The Department of Catholic Studies aims to preserve, transmit, develop and advance the interdisciplinary study and teaching of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Students explore how Catholic thought and imagination intersect with contemporary culture. The Department is the only department which intentionally and directly expresses the University’s Mission and Catholic Identity, and provides students with a solid interdisciplinary foundation in the Catholic Intellectual tradition through teaching the University’s academic signature core seminars: The Human Journey Seminars: Great Books in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.
Using seminar pedagogy, these two courses engage students in an interdisciplinary understanding of the roots and development of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition as a 2000 year ongoing conversation between the great thinkers, writers, and artists of this Tradition and the cultures in which they have lived asking fundamental questions about God, humanity, society, and nature.
The Department also houses the University’s Center for Catholic Studies.
The Catholic Intellectual Tradition seminars are Sacred Heart's signature common core, bringing the mission of the University into the classroom. The seminars engage texts from the Catholic Intellectual Tradition with profound human questions as well as contemporary concerns. The seminars represent a space for students to discuss the most important issues in their lives.
The Department offers students an interdisciplinary Minor in Catholic Studies. The Catholic Studies minor provides students from any major or discipline the opportunity to examine the social, political, economic, environmental, and health issues we face in the world today, and to develop constructive and positive solutions to these issues. The minor in Catholic Studies provides students not only with a broad based interdisciplinary study of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, but also fosters the development of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and moral and ethical understanding employers seek in today’s college graduates.
The Catholic Studies minor has added so much to my education here at Sacred Heart University. The seminar-style classes have opened up this confidence to contribute and be a leader in making others feel comfortable joining the discussion. The courses range from a diverse set of topics and dive into many different areas with the unique lens of the Catholic intellectual tradition. From movies and music to gender studies to Broadway and so much more, there is something for everyone. I am always encouraging people to take classes within the department because they expand your perspective and are so much fun. - Katie Sullivan BA Social Work '21
Faculty at the Vatican II Catholic Higher Education Conference
Faculty at the Vatican II Catholic Higher Education Conference
Students in a CIT engaged in seminar discussion
Students in a CIT engaged in seminar discussion
Students in a CIT engaged in seminar discussion
Students in a CIT engaged in seminar discussion
