Fulfills: Aesthetic and Performance

(3 semester hours)

An introduction to theological aesthetics querying the extent to which various aspects of Christian belief can and cannot be adequately apprehended through the senses. Engaging with a wide range of perspectives and artistic media, particular emphasis will be placed upon the history and significance of distinctively Christian works of art.

See https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-ways-knowing for more information.

Fulfills: Cultural & Linguistic

(3 semester hours)

Introduces students to the Latin language and its historical importance. As the official language of the Roman Catholic Church, students will learn various chants, prayers, and parts of the liturgy.

See https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-ways-knowing for more information.

Fulfills: Historical & Archival

(3 semester hours)

Provides a focused treatment of key events including the ecumenical councils, monasticism, Holy Roman empire, Crusades, East-West schism, inquisition, Reformation, Council of Trent, the effects of the French Revolution, rise of nationalism, Vatican II, and globalism. How might Catholic theology shape one’s view of history? Is history relevant to belief? How has the Catholic Church developed and adapted as a protagonist in history?

See https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-ways-knowing for more information.

Fulfills: Social & Global

(3 semester hours)

A survey of the teachings of Vatican I, Catholic social thought, Vatican II, Humanae Vitae, and recent papal encyclicals. This course explores the Catholic Church’s engagement with late modern global society and her response to contemporary challenges, thereby highlighting the Church’s perennial relevance.

See https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-ways-knowing for more information.

Fulfills: Experiential & Embodied

(3 semester hours)

Introduces students to the significance and variations of embodied engagements with the Christian mysteries. Drawing upon liturgical and sacramental theology students will consider, is the world a sacrament? Is there a distinctively Christian experience of God? What does it mean for the Eucharist to be “the source and summit of the Christian life?” Why do the Church Fathers refer to the liturgy as divine pedagogy? How do liturgy and the sacraments inform life outside of church?

See https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-ways-knowing for more information.

See https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-foundations and https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-ways-knowing for more information.

There are 5 core courses that will not be fulfilled through CPC.

FNDN 101 - The Liberal Arts Journey (1 semester hour)

Students engage in inquiry and discussion of concepts underpinning a Christian liberal arts education; explore TWU’s unique core curriculum and Student Learning Outcomes; practice strategies to confidently navigate their university journey; and develop an educational plan to guide their academic decision-making.

FNDN 102 - Human Flourishing (3 semester hours)

This course is organized around the theme of integrated personal wellbeing and human flourishing. Students will explore adaptive social, physical, spiritual and psychological strategies that promote human thriving. A strong emphasis will be placed upon positive and holistic strategies that fully develop and celebrate our being human as an integral part of divine creation. Students will construct a personal architecture of wellbeing that incorporates environmental and cultural factors.

FNDN 201 - Ideas that Inspire (3 semester hours)

A “big question” launches students into foundational inquiries from various disciplines and perspectives. The instructor provides an overview and background for each prompt and highlights the method of inquiry. Building on this, students work together with the guidance of the instructor to explore, discuss, and analyze documents, speeches, artifacts, performances, and arts (ancient through contemporary) that create an intersection of voices. Students develop their own conclusions on the answer to the central question.

Scientific Method & Lab Research (3 semester hours)

Find a list of potential courses to fulfill this requirement: https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-foundations.

Quantitative & Computational (3 semester hours)

Quantitative and Computational Inquiry (3 semester hours) prepares students to develop a way of thinking about the world that is mathematical in nature. This mode of inquiry covers a broad array of subject areas that involve mathematical objects ranging from numbers to more abstract objects, such as functions. In more abstract fields, students extend their quantitative and computational abilities in theoretical frameworks. In more applied areas, students learn to model problem solutions using mathematical and/or computing notations, analyze quantitative information, conduct computational analyses to answer meaningful questions, make judgments based on quantitative data and communicate the results of that work for various purposes and audiences. In some cases, this mode of inquiry may be realized within an empirical context. 

See https://www.twu.ca/liberal-arts/core-ways-knowing for more information.

*Not all courses are available next semester - check schedule for course availability

(3 sem. hrs.)

This course reviews the roots and evolution of the modern secular approaches to anthropology and human sexuality and contrasts them with those of Christ. This course examines recent developments in theological reflection on the body (John Paul II’s theology of the body) and provides a general introduction to Christian anthropology, with particular attention to themes such as creation in the imago Dei, fall and redemption, nature and grace, freedom and rationality, gender and vocation. Due note of convergent and divergent doctrinal positions held by various Christian traditions of the themes are reviewed.

   • Prerequisites: RELS 160. (0-0; 3-0)

   • This course meets the requirements for Christianity and Culture: Catholic Studies Minor.

   • In order to use this CPC course for any TWU Religious Studies Department degree requiring Christianity & Culture (6-9) courses, please seek permission from the Religious Studies Chair.

   • All CPC courses may be counted as electives for any TWU Degree. CPC courses may count towards CPC certificates as listed in the Course Requirements for each Certificate.

Image credit: Creation of Adam By Michelangelo - See below., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71427942

*Not all courses are available next semester - check schedule for course availability

(3 Sem. Hrs.)

This course traces the theme of the merciful love of God in Scripture and Catholic Tradition, especially in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Faustina Kowalska, and Pope John Paul II, as well as in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Mercy of God is presented as a central vantage point from which to view more clearly many important elements of Catholic doctrine and spirituality, ethics, and a common springboard for Catholic-Evangelical ecumenism—in other words, the contemporary Catholic world view. (This is not a course in Catholic apologetics or polemics.)

NB: Course taught at Catholic Pacific College, an approved TWU learning centre.

   • Prerequisites: RELS 160 or equivalent with instructor’s consent. (0-0; 3-0)

   • The course meets the requirements for Christianity and Culture: Catholic Studies Minor.

   • In order to use this CPC course for any TWU Religious Studies Department degree requiring Christianity & Culture (6-9) courses, please seek permission from the Religious Studies Chair.

   • All CPC courses may be counted as electives for any TWU Degree.

   • CPC Courses may count towards CPC certificates as listed in the Course Requirements for each Certificate.

Image credit: Prodigal Son By Pompeo Batoni, poto kaka - Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Bilddatenbank., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4628046

*Not all courses are available next semester - check schedule for course availability

(3 Sem. Hrs.)

This course provides a detailed study of the theological and apologetic writings of C.S.Lewis. The instructor presents the Christian worldview of Lewis, as well as limitations and problems that may be inherent in his theological vision. The relevance of Lewis' writings to the task of ecumenical theological dialogue is a recurrent theme.

C. S. Lewis was one of the twentieth century’s incisive intellects and an influential contributor to Christian apologetics and literature. He penned numerous books, ranging from nonfiction works of theology, philosophy, literary criticism and apologetics, to children’s literature, fiction and poetry. Since he was such a broad and intuitive thinker, it should be no surprise that some of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers and theologians have nothing but praise for him (e.g., Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, Josef Pieper, and Robert Spaemann). Although Lewis is recognised as a brilliant thinker, for him, reason did not have the last word. While “reason is the natural order of truth,” the “imagination is the organ of meaning.” With this in mind, we will explore Lewis’ perspective on life, love, language, literature, friendship, epistemology, myth, morality, and God via his works of imagination.

Instructor's Note: Like many people, I was introduced to the Narniad as a child and was enamoured by Lewis’ fictional world. In university, I discovered Lewis’ other works of fiction and nonfiction, and his logic and poetics significantly shaped my intellectual and spiritual development. During my time in Eastern Europe I was fortunate to be plunged head first into the Lewis corpus as I researched and prepared to teach two different university courses on Lewis. To top it off, while living in the UK, I supped at The Eagle and Child (affectionately known by Lewis et al as The Bird and the Babe), spent several evenings bantering and discussing literature, theology, and CS Lewis with Michael Ward (author of Planet Narnia), and attended mass in Oxford with Lewis’ private secretary, Walter Hooper. Even though my attention over the last few years has been turned towards the theological anthropology of Joseph Ratzinger and Alexander Schmemann, I remain a Lewis aficionado.

   • Prerequisites: RELS 160 or equivalent with instructor’s consent. (0-0; 3-0)

   • The course meets the requirements for Christianity and Culture: Catholic Studies Minor.

   • In order to use this CPC course for any TWU Religious Studies Department degree requiring Christianity & Culture (6-9) courses, please seek permission from the Religious Studies Chair.

   • All CPC courses may be counted as electives for any TWU Degree.

   • CPC Courses may count towards CPC certificates as listed in the Course Requirements for each Certificate.

Image: Lamp Post in the Woods by NKBImages, iStock Photos. (A feature from C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe")

*Not all courses are available next semester - check schedule for course availability

(3 sem. hrs.)

A survey and analysis of the main achievements of the ecumenical theological dialogue process among the Christian churches, and the significant challenges still facing that dialogue today. This course utilizes texts from Catholic, Protestant Evangelical, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican sources, and guest lecturers from Catholic, Evangelical, and Orthodox traditions.

NB: Course taught at Catholic Pacific College, an approved TWU learning centre.

Prerequisite(s): RELS 160. (0-0; 3-0)

   • This course meets the requirements for Christianity and Culture: Catholic Studies Minor.

   • In order to use this CPC course for any TWU Religious Studies Department degree requiring Christianity & Culture (6-9) courses, please seek permission from the Religious Studies Chair.

   • All CPC courses may be counted as electives for any TWU Degree. CPC courses may count towards CPC certificates as listed in the Course Requirements for each Certificate.

*Not all courses are available next semester - check schedule for course availability

(3 sem. hrs.)

An analysis of the teachings on prayer and the devout life of Catholic spiritual writers whose teachings still enrich the life of the Church today: especially St. Theresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bonaventure, St. Francis De Sales, St. Therese of Lisieux, and the Venerable John Henry Newman. This course includes an overview of controversial topics such as the rise of “Centering Prayer,” the “New Age” movement, and an analysis of the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and reflections on the Catholic Tradition of Spirituality from non-Catholic perspectives.

  • Prerequisites: RELS 160, or equivalent with instructor’s permission. (3-0; 0-0)

  • All CPC courses may be counted as electives for any TWU Degree.

  • CPC courses may count towards CPC certificates as listed in the Course Requirements for each Certificate.

Image credit: Catherine of Siena By Baldassare Franceschini - DwFIhU2WKuZ7eA at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22000860

*Not all courses are available next semester - check schedule for course availability

(3 sem. hrs)

An Introduction to some seminal figures in the (Western) Christian tradition. The course investigates their thought and intellectual contributions within their socio-political context and experience. 

Instructor's notes:

George MacDonald, GK Chesterton, JRR Tolkien, and CS Lewis are literary figures whose sphere of influence has travelled beyond the borders of the literary world and crossed over into theology and philosophy. Focusing on their works of fiction, this course examines how each author––inspired by an imaginative, participatory, and sacramental view of reality––uniquely defamiliarized and re-enchanted the ordinary and along with it theology and philosophy.

  • Prerequisite(s): Rels 101, Rels 102 and third-year standing (3-0)

  • The course meets the requirements for Christianity and Culture: Catholic Studies Minor.

  • In order to use this CPC course for any TWU Religious Studies Department degree requiring Christianity & Culture (6-9) courses, please seek permission from the Religious Studies Chair.

  • All CPC courses may be counted as electives for any TWU Degree.

  • CPC courses may count towards CPC certificates as listed in the Course Requirements for each Certificate.

*Not all courses are available next semester - check schedule for course availability

(3 sem. hrs)

This course takes an in-depth look at the theological vision of the two most influential Catholic theologians of the second Christian millennium: St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope John Paul II. The main features of St. Thomas’s synthesis of Christian thought, especially as found in his great Summa Theologiae, is explored. This is followed by an examination of the “personalist” Thomism of Pope John Paul II, and his program for the renewal of the Catholic Faith, especially as found in selected encyclicals and apostolic letters. The vision and worldview of St. Thomas Aquinas and John Paul II are presented as significant and enduring achievements of Christian thought.

NB: Course taught at Catholic Pacific College, an approved TWU learning centre.

• Prerequisite(s): RELS 160 or equivalent with permission of instructor. (3-0; 0-0)

  • The course meets the requirements for Christianity and Culture: Catholic Studies Minor.

  • In order to use this CPC course for any TWU Religious Studies Department degree requiring Christianity & Culture (6-9) courses, please seek permission from the Religious Studies Chair.

  • All CPC courses may be counted as electives for any TWU Degree.

  • CPC courses may count towards CPC certificates as listed in the Course Requirements for each Certificate.