Faculty Senate
Providence College

2003 – 2004

TITLE:  THL 442 Advanced Study of St. Thomas

RESOLVED:

That THL 442 Advanced Study of St. Thomas, be approved as a 1 semester, 3 credit course.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course offers an in-depth examination of the theological thought of St. Thomas. Specifically, we shall be focusing on Aquinas’ doctrine of Christ (Christology). As such, this course serves as an enrichment of any previous exposure the student has had to the thought of Aquinas, as well as to all other theology courses. This course also heeds the repeated recommendation of the Catholic Church that St. Thomas should serve as the guide in the study of sacred theology (see, e.g., Vatican Council II, Optatam totius, §16). The principal text of Aquinas that we shall be examining is the Christological section (the Tertia pars) of the Summa theologiae, though readings will also be pulled from the Summa contra gentiles and the commentary on John’s Gospel (Super Ioannem).

RATIONALE:

The mission of Providence College states that the College draws upon “the unique tradition of the Dominican Order” to cultivate “intellectual, spiritual, ethical and aesthetic values within the context of the Judaeo-Christian heritage.” Since St. Thomas marks an outstanding example of the way in which the Dominican tradition accomplishes this, examining Aquinas’ thought clearly enhances the mission of the College. It also fulfills the mission of the Theology Department, which, rooting itself in the same unique Dominican tradition, teaches theology “principally but not exclusively in the Thomistic tradition.” That there is the need for an advanced study of St. Thomas is seen in the fact that the Department currently teaches only one introductory course explicitly devoted to the thought of Aquinas (THL 240 Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas). This shows the need for a bona fide upper-level theology course devoted to building upon and deepening any previous exposure to the thought of Aquinas (whether in THL 240, in any lower-level theology course, in DWC, or in a philosophy course). Several students have approached certain faculty members in the department in the past to express a desire to pursue a study of Aquinas beyond the introductory level. The aim of the course would be to offer an in-depth analysis of a particular theme(s) in the theological thought of St. Thomas. With the establishment of a THL 240 and THL 442 tandem, then, there would be a theology sequence that would mirror the current philosophy sequence of PHL 200 (Introduction to the Philosophy of St. Thomas, which “introduces students to basic principles and themes required for further study in Thomistic philosophy and theology”) and PHL 330 (The Wisdom of Aquinas).

In terms of faculty resources for this course, the theology department is easily equipped to offer such a course as presently constituted. Present faculty members who have expressed an interest in teaching such a course and would be qualified to do so are Dr. Paul Gondreau, Dr. Gary Culpepper, Fr. Elias Henritzy, and Dr. Robert Barry. This doesn’t exhaust the list of faculty members who could teach this course and who would possibly be interested in teaching it. The course would be offered either once every two semesters or once every three semesters.

In its department meeting of January 22, 2004, the theology department unanimously voted (13-0) to include THL 442 Advanced Study of St. Thomas in its curriculum.

SYLLABUS:

Click here for attached syllabus.