2020-2021 Undergraduate Academic Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Course Descriptions
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Theology |
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TH 310 - Ethics: Peace Ethics (3.00 cr.)
Concentrates on the theological roots of religious efforts to contribute to peace between and within individuals, nations, and religions. The course surveys the three most important models for thinking about conflict (holy war, just war, and pacifism) in the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It also analyzes the contribution of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century, along with other contemporary peace initiatives and their theological backgrounds.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IPJ
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TH 312 - Christian Environmental Ethics (3.00 cr.)
How are human beings to value non-human creation? Possible answers are considered to this question by drawing on both Christian theological/ethical sources and contemporary environmental science. The focus is especially on: 1) how to construct an environmental ethic in light of the constant flux of nature; 2) the relationship between ecological justice and social justice; and 3) the relationship between the global economy and the biosphere.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Interdisciplinary Studies: GT/IES
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TH 314 - Disability and Trauma in the Christian Tradition (3.00 cr.)
The body is a nexus of social, medical, and religious ideas. This course looks at how the Christian tradition, both in theology and practice, has engaged issues of disability. Specifically, the course examines disability in the Bible, medieval western Europe, and modern disability and trauma theologies.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IPJ
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TH 316 - Ethics: Catholic Spiritual Life in the United States (3.00 cr.)
Spirituality is understood in its functional connotation, as referring to the world of the American Catholic Church in its social, ethnographic, geographical, and even political and economic dimensions and ramifications as they related to formal ecclesiastical life, sacramental practice, ritual activity, contemporary theologies, popular piety-common and persistent beliefs and practices, the line where religion shadows off into superstitions, attitudes toward death, conceptions of hell and visions of the afterlife, parish life, and regional contrasts among different parts of America. Accents what it was like to be an ordinary Catholic in diverse places at various points in American history.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IU
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TH 318 - Bioethics and Social Justice (3.00 cr.)
Applies a social justice lens to ethical issues in biomedical research, healthcare policy, and medical practice. It covers the history and principles of bioethics, theological sources and perspectives, and case studies ranging from Henrietta Lacks to the modern COVID crisis.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Varies
Years Typically Offered: Varies
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TH 322 - Christianity and Its Critics (3.00 cr.)
Beginning with the earliest followers of Jesus, Christianity has responded to criticism from those outside the faith and from dissenters within. This course investigates historical, theological, political, sociocultural, and philosophical problems related to Christianity and asks students to evaluate ancient and modern critiques of Christianity and judge the adequacy of Christianity's response.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 326 - Ignatius Loyola and the Spiritual Exercises (3.00 cr.)
A series of meditations on the life of Christ and God's grace in our daily lives, the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola are the foundation of Jesuit spirituality. This class is a close reading of the entire text in light of key theological concepts such as sin, grace, vocation, and redemption.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 329 - Medieval Women Authors (3.00 cr.)
An exploration of the social setting and theologies of medieval women authors, including such figures as Catherine of Siena and Julian of Norwich.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IG/IM
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TH 331 - Finding God in All Things: Spirituality and Prayer in the Christian Tradition (3.00 cr.)
How do we find God? How does God find us? Introduces students to a wealth of prayerful practices, from the traditional to the innovative (e.g., "Jesuit breadmaking"). Classic and contemporary texts, media, and practical exercises. No prior experience in prayer or spiritual practice is presumed.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 335 - An Introduction to the Theology of Saint Augustine (3.00 cr.)
Studies the life and writings of the great fifth-century bishop and theologian, Augustine of Hippo. Topics include grace, free will, scripture, and the role of civil authority. Same course as CL 335 .
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IM
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TH 338 - The Theology of Thomas Aquinas (3.00 cr.)
Thomas Aquinas was a major medieval theologian who remains as controversial in the twentieth century as he was in the thirteenth century. Studies Aquinas' life and social context, his exegesis of Scripture, and selections from his major theological works. Focuses on how Aquinas might be a resource for responding to contemporary theological, philosophical, and political questions.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IM
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TH 340 - Biblical Hebrew I (3.00 cr.)
An enriched beginning course emphasizing grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. Intended for students with no previous knowledge of the language. Same course as CL 340 .
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 341 - Biblical Hebrew II (3.00 cr.)
A continuation of TH 340 .
Prerequisite: TH 340 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 342 - Biblical Hebrew III (3.00 cr.)
A continuation of TH 341 . Same course as CL 342 .
Prerequisite: TH 340 , TH 341 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 343 - Biblical Hebrew IV (3.00 cr.)
A continuation of TH 342 . Same course as CL 343 .
Prerequisite: TH 342 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 344 - Biblical Hebrew Exegesis: Special Topics (3.00 cr.)
Exegesis of various biblical texts, both narrative and poetry, in Hebrew. Topic announced each time the course is offered.
Prerequisite: TH 343 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Spring
Years Typically Offered: Odd Years
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TH 345 - Psalms (3.00 cr.)
Provides a close examination of the book of Psalms. Students focus on reading individual psalms with attention to historical context, cultic significance and genre, key images, and theological themes. Additional issues include the compilation and structure of the Psalter, the relationship between the psalms and other biblical traditions including the use of psalms in the New Testament, and the use and significance of the psalms in Judeo-Christian faith and worship.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 347 - Jesus and the Gospels (3.00 cr.)
Students examine a variety of issues surrounding the portrayal of Jesus in the Gospels of the New Testament and in other early Christian writings. Same course as CL 347 .
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 348 - Wrestling with the Old Testament (3.00 cr.)
Engages a number of the problems readers confront when reading the Old Testament as Scripture. Explores interpretive approaches that help make sense of these texts and allow them to speak as a word of God for today. Topics examined include ethical lapses on the part of biblical saints; God's representation as vengeful and punishing; violence; exclusion; and discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, and disability.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Varies
Years Typically Offered: Varies
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 350 - Prophets and Peacemakers (3.00 cr.)
The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) contains stories about prophets as well as texts attributed to these prophets. This course examines both. In addition, students study prophetic activity from a sociological/cross-cultural perspective, examine New Testament reinterpretations of prophetic texts, and explore the possibility of modern prophets and modern applications of ancient prophetic texts.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IPJ
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TH 351 - New Testament Survey (3.00 cr.)
Students are introduced to the text of the New Testament, as well as a variety of historical concerns related to Second Temple Judaism and the Greco-Roman worlds in which the story of the New Testament is set and from which its text emerges.
Prerequisite: TH 201 and one additional TH 200-level course.
Restrictions: Restricted to junior or senior theology majors.
Sessions Typically Offered: Spring
Years Typically Offered: Odd Years
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TH 352 - Old Testament Survey (3.00 cr.)
Students are introduced to the content of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament (the Torah, prophets, writings, and Deuterocanonical books) and to the history of its interpretation, including scholarly approaches since the rise of historical criticism. Also includes study of the history of ancient Israel.
Prerequisite: TH 201 and one additional TH 200-level course.
Restrictions: Restricted to junior or senior theology majors.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall
Years Typically Offered: Even Years
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TH 361 - Philosophical and Theological Metaphysics (3.00 cr.)
Explores the history of and contemporary disputes over metaphysics in philosophy and theology. What is the nature and task of metaphysics? Why do some philosophers and theologians think metaphysics is essential to doing good philosophy and theology? Why do others disagree? What do these questions have to do with the rest of life, and God? Same course as PL 374 .
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 362 - Hope, Death, and the End of the World (3.00 cr.)
This seminar studies the partly overlapping and partly opposed claims about the endtime among Catholics and Protestants, Christians and Jews, members of other religions, and unbelievers. Will everyone be saved, or will some go to heaven and some to hell? What do Christians mean when they confess that Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead or that they look forward to the resurrection of the body and eternal life? Why have Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants disagreed over purgatory and prayers for the dead? What end does God intend for the world, and how can this end justify hope in a world so deeply wounded by our own indifference and despair, wars, and deaths? Traditional and contemporary books on these issues are read; students, as individuals and a group, develop their own answers to these questions as they learn the answers of others.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 365 - Theology and Art (3.00 cr.)
What is beauty? What does it mean to be a beautiful person? Can there be an image of a beautiful God? What does the vision of the crucified Christ mean for our conceptions of what beauty is? These and other questions are examined through study of both written discussions of beauty and art and artistic objects in the Christian tradition. Texts include writings on beauty from Saint Augustine and medieval authors; writings from the iconoclastic controversy; writings concerning the Christian appropriation of non-Christian images; and John Paul II's Letter to Artists. Includes museum visits.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IM
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TH 366 - Catholic Theology in Modernity (3.00 cr.)
For the past two centuries Catholic theology had engaged in a debate over the relationship between traditional Catholic and specifically modern practices and teachings. The goal of this course is to study this debate, learning to assess the positions of its major participants. Readings center on the First and Second Vatican Councils, as well as the writings of significant Catholic theologians from the twentieth century.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 367 - Vatican II and the Postconciliar World (3.00 cr.)
The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was a meeting of Catholic bishops and theologians to reform and renew the Catholic Church, including the Church's relationship to the modern world, other Christians, and other religions. This course examines the Council's documents and their impact on Catholics and others today.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 370 - Liberation Theology: Roots, Branches, and Critiques (3.00 cr.)
Liberation theology emerged as one of the most important theological movements of the twentieth century. From its beginning, this movement has focused especially on explicating what it means to follow Jesus in a world marked by staggering poverty and structural injustice. Students examine the social and ecclesial contexts out of which liberation theology was born; consider closely several seminal liberationist texts; analyze various critiques of liberation theology; and consider the present and future of the movement.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: GT/IC/IL/IPJ
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TH 371 - The Resurrection (3.00 cr.)
The Resurrection of Christ is central to the message of the Gospel. But what does the Resurrection of Christ mean for us? How do Christians understand what God has done for the world in and through this pivotal moment in history? What type of claims does the Resurrection make on followers of Christ with regard to how they should live their lives? This course explores these questions through engagements with the biblical accounts of the Resurrection and the thought of some of the most noteworthy Catholic theologians of the contemporary era.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 381 - Faith and Film: The Apostle's Creed in the American Cinema (3.00 cr.)
Frank Capra, one of the truly great directors of cinema's first century, left us this testimony from the artist's viewpoint to the consequences of film's power: "Only the morally courageous are worthy of speaking to their fellow men for two hours in the dark. And only the artistically incorrupt will earn and keep the people's trust." The twofold purpose of this course is to analyze the meaning of the fundamental truths of the Christian faith and to explore the American cinema's capacity to convey those truths.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IF/IU
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TH 382 - The Theology of Dante's Divine Comedy (3.00 cr.)
Dante's Divine Comedy is widely regarded as one of the greatest literary works in the Western canon. But it is also a remarkable contribution to Catholic theology. This course surveys the Comedy's theology by attending to Dante's understanding of the nature of humanity and human language, sin and salvation, the relationship between justice and politics, and the possibility of knowledge of God. Special attention is given to some of the classical and medieval sources of Dante's theology.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: II/IM
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TH 383 - Encounters between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (3.00 cr.)
Discusses some of the most important theological topics in the encounters between adherents of the three "Abrahamic" religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with particular attention to how Jewish theology views the Christian and Islamic claims to Abrahamic parentage. Encounters examined include those in the Medieval and contemporary periods. Topics include dialogues and polemics about the nature and the properties of God; creation; the status and role of human beings; revelation and the Word of God; role and function of prophets; and the limits of human language about God.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 385 - The Theological and the Religious in International Cinema (3.00 cr.)
Going beyond a narrow evaluation of the morality of films or the mere recognition of their explicit religious subject matter, this course considers specifically religious or theological issues raised in non-American cinema. It also explores the theological implications of some international films that do not deal explicitly with religious issues, events, or even symbols. Finally, recurring theological and religious references are investigated, such as cinematic analogues of both redemption and damnation and figures of Christ and Satan.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC/IF
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TH 387 - International Catholic Literature in the Twentieth Century (3.00 cr.)
As the twentieth century comes to a close, perceptive readers of world literature are confronted with an amazing, some might even say bewildering, reality: a sizeable amount of this "secular" century's most significant and compelling literary works have been penned by confessing Catholic authors. Far from ignoring or even masking their beliefs, these writers go to great lengths to portray and dramatize them, frequently over or against the prevailing cultural and ethical theories, philosophies, and ideologies of the day. Stellar examples of such authors are Georges Bernanos, Paul Claudel, Shusaku Endo, Graham Greene, Flannery O'Connor, and Evelyn Waugh. Students examine outstanding literary attempts by these writers, and other less well-known Catholics, that deal with a wide variety of encounters between Catholic religious life and thought and contemporary culture.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 389 - Intentional Communities and Sustainability (3.00 cr.)
Includes study of intentional communities, monastic and non-monastic, and the role community plays in shaping sustainable practices in rural and urban settings. Involves travel to, and week-long participation in the work of Bethlehem Farm, Alderson, West Virginia, as well as several field trips in Baltimore.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 390 - What is Patience? (3.00 cr.)
This course doubts if patience is only waiting, watching, and worrying about time going by. Rather, as the Greeks proposed, patience has many connotations, uses, and requirements. Starting with the biblical books of Job and James, students consider why patience is fundamental to the Western tradition. Adding on Cyprian, Shakespeare, and Churchill, students progress through a series of readings about the conditions and causes that make our pursuit of patience a sign post of industry, a symbol of resistance, and a contract with ourselves and society.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 391 - Class and Poverty in Bible, Theology, and the Real World (3.00 cr.)
Assists students in understanding poverty from biblical, theological, and political perspectives. What did Jesus mean when he said "The poor will always be with you"? What causes poverty? How are we to treat "the poor"? This course engages these questions and examines contemporary social issues related to class, poverty, homelessness, and social justice in America today.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Varies
Years Typically Offered: Varies
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TH 393 - Theological Foundations of Social Justice (3.00 cr.)
Explores theological, philosophical, and ethical foundations for social justice with particular attention to Catholic social teachings and Catholic social ethics. Students learn the ethical and theological imperatives for justice, such as those found in the Gospels, and apply them toward the development of their personal, faith-based theo-ethic of justice.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Spring
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 395 - Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation: A Christian Theological Inquiry (3.00 cr.)
Explores the ways in which justice, peace, and the integrity of creation are interrelated, and examines the challenges that this poses for ethical action. Students examine the political ecology of the contemporary global context; explore sources of Christian revelation that can help to judge this context; and begin to consider how they might more fully commit their lives to social and environmental justice.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: GT/IES/IPJ
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TH 399 - Contemporary Catholic Intellectual Life (3.00 cr.)
A team-taught course exploring the wide spectrum of contemporary Catholic intellectual life, focusing on the areas of theology, philosophy, politics, and literature. Students seek to understand not only debates within those areas but also attempt to explore lines of continuity stretching across the different genres of thought. For instance, how are the debates in philosophy related to different approaches to literature? Or, how do different theological methods affect how one approaches politics? Examples of thinkers studied include Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Elizabeth Johnson, and David Tracy in theology; Edith Stein, Charles Taylor, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Jean-Luc Marion in philosophy; Dorothy Day, Gustavo Gutiérrez, and Richard John Neuhaus in politics; as well as Shusaku Endo, Flannery O'Connor, Mary Gordon, and Graham Greene in literature. The intersection of all four disciplines in the writing of Pope John Paul II is also considered.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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TH 400 - Senior Seminar (3.00 cr.)
Senior theology majors are introduced to contemporary debates in various areas of theology.
Prerequisite: TH 201 .
Restrictions: Restricted to majors or minors.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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TH 401 - Peace and Justice Studies Capstone (3.00 cr.)
Designed to integrate students' experiences in the Peace and Justice Studies minor, this course consists of a senior capstone project and other work selected by the instructor. Both the course and the capstone project seek to foster reflection, integration, and action. Required for peace and justice studies minors.
Restrictions: Restricted to senior peace and justice studies minors.
Sessions Typically Offered: Spring
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IPJ
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Writing |
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WR 100 - Effective Writing (3.00 cr.)
Introduces students to the discipline of writing in the university through the critical and creative study of the contemporary essay within a rhetorical framework. Students learn to conceive an original idea, develop implications of thought, use language effectively, and conduct inquiry (including basic library research). Students develop a full writing process-planning, drafting, revising based on critical feedback from peers and instructor, and editing. Provides a foundation for both faculty and students to build upon as students move across the curriculum. Required of all students.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 200 - Introduction to Creative Nonfiction (3.00 cr.)
A foundational course designed for students who wish to explore writing nonfiction. Students read and analyze a range of conventional and experimental texts and practice techniques of writing various forms of nonfiction. Students produce several works of nonfiction while cultivating skills that can be useful in literary, academic, and professional settings. Ideal elective for students who want to extend their ability to write well.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 220 - Introduction to Rhetoric (3.00 cr.)
Through close analysis and production of nonfiction prose, students develop an understanding and appreciation of how historical and contemporary writers employ various rhetorical strategies-first articulated by classical rhetoricians-to persuade a range of audiences. Special emphasis is given to the dynamic relationship between writer, audience, text, and social context. Ideal for students who wish to further develop skills essential in both academic, professional, and civic settings.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 230 - Introduction to Poetry and Fiction (3.00 cr.)
A foundational course designed for students who wish to pursue study in creative writing or those who simply wish to "try it out." Students read various examples of contemporary fiction and poetry to acquire a sense of context. They draft and revise original stories and poems in order to develop an appreciation of what it means to create literature in the modern world. A prerequisite for WR 300-level offerings in fiction, poetry, or playwriting.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 244 - Fundamentals of Film Studies (3.00 cr.)
An introduction to film technology and techniques, coupled with a survey of film history from the silent era through contemporary cinema. Students learn to identify the specific roles of the artists who collaborate to create a film. They also learn film history through an introduction to major directors (e.g., Griffith, Eisenstein, Renoir, Welles, Hitchcock, Kurosawa) and movements (e.g., German Expressionism, Italian neorealism, film noir, the French New Wave).
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IF
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WR 301 - Writing about Science (3.00 cr.)
Students practice techniques of writing nonfiction for the general public and engage in rhetorical analysis of the representation of science in popular discourse. Students read contemporary popular nonfiction that draws upon science and learn how writers use the art of prose to contribute to scientific literacy. A background in science is not required.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: FO/IES/IFS
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WR 302 - Wet Ink: Writing and Editing for Publication (3.00 cr.)
A survey of the history and growth of publication from the Gutenberg Press to electronic books. Study involves hands-on work with all elements of publishing and editing from a writer's perspective. The course culminates with students editing and producing an original chapbook of writing from work they have solicited.
Prerequisite: WR 100 , one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 303 - History of Genre (3.00 cr.)
Students learn about the history of a selected genre, such as the essay, short story, novel, or poem. Writing assignments may include textual analyses and academic essays, as well as multimedia projects like presentations, videos, websites, and blogs. Topic announced each time course is offered. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Prerequisite: WR 100 , one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 305 - Writing for the Web and Social Media (3.00 cr.)
Students learn about the conventions, theories, and ethics of online discourse and write for the Web using industry-standard technology. Assignments include research and writing in the Web's major genres: reviews, how-to articles, website design, and blogs. Students also build a website and compose an online portfolio to showcase their work. At the end of the semester, students deliver a presentation to refine public speaking skills.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 311 - Style (3.00 cr.)
Students learn how to recognize, discuss, and manipulate forms of discourse at the level of the word, the phrase, the clause, the sentence, the paragraph, and the whole text. In mastering a substantial vocabulary of classical stylistic devices, including figures of speech and tropes, students come to appreciate the link between linguistic form and audience effects. The stylistic skills that students acquire in this course can be adapted for a variety of public, creative, and professional situations.
Prerequisite: One WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 320 - Argumentation (3.00 cr.)
Students study the structure, role, and use of argument in everyday contexts, from personal conversations to political controversies. Newspaper editorials, feature articles, policy memos, open letters, courtroom speeches, and election debates are just a few examples of the argumentative genres that students analyze or compose. Students learn to identify and employ a range of argument types and to spot and respond to fallacies. Ideal for students interested in law, public service, and business.
Prerequisite: WR 100 and one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 322 - Gendered Rhetoric (3.00 cr.)
A study of the differences between historically privileged masculine and traditionally devalued feminine methods of communicating. Focuses on the effects of gender on language use in our culture. Students develop their abilities to recognize and then assume the stance most appropriate to subject and audience. Proceeds under the assumption that to become "bilingual" is to become more sophisticated as writers and more knowledgeable about issues of writing.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IG
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WR 323 - Writing Center Practice and Theory (3.00 cr.)
Prepares students to tutor in the Writing Center by addressing both practical and theoretical issues of one-to-one peer tutoring, such as consulting strategies, the role of grammar instruction, the role of computers, and record keeping. Students read current literature in the field, develop a sense of themselves as writers, role-play tutoring scenarios, observe tutors in the Writing Center, and tutor students (under supervision). By invitation only.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IPJ
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WR 324 - Speech Writing and Delivery (3.00 cr.)
Informed by classical rhetoric, students become skilled in the Jesuit tradition of eloquentia perfecta: clear thought delivered eloquently. Students, transforming theory into practice, have ample opportunity to practice speaking to inform, persuade, or commemorate. Subjects for speeches are drawn from political and social issues; the course also offers a business segment devoted to interviewing and communicating in the workplace. The class improves the chance of success in other courses that require oral presentations; it builds a confidence and ability to speak in groups and to a public audience that is a lifetime asset.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
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WR 325 - Professional Writing (3.00 cr.)
Prepares students interested in business, the humanities, and STEM fields for writing in the workplace. Using workplace technology, such as the Microsoft Office Suite, students produce memos, résumés, cover letters, reports, proposals, and presentations. These projects require students to consider the purpose, audience, and context of professional settings when writing on the job. Students also learn how to use text and visuals together in order to create clear and persuasive documents. For team projects, students collaborate with clients or community partners to develop experiential skills. At the end of the semester, students deliver a presentation to refine public speaking skills.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: FO/IFS
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WR 326 - Technical Writing (3.00 cr.)
Helps students interested in business, the humanities, and the STEM fields prepare for jobs that require technical writing. Using industry-standard technology, such as Adobe Creative Suite and social media, students produce standard workplace documents, as well as instructions and technical descriptions. Students learn about project management, workplace ethics, and basic research methods through usability testing and user experience (UX) projects. Students collaborate in teams with clients or community partners to develop high-impact, visually dynamic documents such as grant proposals, websites, and multimedia applications. At the end of the semester, students deliver a presentation to refine public speaking skills.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: FO/IFS
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WR 327 - Civic Literacy (3.00 cr.)
Students investigate the theoretical and experiential nature of literacy/literacies as a central form of civic action and social justice. Students collaborate with a local adult literacy program in Baltimore in a project-based service-learning model. By integrating theory (readings) and practice (service) through a variety of assignments such as essays, journals, advocacy pieces, and exams, this course challenges students to see literacy as multifaceted and to think critically about the links between literacy and choice, power, democracy, and freedom.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IPJ
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WR 333 - Writing Fiction (3.00 cr.)
Training in the art of the short story. Students write several short stories for the course, revising the best of them for their grades. Workshop discussions evaluate work in progress and completed stories. Readings from current writers.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 334 - Forms of Fiction (3.00 cr.)
A study in short fiction in its various forms, including ancient tales to nineteenth-century sketches and twenty-first-century microstories. Students gain the historical and critical context necessary for understanding such movements as realism, fabulism, and minimalism, examining the stories themselves to see how each genre is distinct. Writing activities afford students the opportunity to explore various stylistic elements of the short story.
Prerequisite: WR 230 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 335 - Advanced Fiction: The Short Story (3.00 cr.)
A continuation of intermediate fiction writing, on an advanced and individual level. Students write and revise two or more short stories of publishable quality. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: WR 333 or WR 334 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 340 - Writing Poetry (3.00 cr.)
A workshop course in writing poetry, emphasizing a range of subjects and types. Contemporary readings.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 341 - Poetic Forms (3.00 cr.)
A study of the ways poems are put together through the science of prosody and the less exact methods of free verse. Each system has its distinctive history, vocabulary, and seminal texts; the thesis is that, whether imposed or discovered, form can always be analyzed. Students read and write about the scholarship of the science, perform extensive scansions and explications of poems, and write their own poems in received, concocted, and ad hoc forms.
Prerequisite: WR 230 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 342 - Advanced Poetry (3.00 cr.)
A continuation of WR 340 or WR 341 on an advanced level. A workshop in writing poetry. Readings from current writers.
Prerequisite: WR 340 or WR 341 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 343 - Special Topics in Writing About Culture (3.00 cr.)
Music, food, art, sports, and gaming are among the possible topics students study and explore as they write a wide variety of genres on a single cultural topic. Topic is announced each time course is offered.
Prerequisite: WR 100 , one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 345 - Screenwriting for Film and Television (3.00 cr.)
Means and methods of narrative screenplay writing for motion pictures and television are explored. Included are analysis of the structure and dialogue of selected screenplays, exercises in writing and evaluating screenplays, and an investigation of how screenplays are marketed in today's media. Final project: a completed screenplay.
Prerequisite: WR 100 , one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IF
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WR 347 - Writing with Images (3.00 cr.)
Inspired by comics, graphic novels, advertisements, info-graphics, and more, students write a variety of image-enriched texts—from blog posts to posters—to learn how texts with images create powerful arguments.
Prerequisite: WR 100 , one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 348 - Writing about Music and Culture (3.00 cr.)
Students explore key genres in writing about popular music of the past century up to the present day. Readings include Greil Marcus on the American ballad tradition; Dorothy Marcic on gender issues in popular hits; Jim Cullen on Bruce Springsteen's relation to Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, and Woody Guthrie; and selections from annual volumes in the Best Music Writing series. Principal assignments include an extended essay/review, a cultural studies paper, and a memoir/essay connected to issues of music and culture; students choose the artist(s) or genre(s) that they focus on in their papers.
Prerequisite: WR 100 , one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 350 - Art of Prose: Selected Authors (3.00 cr.)
A study of the nonfiction prose of a single writer across multiple genres. Introduces students to the range and scope of a writer, as well as ways of analyzing a writer's style and the influence of sociocultural factors on a writer's career. Writing assignments may include analytical reading responses, imitations, original essays related to the writer's work, and written exams. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IU
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WR 351 - Art of the Essay: Women Writers (3.00 cr.)
What are American women essayists thinking and writing at this moment in history? This question is investigated through contemporary essays by writers who are women: writers whose work has been nourished and shaped by feminist theory and whose work crosses gender lines, age, and ethnicity; writers whose interests range beyond the domestic or personal sphere. The assigned reading provides models by which students may shape their own ideas and essays. Discussions explore how contemporary American women writers are creating a tradition of their own. The course offers a supportive environment for developing technique and exchanging ideas.
Prerequisite: WR 100 , one WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IG/IU
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WR 352 - Biography and Autobiography (3.00 cr.)
A study of the ways writers create a "self" and an "other" in language. Covers the range from private writing such as journals to more public forms of biography and autobiography and the imaginative use of those forms. Students read a broad sample of authors and types of writing and write three essays in which they experiment with those types.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 353 - The Contemporary Essay (3.00 cr.)
The essay is explored as a medium for contemporary thought. Students read and analyze the writing and reflections on writing of such essayists as Ellen Goodman, Tom Wolfe, Alice Walker, Barbara Tuchman, and Calvin Trillin, as well as other work that appears in current magazines, newspapers, and essay collections. Students keep journals, do research, and conduct interviews to produce a portfolio of their own potentially publishable formal and informal essays on issues of their choice.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 354 - Writing about the Environment (3.00 cr.)
To write about the environment is to cultivate an appreciation for one's place in regional, national, and global contexts. Students write in various genres as they learn what traditions inform contemporary environmental writing and explore the ways in which representations of nature influence the complex relationship between Americans and the environment. A background in science is not required.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IES/IPJ/IU
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WR 355 - Travel Writing (3.00 cr.)
Students explore the prose genre of travel writing. They read in the canon of contemporary and traditional travel literature-newspaper and magazine articles, short pieces, literary essays, and nonfiction books. Inspired and informed by their adventures in the here and now of either Baltimore or travel abroad, they write a weekly travel blog and two major essays. Concentrating on Baltimore or their host city, students also produce a research project ("My City Quest") that reflects on their experience and what it is like to live and study in another country, as well as on the culture, traditions, and people of their study abroad destination. Open to all majors as a general elective. Students can take the course when studying abroad or while residing on the Evergreen campus.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 356 - Writers in the Catholic Tradition: Selected Authors (3.00 cr.)
A study of one or more writers whose work is shaped by the Catholic tradition. Examining work with this common foundation introduces students to the ways that Catholic belief or background may influence a writer's concerns, techniques, or viewpoint. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IC
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WR 357 - Writing about Film (3.00 cr.)
Students produce a series of critical essays about film after viewing and analyzing works representing various periods and styles, including films by such influential figures as Hitchcock, Fellini, and Truffaut. Familiarizes students with film concepts, terms, and recent trends in film criticism and theory. They will explore in their writing questions relating to such matters as genre, audience, theme, and censorship.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IF
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WR 358 - Literary Reviewing (3.00 cr.)
Writing reviews is often a good way to "break into" publishing. Students learn reviewing styles of a wide range of publications and write reviews of contemporary poetry and fiction appropriate to several of those journals.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 378 - Thinking about Crime Fiction (3.00 cr.)
A team-taught, interdisciplinary course reflecting on a major cultural theme - the detective - closely tied to justice. Not only does the course help develop students' conceptual, writing, and rhetorical skills, but rather uniquely does so by focusing on a cultural object oftentimes exemplifying these very skills. Most fundamentally, the tight link between conceptual rigor and justice offered in the ideal of the detective is pondered. Same course as PL 378 .
Prerequisite: WR 100 and one additional WR 200-level course.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 385 - Special Topics in Creative Writing (3.00 cr.)
An in-depth study of an issue or emphasis within the general realms of fiction, poetry, or literary nonfiction. Topic announced each time course is offered. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 386 - Special Topics in Rhetoric (3.00 cr.)
Students use rhetorical theory to consider a selected area of study, such as gender, ethnicity, religion, current events, or the environment. Writing assignments may include rhetorical textual analyses and academic essays, as well as presentations, videos, websites, and blogs. Topic announced each time course is offered. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 387 - Special Topics in Professional Writing (3.00 cr.)
Students learn about and apply rhetorical theories to selected areas of study, such as grants and proposals, visual literacy, writing and technology, technical communication, usability research, and civic engagement. Writing assignments may include traditional genres, such as reports, letters, memorandums, job search documents, and presentations, but also multimedia presentations, videos, websites, and blogs. Topic announced each time course is offered. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
Prerequisite: WR 100 .
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 400 - Senior Seminar (3.00 cr.)
A reading survey of contemporary writers and trends in contemporary writing. Texts are novels, books of poems, and nonfiction prose written within the last 10 years and chosen to provoke discussion of what it means to be a writer today. Requirements may include reading journals, oral reports, issue papers that arise out of class discussion, and a culminating nonfiction prose project that takes advantage of the seminar itself and years of deepening study in core and majors courses. Required of all writing majors and writing minors.
Restrictions: Restricted to seniors.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 401 - Senior Portfolio (3.00 cr.)
An independent study designed for students who have taken introductory and advanced courses in a sequence in a specific genre. Students select and revise their best work to date and add new work to create a portfolio appropriate for admission to graduate school. Extensive reading is also required. Students meet at least once a week with their faculty sponsor. By invitation only. A recommended course for writing majors and minors considering graduate school in writing. To be taken as an elective, preferably during the fall semester of the senior year.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 402 - Writing Internship (3.00 cr.)
Students plan and apply for a supervised, semester-long internship in a professional workplace that involves writing, editing, teaching, publishing, copy editing, journalism, corporate communications, or other writing-intensive activities. Students are expected to work approximately 7-8 hours per week for a total of 150 hours. Emphasis on practical professional preparation and creation of a portfolio. Written or electronic permission of the internship coordinator or department chair. May be repeated once for degree credit. May not be used for core credit. Paid internships are usually ineligible for degree credit.
Restrictions: Restricted to junior or senior writing majors, interdisciplinary writing majors, or writing minors.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 403 - Writing Internship (1.00 cr.)
Students plan and apply for a supervised, semester-long internship in writing in a professional workplace that focuses on writing-related activities such as editing, teaching, publishing, copy editing, media writing, or corporate communications. Students must keep detailed records, complete online assignments, and meet with the internship coordinator while performing at least 50 hours of work at their chosen site. Emphasis on developing practical writing abilities including a portfolio. Written or electronic permission of the internship coordinator or department chair. Does not count toward the 120-credit graduation requirement. May be repeated for nondegree credit only. (Pass/Fail)
Restrictions: Restricted to junior or senior writing majors, interdisciplinary writing majors, or writing minors.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
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WR 496 - Environmental Studies Experience (3.00 cr.)
A capstone experience in the environmental and sustainability studies minor, in which a student arranges an internship, independent study, or research experience with a faculty sponsor to engage in an in-depth exploration of a topic associated with environmental or sustainability issues. Written or electronic permission of a sponsoring faculty member and the environmental and sustainability studies director. Generally completed during the senior year.
Sessions Typically Offered: Fall/Spring/Summer
Years Typically Offered: Annually
Interdisciplinary Studies: IES
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