Course of Study

Core Courses

All students will take the following two courses. All courses will be taught in English.

Capstone: Intellectual Tradition and Spiritual Renaissance in Rome: Aquinas at the Crossroads of the Medieval Mind — Fr. John Corbett, O.P. (Professor Emeritus, Dominican House of Studies)

This course is an intensive introduction to the ancient and medieval intellectual and spiritual traditions that come together in medieval Rome. It will focus on a number of key primary source documents, including texts from the ancient world, Jewish and Christian sources, medieval theology and philosophy, and Thomas Aquinas, with a special interest in the reception of these traditions in Aquinas and other medieval Roman figures. Engagement with these primary texts will be supplemented by relevant secondary literature. Study of these documents will 1) give the student a sense of the history, depth, and development of the Roman intellectual and cultural tradition; 2) engage the student with a series of fundamental questions (What is the human person? What is the city? What is the good life? What is nature? What and who is God?); 3) and introduce the students to Thomas Aquinas, his texts, and his sources, familiarizing them with the key themes in his thought and overarching synthesis of the Christian intellectual tradition that he attempted to articulate. The course lectures will be supplemented by in-person visits of important sites in Rome led by the instructor.

God in Ancient and Medieval Metaphysics — Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P. (Rector Magnificus, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas)

This course offers an introduction to the ancient and medieval explanations of and research into the existence of God, the divine nature, and divine attributes, drawing on Hellenistic, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic sources.  It also investigates how medieval theologians sought to reconcile philosophical truths about God with distinctively theological claims of the Christian tradition.  This study is conducted in conversation with the contemporary analytic philosophy of religion.

Electives

Students must select at least 1 additional course, and as many as 5, from the following:

Ethics, Virtue, and Happiness: From Cicero to Aquinas to Today — Fr. Wojciech Giertych, O.P. (Theologian of the Papal Household, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas)

This course provides an introduction to ancient, patristic, and medieval accounts of morality and the search for happiness, including the account of human action and moral virtue offered by Thomas Aquinas.  It also explores how these basic principles remain of perennial relevance for contemporary questions in philosophical ethics and Christian modes of moral inquiry. 

Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperance — Sr. Catherine Joseph Droste, O.P. (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas)

After an introductory examination of the historical foundations of the doctrine of the cardinal virtues in ancient and patristic sources, this course studies the virtues of prudence, fortitude, and temperance 1) individually; 2) in the context of their relationship to other virtues; 3) in their practical bearing on a life in search of lasting happiness.

Elements of Metaphysics — Fr. Dominic Holtz, O.P. (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas)

This course is a philosophical introduction to the fundamental elements of ancient and medieval metaphysics.  Special focus will be given to the texts of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. 

The Sciences and Philosophy — Fr. Thomas Davenport, O.P. (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas; Ph.D. (Physics) Stanford University)

This course explains the harmony which should exist between the vision proper to philosophy (with special attention to the conceptions of the philosophy of nature of Aristotle and Aquinas) and each experimental science. It will offer an epistemological framework needed to link science and philosophy with regard to their autonomy and specificity. Our study will include the development of classical science, the scientific revolution and post-Newtonian thinking with reference to Hume, his criticism of causal necessity and the Kantian response. Particular focus will be devoted to the development and nature of the scientific method (moving from a modern deterministic approach to the current approach which allows for indeterminism). The course will conclude with a philosophical reflection on scientific methodology.

History of Medieval Philosophy — Fr. Philip Neri Reese, O.P.

This course offers a survey of medieval philosophy, where ‘medieval’ corresponds roughly to what John Marenbon calls ‘the long middle ages’—i.e., 100 to 1700 AD. More particularly, we will cover Patristic philosophy (100-750 AD), Byzantine philosophy (750-1450 AD), Judeo-Islamic philosophy (750-1650 AD), and Latin Christian philosophy (750-1650 AD). Special attention will be given to the 13th and 14th century figures who gave rise to the viae of later scholasticism—i.e., Albert the Great (Albertism), Thomas Aquinas (Thomism), John Duns Scotus (Scotism), and William of Ockham (Nominalism). In addition to this general survey, the course will also provide students ample experience in reading primary sources. We will read these primary texts in their entirety and discuss them in-depth.

European Art, Politics, and Religion: Medieval to Renaissance — Fr. Raymund Snyder, O.P. (Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas)

This course introduces students to the art, politics, and religion of Europe, with a special focus on Rome and the Italian peninsula, from the rise of Christianity in late antiquity to the beginning of the Renaissance. It does so by examining important historical developments (e.g., the decline of institutional pagan religion and the rise of Christianity, the emergence of the medieval university, the transmission of Plato and Aristotle to the Latin West, the rise of the mendicant orders), key historical figures (including Plotinus, Augustine, Boethius, Benedict of Nursia, Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Catherine of Siena), and important works of art and architecture (e.g., leading examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture; the poetry of Dante; the paintings of Giotto, Cimabue, and Fra Angelico). The course aims to teach students how to engage critically with primary texts, and how to offer a “reading” of a work of medieval art by situating it within its stylistic context and introducing any relevant historical, political, philosophical, and theological dimensions.

Supplemental Italian Language Course

An introductory course to contemporary Italian.

**With the exception of the tentative 2025 academic calendar, the information above is for your reference and applies to the Spring 2024 session.

Detailed Schedule of Course Offerings - Spring 2024

For further details on course requirements, click here.