Curriculum

The purpose of this course is to introduce the new students into the study of the humanities as a whole and the subjects offered in our program in particular, especially history, literature, art, music, and languages. The purpose and value of the humanities will be transmitted by means of general explanations along with concrete experiences in the various disciplines. While the course seeks to show the organic interrelatedness of the subjects and their integration into the overarching goal of integral formation and experiencing the various dimensions of the human heart, faculty members will be invited to present their subjects to exemplify this within the area of their expertise. Introducing principal concepts and objectives of the humanities will be complemented by explanations of available resources and methodology. The experiential character of the course is reflected in a variety of dynamics, such as lectures, discussions, exercises, and cultural visits. Taught by Fr. Andreas Kramarz LC and other invited faculty.

This course is designed as an introduction to the basic concepts of art history, and to its development from Antiquity up through the High Middle Ages. While the history of art will be presented in chronological progression, common underlying aesthetic and ideological principles are identified and reflected upon in order to evaluate and appreciate better the patrimony and the impact which the visual arts has exerted on man. In particular, for painting, sculpture, and architecture, the following periods are studied: Pre-History, Ancient Near East, Egypt, Crete, Mycenae, Greece, Rome, early Christianity, Byzantium, Pre-Romanesque, Romanesque and Gothic. Each period and artistic style is placed within the socio-cultural context of the epoch, emphasizing underlying ideas and beliefs. The most representative works of art from each period are presented along with references to primary texts about art and aesthetics. The course format will include both lecture and more in-depth discussion of a select few of the most representative artworks along with references to primary texts about art and aesthetics. This course will also emphasize, through reflection and discussion, historical artworks in relation to contemporary cultural issues as well as their potential for application as tools of apostolate. Guided visits to the following art museums will provide firsthand experience of the material covered in class: The Yale Art Gallery; The Museum of Russian Icons; The Worcester Art Museum; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.   Taught by Mrs. Louise Joyner. 

This course builds upon that covered in its prerequisite, Art History 1, as it continues the socio-historical presentation of painting, sculpture, and architecture during the Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, Rococo, and NeoClassical periods. The most representative works of art from each period are presented along with references to primary texts about art and aesthetics. The course format will include both lecture and more in-depth discussion of a select few of the most representative artists and their artworks. “Mock Virtual Tours” will offer an opportunity to simulate the experience of presenting a guided tour in the context of an art museum, a church or an artistic landmark. Guided visits to: The Boston Museum of Fine Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Frick Collection, New York; and The Hispanic Museum and Library, NY, will provide firsthand experience of the material covered in class. Taught by Mrs. Louise Joyner

This course, following upon prerequisites Art History 1 & 2, concludes the socio-historical survey of art history with a variety of modern and post-modern movements from the nineteenth and twentiethcenturies up to present-day contemporary art. Some of the key art historical movements that will be studied include: Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Expressionism, Futurism, Cubism, Surrealism, Pop Art, and Post-Modernism. The course format will include both lecture and more in-depth discussion of a select few of the most representative artists and their artworks. The leitmotif for the survey of modern art will be an emphasis on aesthetics, art theory and criticism, that is, an introductory overview of art historical methodologies and aesthetics, that is, the philosophy of beauty. As in the prerequisite art courses (Art History 1 and 2) this course will continue to emphasize, through reflection and discussion, the artworks in relation to contemporary cultural issues as well as their potential for application as tools of apostolate. “Mock exhibitions” will offer the opportunity to travel back in time through role playing the parts of artists and critics at various exhibitions and events from the late nineteenth century to the present. An architectural walking tour of New Haven and visits to the following art museums will provide firsthand experience of the theoretical principles and the historical overview provided through lecture and discussion covered in class: The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford; Museum of Modern Art, NY; and a walking architectural tour of New Haven. Taught by Mrs. Louise Joyner.

In this course, students read, analyze and discuss selected works from classical authors. The authors or themes treated are as follows: introduction to Greek Literature, Homer, Hesiod, Lyric Poets, Greek Tragedy, Lucretius, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Catullus, Early Medieval Epics (from Beowulf to the Nibelungenlied) Dante, Petrarch, Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Cervantes, the Spanish Golden Century, French Theater, Jonathan Swift. A weekly seminar period is dedicated to Virgil’s Aeneid, with students reading the entire work and preparing a presentation on a specific topic. A discussion of major themes and topics—such as literary devices, ideas and intuitions regarding human nature—follows each presentation. Taught by Dr. Baltazar López, with seminar groups directed by Fr. Miguel de la Torre LC and Fr. Louis Desclèves LC.

This course entails reading, analysis, and discussion of selected works from the 19^th Century. The authors or themes treated are as follows: Goethe, Romanticism in England, Spain, and Italy, Realism and later literary movements. For the seminar, students will go deeper into Dante and his Divine Comedy. They prepare different presentations throughout the semester with the help of various commentaries and under the modality suggested by each seminar director. Taught by Mr. Baltazar López, with seminar groups directed by Dr. Baltazar López and Fr. Francisco Sunderland LC.

This course entails the reading, analysis, and discussion of selected works from the 20th Century, such as Wilde, Kafka, Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Hesse, Hemingway, Tolkien, Lewis, García Márquez, Borges, Paz and others. The course also includes a seminar on Gabriel García Márquez, and another one, on Thomas Mann. Taught by Dr. Baltazar López, with seminar groups directed by Fr. Victor Jimenez LC, and Fr. Francisco Sunderland LC.

This course is the first part of a three-semester survey of the history of European art music from Greco-Roman antiquity to the 20th century. The course opens with a general, basic introduction to music theory, including consideration of music’s aesthetic and ethical dimensions. The course then begins the survey, covering topics and composers such as Mesomedes of Crete, Gregorian chant, the beginnings of polyphony in the Middle Ages, and liturgical and secular music of the Renaissance. Concerts and other special events will be part of the program. Taught by Dr. Charles Mercier.

This course is a continuation of Music History, covering 17^th and 18^th-century European art music, the Baroque and Classical periods. Included will be topics and composers such as Sweelinck, Pachelbel, Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven, the development of opera, Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, and sonata form. Concerts and other special events will be part of the program. Taught by Dr. Charles Mercier.

This course is a continuation of Music History, covering 19^th and 20^th century European art music, the Romantic and modern periods. Included will be topics and composers such as Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Wagner, Debussy, Schoenberg, Messiaen, and Glass, nationalism, atonality, and minimalism. Concerts and other special events will be part of the program. Taught by Dr. Charles Mercier.

In this course, the students will delve into the Spanish novel “El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. The main goal of the course is for the students to read the entire novel appreciating and highlighting both literary and human values. In addition, it is expected that the students will become aware of the cultural and historical context this work is framed in, the philosophical thought contained in it, and the momentous influence it has had for posterity.  Taught by Dr. Baltazar López.

This course will uncover the meanings of liturgical art and architecture, and by association, the Sacred Liturgy itself. Topics of study will include: Architectural Theology; the scriptural foundations of church architecture;  the classical tradition of architecture;  iconography as eschatological and Church architecture since the birth of modernism in the Twentieth Century and where we are now in the Age of the Church.  This seminar-style class will provide an opportunity for critical deep-dive analysis of examples of ecclesiastical architecture, and the liturgical art within, through discussion and debate; from the perspectives of several authors and in reference to ecclesiastical documents.  In particular, Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy by Denis McNamara, which is a foundational source book for studying, designing, building, and renovating Catholic churches, is intended to find the middle of the road between differing, and sometimes conflicting, theories of liturgical architecture that will be examined relative to one another.  The course will include guest speaker(s) whose profession deals with these questions and possible visit(s) to their studio/ office to better understand the process of design and restoration in the service of the Catholic Church and its liturgy.  Taught by Mrs. Louise Joyner.

This course will stress the connection between philosophy and literature; it will show how they intertwine, how one discipline draws from the other, and how the exchange between them is mutually enriching. At the same time, it is important to highlight and become aware of the distinctions between philosophy and literature and the different methods they employ to approach their respective objects, where there is a significant, if not total, overlap. The course will approach the lives and works of Plato, Aristotle, Lucretius, Virgil, Seneca, Dionysius, Boethius, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas Aquinas, Petrarch, Juana Inés de la Cruz, Spinoza, Pascal, Coleridge, Locke, Kant, Proust, Hegel, Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and others. Taught by Dr. Baltazar López.

This course will study composers, genres, and themes not represented in Music History I-III or ones that were represented but in greater depth. Topics may include Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical liturgical music, Catholic and Lutheran; opera and ballet; and English and American music. Taught by Dr. Charles Mercier.