Mission Seminar Section Descriptions Spring 2018

The descriptions for currently scheduled generic sections can be found below but are subject to change. Descriptions of numbered VUSM courses are fixed and can also be found in the searchable VU catalog.

VUSM Franciscan Values and Traditions Courses and Sections

 

VUSM 100-01 MWF 8-8:55 a.m. Franciscan Values & Traditions (HONORS) FVT
Elizabeth Marzoni

Viterbo University was founded in 1890 by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This entry-level course examines that heritage and what it means to be and behave like a Franciscan. This course will use the works of Saints Francis, Clare, and Rose of Viterbo as a foundation for exploring the university’s core values of hospitality, integrity, contemplation, stewardship and service.  As an Honors section, this course will focus on leadership and how one grows into leadership roles. Key to this focus will be the use of the written works of Francis and Clare, and a Franciscan document outlining six virtues necessary for Franciscan leadership.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 100-02 MWF 8-8:55 a.m. Franciscan Values & Tradition FVT
Jacqueline Herbers

Viterbo University was founded in 1890 by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This entry-level course examines that heritage and what it means to be and behave like a Franciscan. These courses will use the works of Saints Francis, Clare, and Rose of Viterbo as a foundation for exploring the university's core values of hospitality, integrity, contemplation, stewardship and service.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 100-03 TR 2-3:20 p.m. Franciscan Values & Tradition FVT
Matthew Bersagel Braley

Viterbo University was founded in 1890 by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This entry-level course examines that heritage and what it means to be and behave like a Franciscan. These courses will use the works of Saints Francis, Clare, and Rose of Viterbo as a foundation for exploring the university's core values of hospitality, integrity, contemplation, stewardship and service. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 100-04 TR 9:30-10:50 a.m. Franciscan Values & Tradition FVT
Matthew Bersagel Braley 

Viterbo University was founded in 1890 by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This entry-level course examines that heritage and what it means to be and behave like a Franciscan. These courses will use the works of Saints Francis, Clare, and Rose of Viterbo as a foundation for exploring the university's core values of hospitality, integrity, contemplation, stewardship and service. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 100-05 MWF 11:15 a.m.-12:10 p.m. Franciscan Values & Tradition FVT
Larry Janowski

Viterbo University was founded in 1890 by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This entry-level course examines that heritage and what it means to be and behave like a Franciscan. These courses will use the works of Saints Francis, Clare, and Rose of Viterbo as a foundation for exploring the university's core values of hospitality, integrity, contemplation, stewardship and service.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 100-06 MWF 2:30-3:25 p.m. Franciscan Values & Traditions FVT
Jean Moore

Viterbo University was founded in 1890 by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. This entry-level course examines that heritage and what it means to be and behave like a Franciscan. This course will use the works of Saints Francis, Clare, and Rose of Viterbo as a foundation for exploring the university’s core values of hospitality, integrity, contemplation, stewardship and service.  As an Honors section, this course will focus on leadership and how one grows into leadership roles. Key to this focus will be the use of the written works of Francis and Clare, and a Franciscan document outlining six virtues necessary for Franciscan leadership.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 101-01 TR 11:00 a.m.-12:20 p.m. Leading by Serving FVT
Nicole Van Ert

Students will learn the principles of Servant Leadership, examine Franciscan values, and participate in leadership experiences, which build a foundation for leadership in any career. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 110-01 MWF 11:15 a.m.-12:10 p.m. Relationships, Health, & Well Being FVT
Laura Nettles

Using the stories of Francis, Clare, and Rose as a lens to reflect on contemporary and personal narratives, this seminar introduces Franciscan values and traditions as they relate to relationships, health, and well-being. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 110-02 TR 9:30-10:50 a.m. Relationships, Health, & Well Being FVT
Diana Cataldi

Using the stories of Francis, Clare, and Rose as a lens to reflect on contemporary and personal narratives, this seminar introduces Franciscan values and traditions as they relate to relationships, health, and well-being. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.

VUSM 150-01 TR 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m. Music and More FVT
Mary Ellen Haupert

Music and More (VUSM 150--001) is designed to introduce freshmen to Franciscan values and traditions through the lens of classical music appreciation.  The course will include field trips, guest speakers, critical listening, and a variety of writing and active learning projects. Students will explore the life of Francis through an integrated approach that melds the discipline of classical music with Viterbo University’s Franciscan core values (hospitality, integrity, contemplation, stewardship, and service).  Two weeks of introduction to Franciscan values and traditions will set the stage for an exploration of music that has been organized into four categories:  The Story of a Crusader, What It Means to Hug a Leper, Creation and the Good Earth, and A Caveman’s Guide to Prayer and Contemplation.  The organizational pattern for each of these 3-week-long units includes one part values + two parts classical music study.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.  This course is approved to co-count as an Artistic Awareness Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 170-01 TR 2-3:20 p.m.; Tu 9-10:50 a.m. Franciscan Sustainability FVT
 Sr. Lucille Slinger

In this course students will explore the Franciscan perspective and traditions of caring for creation; a sustainability praxis.   The tension, synergy and significance of how science/technology and theology/spirituality differ will be discussed and applied to local, national and global sustainability issues. Students will be engaged in laboratory activities to develop and understanding of the origin and limitations of scientific knowledge. Through class activities, media, readings, discussion and nature experiences, students will learn to the clearly articulate a personally held sense of place and worldview. Students will learn how worldview differences, held beliefs, and lack of scientific knowledge are the root causes of sustainability conflicts and key to implementation of successful resolutions.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 100 level.  This course includes a one hour a week lab and is approved to co-count as a Scientific Reasoning in the Natural Sciences Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM Living in a Diverse World Courses and Sections 

VUSM 200-01 MW 3:35-4:55 p.m. Living in a Diverse World LDW
Keith Knutson

In this section we look at the medieval Franciscan approach to diversity in the world as it was understood in that time. We begin with St Francis of Assisi visiting the Sultan of Egypt in 1219 during the 5th Crusade. Modern Franciscans have used this encounter to develop an active dialogue with Muslims in the 21st century. We will then learn about some of Francis’s contemporaneous brothers who travelled to China shortly after the founder’s death. Their arduous missions were on behalf of the Roman Latin Christian Church Pontificate, to negotiate with the Great Khans of the Mongols, who were threatening European invasion during the 13th century. These Franciscans actually went to China before the renowned Marco Polo, even today still (mistakenly) considered the first recorded western visitor to China. Our semester will conclude by reading Polo’s Travels. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.

VUSM 200-02 MWF 12:20-1:15 p.m. Living in a Diverse World LDW
Kathy Duerwachter

This seminar is designed to increase students' awareness, understanding, and appreciation of diversity, broadly defined (e.g., diversity in race and ethnicity, social class, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, and religion). Students will build skills for becoming responsible citizens and advocates for cultural competency. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.

VUSM 200-03 MWF 10:10-11:05 a.m. Living in a Diverse World LDW
David Waters

This seminar is designed to increase students' awareness, understanding, and appreciation of diversity, broadly defined (e.g., diversity in race and ethnicity, social class, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, and religion). Students will build skills for becoming responsible citizens and advocates for cultural competency. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. 

VUSM 226-01 MWF 8-8:55 a.m. Diversity in Religious Perspectives LDW
Michael Lopez-Kaley

One great challenge facing our society is the diversity within the country's borders, diversity that includes races, religions, persuasions, and worldviews. We're challenged to overcome the biases and prejudices that are deeply rooted within us. This course will approach racial, economic, age, sexual orientation, and religious diversity through the lens of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The course will also provide students opportunities to model leadership in a diverse culture. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. This course is approved to co-count as an Integrating Faith and Practice Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 252-01 TR 2-3:20 p.m. Women in Theatre LDW
Janet McLean

At its best, theatre helps us understand who we are; it can explain, examine, ridicule, or celebrate the human condition. Gender is a fundamental aspect of personal and social identity. It is a biological, psychological, and cultural category of paramount importance. In addition, gender is often a criterion for social stratification and differing political treatment, as well as a favored symbol for expressing essential values and beliefs. This course examines specific examples of the representation of women on the American stage, focusing on what this dramatic literature says and implies about women. The course illuminates ideas about the "nature" of women and the changing perceptions of their roles in both the family and society throughout the last 100 years. The course also addresses how these changes impact the role of men in American society. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 200 level. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.  This course is approved to co-count as a Literary Analysis Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 260-01 MWF 8-8:55 a.m. Multicultural American Literature (HONORS) LDW
Rolf Samuels

Multicultural America Literature addresses questions of cultural difference through analysis of contemporary hyphenated-American narratives by authors such as Tori Morrison and Jhumpa Lahiri. Students will examine how character choices and options are culturally shaped and socially bordered. Against the background of dominant white culture, students will explore the common ground among these hyphenated cultures-conflicts between genders and generations as well as assimilation pressure. Students will also compare their own cultural identities with those represented in the narratives they analyze. Prerequisite: ENGL 104 or C or higher in 105 or C or higher in 195, any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.  This course is approved to co-count as a Literary Analysis Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 290-01 TR 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m. Intro Women's Studies LDW
Apryl Denny

This course familiarizes students with the social, economic, psychological, and political issues that challenge contemporary women locally and internationally. It also encourages students to further their personal progress toward understanding and dealing constructively with women's issues.  Cross-listed with WMST 100. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM or transfer student placement.

VUSM Serving the Common Good Courses and Sections

VUSM 300-01 Wed 6-9 p.m. Serving the Common Good SCG
Melissa Collum

Following in the Franciscan tradition and Viterbo value of service, Serving the Common Good gives students experience in civic engagement. Students will participate in activities designed to foster the common good while reflecting on their values and practices of community, servant leadership, and collaboration. Partnerships and collaborations with community partners will allow students to demonstrate a developing competency of community engagement and responsibility. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.

VUSM 300-02 M 5-8 p.m. Serving the Common Good SCG
Mary T Rinzel

Following in the Franciscan tradition and Viterbo's value of service, this seminar asks students to actively participate in civic engagement and connect course content to those experiences. Students will engage in activities designed to foster the common good while reflecting on their values and practices of community, service, and collaboration. Collaborations with community partners will allow students to demonstrate community engagement and responsibility. Students must complete 25 hours or 10 instances of service in the full-semester version of the course. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. 

VUSM 300-03 TR 2-3:20 p.m. Serving the Common Good SCG
Shuma Iwai  (Partially on-line format)

Following in the Franciscan tradition and Viterbo's value of service, this seminar asks students to actively participate in civic engagement and connect course content to those experiences. Students will engage in activities designed to foster the common good while reflecting on their values and practices of community, service, and collaboration. Collaborations with community partners will allow students to demonstrate community engagement and responsibility. Students must complete 25 hours or 10 instances of service in the full-semester version of the course. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. 

VUSM 300-04 MW 3:35-4:55 p.m. Serving the Common Good SCG
TBA

Following in the Franciscan tradition and Viterbo's value of service, this seminar asks students to actively participate in civic engagement and connect course content to those experiences. Students will engage in activities designed to foster the common good while reflecting on their values and practices of community, service, and collaboration. Collaborations with community partners will allow students to demonstrate community engagement and responsibility. Students must complete 25 hours or 10 instances of service in the full-semester version of the course. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.

VUSM 300-05 R 1-3:50 p.m. Serving the Common Good SCG
Melissa Collum

“No man is an island, entire to himself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” ~ John Donne
Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone and discover your personal potential? Are you willing to expand your knowledge and understanding of the world? Are you able to look into your soul to see what you are made of? CAN you, literally and figuratively, “walk a mile” in someone else’s shoes, to experience a life different than yours? Together we shall discover, via the historic and contemporary lens of citizenship, civil action and courage, that we do not exist for ourselves alone ~we are here for a greater good, not for what it gives us, but of what it enables us to give others…… We shall be reflecting on JFK’s call to “Ask not what your country can do for you...” in The Power of Citizenship: Why JFK Matters to a New Generation, along with using the visionaries of the "Walk out, Walk on" movement to forge our journey. There is no prescribed service project for this course; together we shall discover your strengths and passion thus leading to your path of service.  Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.

VUSM 300-06 T 12:30-1:50 p.m. Serving the Common Good SCG
Krista Orlan Clements (Partially on-line format)

In this section of Serving the Common Good we will learn how to transform communities using local assets, art, and culture by developing our skills as creative community builders.  Service-learning will be focused on opportunities working with local arts organizations.  During the semester you and your fellow classmates will pick up where the Fall 2015 class left off by recruiting effective partners and mapping assets towards the larger goal of creating a community development plan involving local arts and artists.  This section includes a day trip early in the semester to Lanesboro, MN in order to witness how a community effectively utilizes the arts in community development.  Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.

VUSM 325-01 T 6-9 p.m. The Common Good in the Life of a Christian SCG
Roland Kuhl

The notion of "The common good" originated over two thousand years ago in Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Vatican II defined the "common good" as "the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment." The common good, then, consists primarily of having the social systems, institutions, and environments on which we all must depend and work in a manner that benefits everyone. This course will examine the environments that establish and enhance the common good. Using philosophical principles, ethical theories, and religious traditions, students will learn the utilitarian aspects of the common good while pursuing a just, compassionate, and virtuous worldview. Students must complete 25 hours or 10 instances of service. 
The specific focus for FA 2018 is on the theme of Undoing Violence.  Our American culture is experiencing an epidemic of violence, particularly gun violence, but also other forms of violence, and it is time to talk about it! Explored will be the roots of violence in our culture, how violence is expressed as a means to dealing with conflict, and ways we might address our predisposition towards violence from a Christian perspective.
Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.  This course is approved to co-count as an Integrating Faith and Practice Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 392-01 TR 5-6:20 p.m. Half the Sky: Oppression and Opportunity SCG
Marlene Fisher

Based on the widely acclaimed book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, this course explores the issues underlying and resulting from oppression of women. Their stories illustrate the economic progress that lies in unleashing women's potential. Across the globe, courageous individuals are confronting oppression and developing real, meaningful solutions through health care, education, and economic empowerment for women and girls. The linked problems of human trafficking, forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality present a critical opportunity to change the world. Students must complete 25 hours or 10 instances of service. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. 

 

VUSM The Ethical Life Courses and Sections

VUSM 400-01 W 5-8 p.m. The Ethical Life TEL 
TBD

The Ethical Life builds upon students' ethical reasoning to examine moral values and explore real world dilemmas. Students will examine virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify and analyze their own ethical values and should be apply to use ethical principles to clarify a range of issues. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level. Prerequisite: any LDW and SCG course or transfer student placement, WCII course. 

VUSM 400-02 TR 9:30-10:50 a.m. The Ethical Life TEL
Janet McLean

The Ethical Life builds upon students' ethical reasoning to examine moral values and explore real world dilemmas. Students will examine virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify and analyze their own ethical values and should be apply to use ethical principles to clarify a range of issues. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level. Prerequisite: any LDW and SCG course or transfer student placement, WCII course. 

VUSM 400-03 M 6-8 p.m. The Ethical Life TEL 
L. Kuhl, R. Kuhl (Partially on-line format)

This course will give special attention to understanding the important ethical considerations for developing healthy foundations for relationships, marriages and families.  This course is facilitated by Professors Lynne and Roland Kuhl, who have been married for over 38 years and raised two daughters. This course emphasizes preparing learners to make healthy ethical decisions for fostering flourishing relationships.  Areas addressed are: dating, sexuality, mate selection, preparing for marriage rather than merely preparing for the wedding, the ten areas of relationship strength, as well as other areas important for relationship development.  Ethical decision-making involves making wise choices for developing foundations for healthy relationships and requires honest assessment. This course seeks to help foster such ethical thinking when it comes to making decisions about relationships, marriage and family.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Prerequisite: any LDW and SCG course or transfer student placement, WCII course. 

VUSM 400-04 Online The Ethical Life TEL
Dorothy Lenard  (On-line format: full semester)

The Ethical Life builds upon students' ethical reasoning to examine moral values and explore real world dilemmas. Students will examine virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify and analyze their own ethical values and should be apply to use ethical principles to clarify a range of issues. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level. Prerequisite: any LDW and SCG course or transfer student placement, WCII course.

VUSM 400-05 TR 12:30-1:50 p.m. The Ethical Life TEL
Susan Cosby Ronnenberg

The Ethical Life builds upon students' ethical reasoning to examine moral values and explore real world dilemmas. Students will examine virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify and analyze their own ethical values and should be apply to use ethical principles to clarify a range of issues. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Prerequisite: any LDW and SCG course or transfer student placement, WCII course. 

VUSM 400-06 M 6-9 p.m. The Ethical Life TEL
Rick Kyte & Tom Thibodeau

The Ethical Life builds upon the student's ethical reasoning to examine the role of moral values and to explore real world ethical dilemmas. The seminars may approach ethical living from a variety of perspectives, professions, and disciplines. Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Prerequisite: Any Serving the Common Good course and any Living in a Diverse World course or transfer student placement.

VUSM 400-08 R 5-8 p.m. The Ethical Life TEL
Melissa Collum

Are you a passenger on the road of life? Passively gazing out the window, listening to tunes on the radio of someone else’s choosing? Or are you the driver? Plotting a clear course only to get stuck in a traffic jam? Better yet, be a hitchhiker – sometimes driving and other times a passenger, yet always in control of your ultimate destiny.
The course shall aid you in setting your moral/ethical compass for life’s journey. Metaphorically "Walk into a bar with Plato and a Platypus" to uncover philosophical/ethical understandings via jokes, wade through the thought provoking account of Wiesenthal’s, The Sunflower, and run from the paradoxical ethical dilemmas into Stangroom’s “Would You Eat Your Cat?” Our journey shall take you to from the depths of your soul to the expanses of the moral universe all the time preparing you to be a hitchhiker in the world of the unknown.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Prerequisite: Any Serving the Common Good course and any Living in a Diverse World course or transfer student placement. 

VUSM 420-01 MW 2-3:20 p.m. Media Ethics TEL
Jason Howard and Jeff Nyseth

This course concentrates on exploring the different kinds of moral problems that arise in relation to the creation, distribution, communication and consumption of different types of information and forms of entertainment. New forms of media over the last sixty years have changed how we access information, learn about the world, and pursue entertainment. This course investigates problems of manipulation, coercion and deception in relation to advertisement, entertainment, and journalism, exploring the complicated issue of how we might assess questions of moral responsibility within various types of media.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Prerequisite: Any Serving the Common Good course and any Living in a Diverse World course or transfer student placement.

 

VUSM CAL Level Courses and Sections

VUSM 300-07 10/22 to 12/11 Serving the Common Good SCG
Diana Cataldi (On-line format: compressed)

Following in the Franciscan tradition and Viterbo's value of service, this seminar asks students to actively participate in civic engagement and connect course content to those experiences. Students will engage in activities designed to foster the common good while reflecting on their values and practices of community, service, and collaboration. Collaborations with community partners will allow students to demonstrate community engagement and responsibility. Students must complete 25 hours or 10 instances of service in the full-semester version of the course. Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement. Restricted to Center for Adult Learning students.  This course is approved to co-count as an Artistic Engagement Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 325-02 8/27 to 10/16 The Common Good in the Life of a Christian SCG
Larry Engel  (On-line format: compressed)

The notion of "The common good" originated over two thousand years ago in Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Vatican II defined the "common good" as "the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members’ relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment." The common good, then, consists primarily of having the social systems, institutions, and environments on which we all must depend and work in a manner that benefits everyone. This course will examine the environments that establish and enhance the common good. Using philosophical principles, ethical theories, and religious traditions, students will learn the utilitarian aspects of the common good while pursuing a just, compassionate, and virtuous worldview. Students must complete 25 hours or 10 instances of service.  Prerequisite: any 100-level VUSM course or transfer student placement.  Restricted to Center for Adult Learning students.  This course is approved to co-count as an Integrating Faith and Practice Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 341-01 10/22 to 12/11 Diversity in History LDW
Christine Damrow  (On-line format: compressed)

This course examines the significance of diversity in U.S. history from Civil War to the present. Using primary sources, historians' interpretations, and film, we will study the interplay of cultural ideas, laws, government policies, industrial capitalism, changing demographics, and social activism in shaping access to freedom, wealth, equality, and "the good life" in American society, past and present. Why have some groups generally enjoyed privileges and power, while others have faced varying degrees of oppression? We will look to the past to better understand the roots of contemporary inequalities, attitudes, policies, and conflicts, especially as they relate to gender, ethnicity, race, and class. Restricted to Center for Adult Learning students.  This course is approved to co-count as a Historical Analysis Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 400 10/22 to 12/11 The Ethical Life TEL 
Robyn Gaier (On-line format: compressed)

The Ethical Life builds upon students' ethical reasoning to examine moral values and explore real world dilemmas. Students will examine virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify and analyze their own ethical values and should be apply to use ethical principles to clarify a range of issues. Restricted to Center for Adult Learning students.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Prerequisite: any LDW and SCG course or transfer student placement, WCII course. This course will be approved to co-count as a Philosophical and Moral Inquiry Way of Thinking Course.

VUSM 431-02 8/27 to 10/16 The Ethical Life from the New Testament Gospels TEL
Chris Rogers (On-line format: compressed)

The question "What did Jesus do?" remains the hallmark of the Christian Church's message and identity. "What would Jesus do?" is the major question this course will ask. What are the determined features of the ethical life Jesus modeled and taught?  How do the narratives of the four gospels offer people an ethical foundation?  How can we understand Jesus' ethics in relation to ideas of truth, consequences, fairness, and character? Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Restricted to Center for Adult Learning students.  Students may not earn credit for more than one VUSM course at the 400 level.  Prerequisite: any LDW and SCG course or transfer student placement, WCII course. This course will be approved to co-count as a Philosophical and Moral Inquiry Way of Thinking Course.