Catholic Studies

Hilaire Belloc once called the Roman Catholic Church ‘the Thing.' The Aberdeen Catholic Studies program is focused on Catholic things , the facts, artifacts, books, and people which have been the making of contemporary Catholicism. The course is historically based but not antiquarian. Lecturers and students in the Programme are curious about what it means to be a Catholic today. In addition to studying early modern and modern Catholic thought, students may participate in the departmental postgraduate seminar on Thomas Aquinas. By helping students to deepen their appreciation of Catholic history, the Program aims to enable them to relive the intellectual and imaginative adventures of 'the Thing'.

SYLLABUS

Students are required to take:

• a course on method in theology
• and to attend a dissertation colloquium,

In addition, students take a further four elective courses and write a supervised dissertation of approximately 20,000 words on a topic related to the degree.

Of the four elective courses, the three required courses are are:

• Contemporary Catholic Thought
• Early Modern Catholicism
• Catholicism and Politics in the 19th and 20th century

Students are able to select from a range of electives in related areas such as Systematic Theology, Biblical Studies, Church History, Mediæval History, Art History and Early Modern Studies:

• Canon Law and Lawyers in the Middle Ages
• Romanesque Illustrated Manuscripts
• Latin
• The Medieval Church
• The Use of the Bible in Theology
• The Old Testament as Christian Scripture
• Pastoral Care and Counselling
• Leadership skills for Christian ministry
• Special Subject (by agreement)

Assessment

For each taught course candidates will be responsible for two seminar presentations, two essays, and a three-hour final examination paper.

Duration

12 months, full-time.