of God, the Rule of St. Benedict, Beowulf.

 

Humanities IV—The High Middle Ages:

Medieval Philosophy, Medieval Literature 6 credits / clock hours

A study of the flowering of Christian culture in a transformed

Western civilization. A consideration of the code of courtesy inherited

from the Middle Ages. A study of the Christian hero. Emphasis

on the scholastic philosophic tradition. Authors read include

Bonaventure, Duns Scotus, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Chaucer.

 

Humanities V—The Renaissance and Reformation:

Renaissance Philosophy, Renaissance Literature 6 credits / clock hours

A study of the cultural transition occurring at the breakup of the

medieval synthesis. The redefinition and reconsideration of the old

universals occasioned by the crisis of the Protestant Reformation and

by the scientific revolution. Emphasis on writings of Machiavelli,

Thomas More, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Calvin, Luther.

 

Humanities VI—Early Modern Studies:

Modern Philosophy, Literature, Politics 6 credits / clock hours

The modern age characterized by heightened self-consciousness.

Modern epistemology. The use of point-of-view in the novel. The

question of what has happened to the hero. Writings of Cervantes,

Descartes; Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau; Pascal, Flaubert, Melville,

Dostoevsky, Conrad, and others.

 

Humanities VII—American Studies:

American Politics, American Literature 6 credits / clock hours

Study of the symbolic form of America, with emphasis on its founding.

The nature of liberty, the place of equality. The Constitution,

the Federalist Papers, writings of Hawthorne, Twain, Faulkner, and

others.

 

Humanities VIII—The Late- and Post-Modern Era:

Contemporary Philosophy, 20th Century Literature 6 credits / clock hours

The contemporary and post-modern world. The post-modern recognition

of modernity. Includes Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, Heidegger,

Guardini, von Balthasar, Henry James, Joyce, Hemingway, Vatican

Council II.

 

Writing Workshop I, II, III, IV 3 credits / clock hours (each of four semesters)

An introduction to the nature of language. Necessary to all

disciplines, the course includes a study of figures in language

(such as symbol, myth, and allegory) as well as practice in writing.

It is always offered in conjunction with the Humanities course of

the semester, permitting freshmen and sophomores to become

familiar, in word and in writing, with the vocabulary necessary for

engaging in the discourse of the intellectual life. The workshop is

offered with the understanding that knowledge cannot be separated

from language, nor can language be separated from the reality

it expresses. Therefore, the students write and often deliver

papers on topics taken from the Humanities course. Class time is

used to discuss substantive topics. Where necessary, technical

help is given to students in careful editing of papers and in individual

meetings with the professor.

 

Theology I—Christology and Ecclesiology 3 credits / clock hours

Person and work of the Redeemer, studied through inquiry into

Scripture and Tradition. A study of grace, the sacraments, and the

nature of the Church. The course focuses directly on the theological

implications of studies already made in the Humanities courses.

 

Theology II—Sacraments 3 credits / clock hours

Continuation of Theology I.

 

Fine Arts—The Art and Architecture of Rome 3 credits / clock hours

A study of culture and civilization as revealed in the visual arts

(painting, sculpture, and architecture), especially as embodied in the

city of Rome.

 

Introductory Latin I and II 3 credits / clock hours (each semester)

Latin grammar and syntax, with some emphasis on the historical

background of the language and the principles of word-formation.

Reading of simple texts.

 

Intermediate Latin 3 credits / clock hours (each of 2 semesters)

Selected reading in Latin literature. Grammar review and study

of more advanced syntactical structure.

 

Introductory Greek I and II 3 credits / clock hours (each semester)

Essentials of Greek language structure (classical and koine).

Reading of passages from classical prose writers and the New

Testament. Some emphasis on the historical background of the language.

 

Intermediate Greek 3 credits / clock hours (each of 2 semesters)

Selected reading in Greek literature. Grammar review and study

of more advanced syntactical structure.

 

General Biology 3 credits / clock hours

Topics include basic chemistry, biological molecules, cell structure,

photosynthesis, respiration, genetics, DNA and RNA structure

and function, biotechnology, and evolution.

 

General Chemistry I 3 credits / clock hours

Basic topics include atomic structure, chemical bonding, solubility,

and the periodic table.

 

Mathematics I 3 credits / clock hours

Foundations of mathematics, including truth and validity,

strategies of proof, and axiomatic set theory.

 

Mathematics II 3 credits / clock hours

Exploration of basic mathematical structures, including groups,

rings, and fields, with applications in geometry and algebra.

 

Junior Project

A special study centered around the works of a major author

in the student’s chosen discipline. It culminates in an oral examination

before a faculty panel. Students must demonstrate sufficient

breadth of research and depth of insight in their major discipline.

 

Senior Thesis 3 credits / clock hours

During the last year of study, the student presents a thesis and

a formal address on a topic chosen from the major discipline.

Seniors must also pass a comprehensive examination. These final

tasks offer the opportunity for further review and reflection upon

what has been learned and for contemplation of earlier courses in

the light of later studies.