Lived Practice of Catholicism in the U.S.
(032:054) Instructor: Heather Hartel

 

Syllabus
 Policies & Requirements
Class Schedule
Assigned Weekly Readings

Assignments
Presentations
Book/Movie Review
Field Report
Final Paper

 

 

Weekly Readings

Readings will be from the required books and from the web sites listed below. Please check back here each week to remind yourself of the reading assignments that have been announced in class.

For Week 2: Here are the definitions of religion and methodology explanations I went over in Week 1's lecture.

Please browse the following websites for some of the groups I mentioned during Week 1.

Also please remember to think about when you want to do your first presentation as I need people to sign up for them this week as well. A place to start might be with the Catholic parishes in Iowa City.

For Week 3:

Here is an outline of Week 2's lecture.

In Thank you St. Jude Read pp ix-xxii (the Preface & Acknowledgements) & pp.1-118. You can use this guideline of questions to help you identify important things and prepare for discussion of the book.

And, you can look at the following related websites.

For Week 4:

Here is Week 3's lecture outline.

Please finish reading Thank you St. Jude, pp. 119-211. Here's a guideline to get you through those pages.

You can also browse through the following websites for Marian apparitions that I mentioned in class on the 3rd.

For Week 5

Here is an outline for Week 4's lecture.

Read the following pages from Open Mind Open Heart by Thomas Keating on the Centering Prayer website:

  1. What Contemplation is Not
  2. The Method of Centering Prayer
  3. The Sacred Word As Symbol
  4. The Ordinary Kinds of Thoughts
  5. Unloading of the Unconscious
  6. Effects of Contemplative Prayer

AND

Read 1-125 in New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. Keep in mind and work on this list of terms as you read.

For Week 6

Here is an outline for Week 5's lecture.

We are having a guest speaker on centering prayer this week, so please make sure you have read the selections above from the Centering Prayer website. Also you could glance through the following interviews with Thomas Keating for more information about the movement.

  1. http://www.livingrosaries.org/interview.htm, info about the method of centering prayer
  2. http://www.soultospirit.com/teachers/interviews/keating1.asp, some info on chastity and other vows

AND

Continue reading in New Seeds of Contemplation. Please try to get to at least page 220 as this will help your understanding of centering prayer.

For Week 7

Please finish reading New Seeds of Contemplation. I updated the list of terms a bit.

Please read the following online texts.

I. From the Summa Theologia of St. Thomas Aquinas

Whether a religious order that is devoted to the contemplative life is more excellent than on that is given to the active life?

II. From the Rule of St. Benedict

III. From the New Catholic Encyclopedia

IV. On becoming a Carmelite

V. Discerning the call

VI. A day in the life of a sister

VII. A monks day

You can also browse the following sites:

http://www.vocations.com/

http://carmelnet.org/larkin/html/articles.htm

For Week 8

Remember to bring your books and notebook as we will be having an open book midterm.

In addition, if you'd like to, you can look at the following websites for the religious organizations we watched videos about.

For Week 10

Please review the following web pages and their links

1. Please take a look at the following online retreats

2. I will talk about Catholic Cursillo in class, but please look at these pages to see how the movement is interdenominational.

3. Also please read Cursillo FAQs for descriptions of renewal movements that have been derived from Cursillo.

4.Finally, please read the following FAQs and articles on the Catholic Charismatic movement.

For Week 11

1. Here is an outline of Week 10's lecture.

2. Make sure you take a look at Debate on the Catholic Charismatic Movement

3. Start the Berrigan book, Fighting the Lamb's War. Read 1-25, 1-50 or 1-100.

For Week 12

1. Here is an outline of Week 11's lecture

2. Please read 1-114 in the Berrigan book.

4. You could also look at Umbert, the Unborn, a Catholic pro-life comic strip

3. Please email me regarding your projects.

For Week 13

1. Final paper proposals and preliminary bibliographies are next week. Please type up a brief informal paragraph describing your final project and provide a list of sources. You can hand this in electronically before class or on paper in class. See the paper assignment sheet for further details on expectations.

2. If you have not already done so, please email me regarding your 1) book or movie review 2) your field report and interview. If you do not have an email from me acknowledging your ideas, I have not recorded that you have sent me your ideas.

3. Please finish reading the Berrigan book.

3. Here is an outline of Week 12's lecture.

For Week 14-16

1. Check the presentation #2 schedule to see when you are presenting your final project. Please also review the presentation guidelines.

2. Here's an outline of Week 13's lecture.