Catholic Studies & Social Thought Minor

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The curriculum is divided into three areas of study: 1) History and Society; 2) Theology and Philosophy; 3) Culture and Aesthetics.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will:

present an accounting of major trends in Catholic social thought since Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical, Rerum Novarum (1891)
contextualize challenges to the fulfillment of Catholic social teaching through research on the manifold ways Catholic social action interfaces with modern and postmodern secular cultures
assess the justice missions and interests of the Church, and present proposals concerning advancement of those missions within morally and multiculturally complex worlds
account for some of the major intellectual, social, historical, and aesthetic perspectives developed in the ambit of Catholic culture
discuss the problematics of Catholic social teaching in a religious world characterized by ecumenical and interfaith differences, interreligious conflict, and violence

Minor Requirements (20 Units)

Required (4 Units)

THRS 220 - Catholic Social Thought

Electives (16 Units)

Ordinarily, students will complete one course in each area of study.

This area coverage requirement may be waived by the student’s Capstone adviser, in consultation with the program director, where students show interest and capacity for profitable research on a particular theme with an eye to the Capstone.

In preparing for the Capstone, the student selects an elective course that will be the “wrapper” for her/his Capstone project.

Area 1: History and Society

Area 3: Culture and Aesthetics

The Capstone

All students must complete a Capstone course (4 units), including a Capstone thesis project.