St. Michael's College, U of TView all USMC Undergraduate, Graduate and Continuing Education programs.
NOTE: Not all courses are offered every year | Refer to the Christianity and Culture Courses for 2007-08 | View Cross-Listed Courses (courses that may be taken in conjunction with a Christianity & Culture Program).
In the event of a discrepancy between information provided in the printed material and on the website, please consult with the Program Assistant.
Christianity and Culture and Catholic Teacher Training | Christianity and Culture courses | Equivalent Christianity and Culture courses
Specified courses in the Christianity and Culture program may be taken as course equivalencies for the Religious Education Parts I and II, currently administered by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA). OECTA has endorsed the following courses as equivalent standing for the OECTA/OCSTA Ministry courses:
Part I: SMC 103Y, 200Y, 203Y; and Part II: SMC 307Y 216Y or 330Y and a half course from Christianity and Culture offerings.
Religion as a Teaching Subject Under Regulation 297, Religion is now a “teaching subject” in Ontario’s secondary schools. Teaching candidates desiring to take the “Religion” courses at Faculties of Education will require five credits in religion or theology at the undergraduate level. The Christianity and Culture program offers a wide range of courses and options to meet this five course pre-requisite.Catholic “Foundations” CoursesThe following courses prepare students for the “Foundations” courses in philosophy and history of Catholic Education:SMC 312H Catholicism and Education | SMC 313H Catholic Education in Ontario
SMC103Y1 Catholicism
An introduction to Catholic Christianity, to its history, institutions, and theology. The second part of the course examines the renewal effort of Vatican II and offers a contemporary Catholic reading of the Creed.
SMC200Y1 The Christian Imagination
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the depth and breadth of the imagination in the western Christian tradition. We shall explore components of the distinctively Christian imagination, as well as its expression in various media, including the visual and plastic arts, literature, film, and music.
SMC201H1 Christianity and Literature (formerly Christian Classics)
An exploration of major Christian themes, such as redemption and sacrifice, in works of ancient and modern literature. Includes an examination of different genres (the novel, poetry, drama), written for differing times and cultures.
SMC203Y1 Christianity Encounters the Secular World
Issues raised by Christianity's encounter with secular culture, and solutions proposed by the tradition: involvement in political structures, social movements, ethnic communities, and changing world views.
SMC204H1 Christianity and Asia
A study of key elements in the encounter of Christianity and Asia: e.g. the controversy over Chinese rites; Korea's conversion by lay philosophers; the development of Filipino folk Catholicism and its impact on politics; the influence of Indian thought on recent Western theologians.
SMC205H1 Varieties of Christian Experience
Exploration of the variety of forms which Christian personal experience has taken in the course of history (martyrdom, mysticism, monasticism, sanctification of ordinary life, etc.) in order to appreciate their variety, complexity, and deep unity.
SMC206H1 Christianity and Music
The various roles given music in Christian tradition and the impact of Christianity on Western music. Case studies from Gregorian chant to the present illustrate major issues (sacred vs. profane, acceptable styles or instruments, text and music, emotion and rationalism) to provide a critical vocabulary applicable to present works. Some background in music is required.
Recommended preparation: SMC200Y1/SMC203Y1
SMC207H1 Christianity in Latin America
The development of Christian communities in Latin America with an emphasis on such themes as the Spanish Conquista, missions, church-state relations, popular religious culture, and the emergence of Liberation Theology.
Recommended preparation: SMC203Y1
SMC208Y1 Major Christian Thinkers
An introduction to the Christian intellectual tradition through a study of key figures representing a variety of historical periods, from the patristic through the medieval to the modern and contemporary.
The selected authors discuss a range of religious, intellectual and human issues from basic Christian beliefs to the challenges of modern and postmodern cultures.
SMC209H1 Christianity in Africa
The social, theological, and institutional development of Christian communities in Africa, including the birth of early churches in North Africa, missionary activity, popular religion, and the emergence of new Christian movements in the post-colonial period.
Recommended preparation: SMC203Y1
SMC215H1 Varieties of Christian Community
Christian history has been characterized by an enduring and fruitful search for forms of religious community. This course surveys some communal attempts to express Christianity, monasticism, forms of common life for clerics, the Mendicants, lay confraternities, religious orders, and contemporary lay movements.
SMC216Y1 Ritual and Worship
An introduction to Christian ritual and worship, in cross-cultural and ecumenical perspective. Biblical roots and historical development of the Christian sacraments, especially baptism and the Eucharist. Contemporary Catholic perspectives on worship in a secular and multicultural world.
SMC217H1 Literature and the Christian Child
An exploration of connections between a child's moral development and literature in Christian traditions. We examine literary, historical and philosophical developments appropriate to the child's imagination. The course will include the study of poems, catechetical materials, novels and other texts written for children.
SMC230Y1 Christianity and Science
The course examines the emergence of the physical sciences within Christian culture. It also traces broad historical developments, such as the rise of technology and the acceptance of empirical observation as a method of inquiry, and their impact on Christian faith.
Exclusion: RLG231Y1
SMC302H1 Christianity and Symbols
The originality of Christian symbolism is explored through texts, images, and other media. We examine theories of symbolism, then explore the use of Christian symbolism and symbolic patterns in ancient, medieval, and modern art, architecture, literature, and film.
SMC304H1 Christianity, Law and Society
An examination of Canon Law; the process by which it came into being, and its impact on contemporary culture. Premises and techniques of ecclesial law-making are compared to those of other systems of legislation. Specific sections of the Code of Canon Law are examined.
Recommended preparation: SMC203Y1
SMC305H1 Christianity and Popular Culture
An examination of both overt and covert representations of Christian ideas in contemporary popular media. We examine the ways in which Christian themes have been appropriated and subverted in mass media, while also examining the innovative ways these themes, such as redemption, sacrifice, vocation, and hope, are presented anew.
Recommended preparation: SMC200Y1
SMC306H1 Christianity and New Technologies
Technology represents a significant challenge to Christian traditions. This course will explore Christian responses to technologies such as genetic engineering, cyberspace, and life extension. Students will examine the metaphysical perspectives and metaphorical images that the Christian tradition presents to respond to the claims of unbridled technology.
Exclusion: RLG338Y1
Recommended preparation: SMC230Y1
SMC307Y1 Scripture in Christian Tradition
An introduction to the place and meaning of the Bible within the Christian tradition; the practice of biblical interpretation in the patristic, medieval and modern periods; a contemporary reading of one of the Gospels and of a letter of Paul.
SMC308H1 Marriage and the Family in the Catholic Tradition (formerly Marriage and the Family in Canon Law)
A close reading of the Code of Canon Law touching on the themes of marriage and the family; relationship to other fundamental Church statements (e.g. Familiaris Consortio); examination of issues raised by opposition between church teaching and other views.
Recommended preparation: SMC203Y1/SMC304H1
SMC309H1 Christianity, Reason and Revolution
This course explores developments in the relations between the Catholic Church and the states of Western Europe and America from the Enlightenment to the present. Of particular concern is Catholicism's response to the political theories of the Enlightenment, the secularization of the state and social justice issues.
Recommended preparation: SMC203Y1/HIS241H1
SMC310H1 The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Introduces students to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) and its antecedents. After an historical survey of religious instruction in the Church, the students will engage in a close reading of selected sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
SMC311H1 Why the Church
The Catholic Church claims to be the continuation of the event of Christ in history, the guarantor of the authenticity of each person's encounter with Christ, and the means by which His memory may be cultivated. The course examines the reasons for these claims and the forms they have taken.
Recommended preparation: SMC103Y1/SMC200Y1/SMC201H1, SMC205H1/SMC216Y1
SMC312H1 Catholicism and Education
The Catholic Church has developed a distinctive approach to the pedagogical enterprise. This course explores aspects of this approach by an examination of canonical legislation and other texts published by ecclesiastical authorities and their application in Canada.
SMC313H1 Catholic Education in Ontario
An historical appraisal of the evolution of Catholic schools, universities, and catechetical education in Ontario. Special emphasis is placed on the evolution of Ontario's separate school system.
SMC320H1 The Catholic Church in Canada (formerly SMC 420H1)
An exploration of the historical development of Catholic communities and institutions in all regions of Canada since the 16th century. Emphasis placed on themes of mission, church-state relations, ethnicity, belief and practice, social justice, gender, and secularization.
Exclusion: SMC 420H1
SMC321H1 The Catholic Church and Canadian Law
The Church's self-understanding generates interesting problems in her relations with the civil societies in which she lives. These problems are often fruitful and leaves marks in the legislation of each of these societies. The proposed course will assess the extent to which this has been true in Canada, from the earliest days of European expansion until the present. After an historical introduction regarding the legal status of the Church in French and post-conquest Canada, the proposed course will study the current legal treatment of Church activity, institutions, and property. The legal treatment of criminous clerics will also be examined.
Recommended preparation: SMC203Y1
SMC330Y1 Christ in Christian Tradition
Faith in Christ is central to Christianity. This course examines both classical formulations of that faith and Enlightenment critiques of them. It introduces students to contemporary rethinking of christology in the light of modern science and philosophy, comparative religion, feminism, and liberation movements.
SMC332H1 Apocalypse and Millennium (formerly SMC 402H1)
The study of past outbursts of Christian interest in the millennium theme, and the end of the world, modern manifestations of this trend, and the implications of its contemporary revitalization at the dawn of the third millennium.
SMC362Y1 Intercordia
Service learning course in social justice and international development. Seminars in the Winter term and international service with Intercordia Canada between May and July. There will be additional costs to students associated with this program. Duration is January to August; all add/cancel/refunds deadlines as per a regular S course.
Prerequisite: interview process prior to enrolment
Recommended preparation: SMC103Y1/SMC203Y1/SMC205H1 | Download further instructions on how to register for this course
SMC370H1 Christianity and the Life Sciences
Episodes and issues in the development of the life sciences in relation to fundamental Christian beliefs concerning nature, man and God: behaviour and intelligence, gender, genetics and the manipulation of life, creation/evolution controversy, etc.
Prerequisite: Four university courses
SMC371H1 Faith and Physics
The complex interplay between religious belief, culture, and the emergence of modern physical theory: rise and fall of mechanistic theories, relativity, particle physics and models of the Universe, Big Bang theory and Black Holes, etc.
Prerequisite: Four university courses
SMC390Y1 | 391H1 Independent Studies in Christianity and Culture
A concluding course in Christianity and Culture, providing an opportunity to synthesize insights acquired during the course of the program (enrolment subject to availability of a supervisor).
Prerequisite: Written approval of Program Director
SMC400H1 Advanced Topics in Christianity and Culture I
Prerequisite: Two courses in Christianity and Culture
SMC401H1 Advanced Topics in Christianity and Culture II
Prerequisite: Two courses in Christianity and Culture
SMC417H1 Methods in Biblical Studies I
A survey of the religious traditions of ancient Israel as they are reflected in the diverse types of literature found in the First Testament, with emphasis on their historical development and their relevance for contemporary scholarship. Topics to be considered include: Israelite origins, settlement in the land, social structures, the monarchy, prophecy, the exile and return.
Prerequisite: SMC307Y1 | Download further instructions on how to register for this course
SMC418H1 Methods in Biblical Studies II
Introduction to the major methods and issues in New Testament interpretation: textual criticism; the world of the New Testament; the composition, structure and theologies of the Synoptic Gospels; the Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith.
Prerequisite: SMC307Y1 | Download further instructions on how to register for this course
SMC419H1 Religious Pluralism and the Church
This course will examine Christian responses to religious pluralism, focusing particularly upon twentieth-century developments in comparative theology, theology of religions, and inter-religious dialogue. Although the course will focus on examples from the context of post-Vatican II Catholicism, students will have opportunities to study comparable developments outside this tradition.
Prerequisite: Completion of 10 full-course credits
Recommended preparation: SMC103Y1/SMC330Y1
SMC421H1 Jews and Judaism in Christian Traditions
A seminar devoted to examining the changing representation of Jews and Judaism within Christian traditions over the past two thousand years.
Prerequisite: Completion of 10 full-course credits
Recommended preparation: SMC200Y1
SMC422H1 Sacred Space in the Christian Tradition
An examination of the development of sacred space in the early Church, reflection upon its place in the imaginative landscape of the European Middle Ages, and discussion of its implications for the understanding of space and place in our own culture.
Prerequisite: One course in the History of Christianity; completion of 10 full-course credits
Recommended preparation: SMC200Y1
SMC423H1 Topics in the Theology of Culture I
A seminar course engaging in theological reflection on and response to the shifting cultural realities of the twenty-first century. Topics for close examination may include: post-modernity, home and homelessness, and mass popular culture.
Prerequisite: Completion of 10 full-course credits
Recommended preparation: SMC200Y1/SMC208Y1/SMC305H1/SMC330Y1/SMC426H1 | Download further instructions on how to register for this course
SMC424H1 Topics in the Theology of Culture II
A seminar course engaging in theological reflection on and response to the shifting cultural realities of the twenty-first century. Topics for close examination may include: post-modernity, home and homelessness, and mass popular culture.
Prerequisite: completion of 10 full-course credits
Recommended preparation: SMC200Y1/SMC208Y1/SMC305H1/SMC330Y1/SMC426H1 | Download further instructions on how to register for this course
SMC425H1 Uses of the Bible in the Middle Ages
An examination of the use of the Bible in the mediaeval period (500-1500) as source of motifs in art and architecture, provider of stories for poetry and drama, authority in legal and political debate, and tool for teaching and preaching.
Prerequisite: One course in mediaeval history, art or literature; knowledge of the biblical text; completion of 10 full-course credits
SMC426H1 The Social Justice Seminar
A research seminar to explore the foundational principles and historical applications of Catholic social teaching since Rerum novarum. Special emphasis placed on scriptural texts, magisterial documents, and contemporary case studies. Integral to the course is a major paper based on primary source research.
Prerequisite: SMC203Y1/SMC103Y1; completion of 10 full-course credits
Recommended preparation: SMC309H1/RLG336H1
SMC427H1 Public Justice Advocacy Seminar
A course which explores, through lectures, seminar meetings and an agency placement, the ways in which Christian social teaching is translated into public advocacy and policy.
Preresquite: completion of 10 full-course credits
Recommended preparation: SMC203Y1 or SMC309H1 or SMC426H1
SMC428H1 The Spiritual in Modern Art
An examination of key moments and figures in the recent history of the visual arts in Western culture and especially in Canada in which religious and spiritual themes surface in new and surprising ways. The course includes a study of works in the Donovan Collection at St. Michael's College.
Recommended preparation: SMC200Y1
SMC429H1 Topics in Comparative Theology 26S
In the 20th and 21st centuries, religious thinkers increasingly cross religious boundaries in theological reflection. Each year, this seminar will focus on one topic, studied in confessional and comparative perspective, or on two or three major figures in the discipline of comparative theology. Sample topics include: salvation, mission, God, incarnation.
Equivalent Christianity and Culture courses
The following courses are equivalent to Christianity and Culture courses: HIS 469H1 Religion, Culture and Society in Canada
This course examines the interaction between religion and culture in Canada from colonial times to the present with emphasis on primary documents.
Recommended preparation: a course in Canadian history
RLG 225H1 Christian Ethics and Human Sexuality
The basis of Christian ethics for a formulation of standards of inter-personal conduct and sexual relations; an analysis of changing sexual mores, familial structures and child-rearing techniques; and a critical evaluation of the development of reproductive technologies.
Recommended preparation: RLG 224Y1
RLG 228H1 Religious Ethics: The Environment
The ethnics and religious symbolism of environmental change: animal domestication and experimentation, deforestation, popular expansion, energy use, synthetics, waste and pollution.
RLG 321H1 Early Christian Writings II
An introduction to the first and second century Christian writings. A survey of the surviving works and their historical contexts, close analysis of selected texts and an examination of what these sources tell us about the early Christian communities.
Prerequisite: RLG 241Y1/RLG 203Y1
RLG 330H1 God and Evil
A study of some of the most important and influential attempts by Christians to reconcile their experience and understanding of evil with their purported experience and understanding of God. Selections from biblical writers, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, Karl Barth, and Gustavo Guttierrez.
Prerequisite: three half-courses in RLG.PHL or Christianity and Culture
RLG 331Y1 Eastern Christianity
The formation and development of distinctively Eastern traditions of Christianity. The history and major writers of Eastern Christianity up to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The development of the national Eastern Churches up through the modern period, and their particular contributions to the Eastern Christian tradition.
RLG 338Y1 Technology, Ethics and the Future of Humanity
The role of technology within various projections of global economic development, examined from a Christian ethical perspective. Ethical responses to problems that threaten the degradation, arms build-up, and biotechnical revolution.
Recommended preparation: RLG 224Y1 | Exclusion: RLG 338H1
RLG 384H1 Pluralism and Dialogue
The contemporary phenomenon of religious pluralism: its historical emergence, social context and intellectual justifications. Achievements, techniques and outstanding issues in inter-religious dialogue.