The summer programs bring together students and professors to explore the enduring ideas of Western civilization through the disciplines of political philosophy, philosophical anthropology, ethics, literature and Law.

“THE STUDY OF WESTERN INSTITUTIONS”
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, USA
June 26 - July 24, 2010

OPENING SEMINAR
The Notre Dame Opening Seminar – to be held in the morning of Sunday, June 27th– will offer an introduction to the summer course as a whole.

Participation in the Opening Seminar is compulsory for all students.

HEROISM RECONSIDERED
(3 Credits)
Dr. John X. Evans
Professor (em.) of English Literature, Arizona State University, USA;
Director, The Phoenix Institute.

Starting with the heroic quest paradigm that originated with Gilgamesh and Greek mythology, we will explore the attributes and evolution of heroism from ancient to modern times. Because the warrior-heroes of history have often ignored the common good with disastrous consequences, we will look at the various faces of heroism and ask if mankind would profit by loosening the grip that warrior-heroes have on the human imagination. Collaterally, we will explore what can be appropriated from competing models of the hero for personal strength of character, happiness, and humanity’s hopes for peace on earth.

Texts: Homer’s Iliad (Robert Fagles’ translation); Virgil’s Aeneid, Book II; the Bible (Moses, David, Jesus);  selections from John Milton’s Paradise Lost; selections from Early  Christian Fathers; war poetry of World War I (Wilfred Owen, “On Passing the Menin Gate” and Siegfried Sassoon, “Dulce et Decorum Est”); World War II war letters from Andrew Carroll’s Behind the Lines; Kurt Vonnegut, “Wailing Shall Be In All Streets; Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, and Sophie Scholl (film).

Dr. John X. Evans.- Founding Director of the Phoenix Institute. Professor Emeritus of English, Arizona State University. Ph.D. Yale University. Works include: The Works of Sir Roger Williams, as well as articles in The Huntington Library Quarterly, Shakespeare Quarterly, English Studies, Recusant History, National Review, and other academic journals.

DEMOCRACY, WAR AND EMPIRE: THUCYDIDES’S HISTORY OF THE
PELOPONNESIAN WAR
(3 Credits)
Dr. Bradley Lewis
Associate Professor, School of Philosophy
Catholic University of America, USA

Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesioan War is one of the greatest historical narratives ever produced, telling the story of the epic struggle between democratic Athens and oligarchic Sparta and their allies that took place between 431 and 404 BC. But it is much more: along the way Thucydides presents deep analyses of the nature of democracy and other political regimes, the moral hazards of empire, justice among nations, and the causes of war. He penetrates to the roots of political life in human nature. His reflections are thus not only of historical interest but take us to matters of permanent relevance in human affairs.

Dr. Bradley Lewis.- Associate Professor at the School of Philosophy of The Catholic University of America. Ph.D., Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame, M.A., Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame. B.A., Government and Politics, University of Maryland. Associate Editor of The American Journal of Jurisprudence.

Professor John O’Callaghan
GOD, CREATION, AND HUMAN DIGNITY
(3 Credits)
Dr. John O’Callaghan
Director, Jacques Maritain Center, University of Notre Dame
Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

This course will investigate from a philosophical perspective the importance of the doctrine of Creation Ex Nihilo for understanding three significant but related themes in Western thought. First, it will investigate the way in which the doctrine changes the conception of divinity inherited from ancient Greek thought after the appearance of the doctrine in the early history of the Christian church, and its development in the medieval period, particularly in the thought of Thomas Aquinas; and it will consider the loss of that doctrine in modern conceptions of God as a grand designer, in particular in relation to contemporary evolutionary doctrine. Second, it will look at the implications of that doctrine for an understanding of human nature and its dignity in relation to God. In particular it will consider whether the doctrine of Creation Ex Nihilo poses an unacceptable constraint upon human freedom, insofar as it suggests that such freedom would be limited by a nature determined by God. How should we think about human freedom? Does God’s relation to human nature constrain freedom or enable it? Finally, in light of the claim of dignity that attends the creaturely status of human beings, the course will consider the impact of the doctrine of Creation Ex Nihilo upon our conception of human virtue, and how virtue relates us specifically to God as creator.

Dr. John O’Callaghan.- Ph.D., University of Notre Dame. Areas of interest include Medieval Philosophy, Thomas Aquinas, and Thomistic Metaphysics. He is the author of “Thomistic Realism and The Linguistic Turn: Toward a More Perfect Form of Existence” (2003), among others. Articles recently published include “"Concepts, Mirrors, and John of St. Thomas: Reply to Deely" forthcoming in American Catholic Philosophical Association; "St. Thomas Aquinas", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, with Ralph McInerny; "Actively Forgetting the Image of God: Nietzsche and Great Texts" invited contribution to Finding a Common Thread: Reading Great Texts from Homer to O'Connor. Eds. Roberts Roberts, and Scott Moore. Forthcoming from Scranton University Press.

2010 Summer Seminars are now open for registration

click here