Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

Course Descriptions

Five hundred (500) level courses are open to seniors accepted into the Liberal Studies Graduate Program and to other qualified seniors for undergraduate credit (limit of two [2] courses). Undergraduates interested in this option must complete a Cross Registration Form available in the Service Center.

LST 501 Philosophical Foundations of Theology (3 credits)
An inquiry into the fundamental concepts of substance, form, person, identity, truth and goodness. Emphasis will be on the Aristotelian and Platonic background for Aquinas and his followers.

LST 512 Exploring the Liberal Arts (4 credits)
An introduction to graduate study in the humanities through an interdisciplinary investigation of two moments in Western civilization: the discovery of the rationality of the universe and the human mind by the Greeks of the classical period, and the understanding of the individual and world as sacramental in 13th century Europe. The class will also include instruction in graduate research appropriate for beginning students.

LST 514 Critical Theory and Research Methodology (4 credits)
An examination of the history of theories of criticism from the ancients to the post moderns. Consideration given to research methodology through the study of seminal texts.

LST 520 The Book of Art (3 credits)
An examination of the Western intellectual heritage from Classical times through modernity. Emphasis will be on the role of art as a record of historical change and the relationship between the ideas of an era, its art, and the social, political and cultural forces that shaped them.

LST 521 Art and Our World (3 credits)
The study of art's connection to society: an analysis of production and Western art using historical case studies that reveal art as a window onto the contexts and times of various cultures.

LST 530 Love and Society (3 credits)
An analysis of factors motivating human behavior with special focus on the role of acquisitiveness and the role of love. This analysis of human habits of acquisition will be examined in light of human habits of altruism, especially as the latter reveals various manifestations of love.

LST 531 History, Ideas, Values (3 credits)
An examination of the Western intellectual heritage from Classical times through modernity. Emphasis will be on the role of ideas in historical change and the relationship between the ideas of an era and the social, political and cultural forces that shaped them.

LST 532 Human Rights (3 credits)
A study tracing the Dominican contribution to the human rights tradition, with special emphasis on the School of Salamanca in the 15th and 16th centuries, Las Casas, Vitoria and Suarez.

LST 540 Philosophical Psychology (3 credits)
An exploration of the meaning of being, and, in particular, human being, through the study of the Metaphysics and De Anima of Aristotle.

LST 541 The Search for Happiness (3 credits)
A study of the notion of happiness from its classical conception to contemporary debates about its possibility.

LST 542 Magnificent Manifestos (3 credits)
An examination of historically significant documents in terms of their content and their historical, social, and intellectual context. Political, theological and philosophical perspectives will be considered.

LST 565 Cinema (3 credits)
A study in the forms, techniques, and historical evolution of cinema through the discussion of a particular theme, author, group of authors, literary movement, geography, or nationality. A particular course's focus will be reflected in its title when it is offered. May be repeated up to six credits on different topics.

LST 568 The Novel (3 credits)
A study in the forms, techniques, and historical evolution of the novel through the discussion of a particular theme, author, group of authors, literary movement, geography, or nationality. A particular course's focus will be reflected in its title when it is offered. May be repeated up to six credits on different topics.

LST 570 Democracy: The History of the Idea (3 credits)
Consideration of the development of the concept of democracy from its Greek origins, through its Roman embodiment, to its realization in the city states of Medieval and Renaissance Italy, the Dutch Republic, and its manifestation from 1776-1900. Emphasis upon the varied meanings of this term as developed in the classics of political philosophy.

LST 580 Poetry (3 credits)
A study in the forms, techniques, and historical evolution of poetry through the discussion of a particular theme, author, group of authors, literary movement, geography, or nationality. A particular course's focus will be reflected in its title when it is offered. May be repeated up to six credits on different topics.

LST 586 Independent Study (1-3 credits)
Guided, independent research on the topic of interest to the graduate student.

LST 590 Drama (3 credits)
A study in the forms, techniques, and historical evolution of drama through the discussion of a particular theme, author, group of authors, literary movement, geography, or nationality. A particular course's focus will be reflected in its title when it is offered. May be repeated up to six credits on different topics.

LST 592 Music and Culture (3 credits)
Music both reflects and stimulates the culture that produces it. This course will explore the ambiguous, significant, yet often underplayed role that music has within society as a whole as well as within specific and diverse cultures. In order to do this, the student will explore significant musical works as expressions of art that have validity in the context of the society that produced them as well as having their own intrinsic value.

LST 605 Studies in World Literature (3 credits)
This course examines classic texts of world literature in translation. Through the analysis of literature, the course will not only discuss the characteristics of superb literature, it will also examine the culture from which the literature has come. Each course will have a particular focus, perhaps on a theme, country or author. Please check the schedule of courses to discover the course's particular focus at the time of registration.

LST 625 Graduate Thesis (3 credits)
Research and written thesis on topics determined by the research agenda of the student. The thesis takes the place of written and oral comprehensive examinations.

LST 685 Special Topics in Liberal Studies (3 credits)
Study of topics not offered in MALS offerings. Proposals for a Special Topics course in Liberal Studies must be approved by the program director, the Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education and the Registrar.