College of Communication and the Arts Core III Courses

CORE 3130 (ARTH 3101)
The Art of Saint Peter's
3 credits
The course explores the physical fabric and artistic embellishment of Saint Peter's and the Vatican from early Christian times through the twentieth century as a way of assessing the development of Catholicism's distinctive and powerful visual language. Among the topics to be considered: the transformation of the legacy of classical antiquity into one of the first Christian basilicas at Old Saint Peter's; Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling, and the Vatican within the urban context of Rome as the capital of modern Italy.

CORE 3320 (COMM 3101)
Propaganda, Religion, & War
3 credits
The course entails a political, historical, and ethical exploration of discursive and visual propaganda. As a form of mass persuasion, propaganda has long been a vital constituent of both religious discourse and the rhetoric of warfare. The course begins with an examination of the emergence of propaganda as a strategic concept in the 17th century Vatican's response to the Protestant Reformation. It then combines analytical and ethical perspectives on propaganda with a detailed examination of propaganda-like practices throughout history. Such perspectives enable an ethical evaluation of war-related propaganda efforts, such as those enacted by governments in World War I and World War II, as well as more recent propaganda relating to the 9/11 attacks and to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ultimately, students will be able to assess propaganda as a political practice, with an emphasis on communication ethics.

CORE 3324 (COTR 3642)
The Irish Stage
3 credits
In theatres throughout Ireland, the Irish stage presents the collective voice of Irish Catholic playwrights. Steeped in myth, ritual, and history, these authors used their plays to examine the rich texture of life woven together by faith, politics, family, and community and, by whose intersection, results in conflicts and choices that reflect a deeper, transcendent meaning. Through the readings of Thomas Merton and examples of ritualistic theatre found in the Bible, the course builds on the lessons of CORE I and II to explore further Catholic principles and intellectual Catholic tradition expressed by themes found in Irish drama. As a CORE III course, students will read Irish plays, view their performance and discuss the common themes of belief, choices and the flaws of motivated reasoning that form biases in poor decisions versus transcendent ones that are the foundation of Irish drama.