College of Arts and Letters

Political Science

Rover faculty advisor Dan Philpott will teach Why the Church?, a class which combines political science and apologetics to better understand ways young people interact with the Catholic Church. The course will be taught with a range of students in mind, and all are welcome to enroll, regardless of personal stance on religion. Professor Philpott is a warm and engaging professor who fully invests himself in the project of holistic education.

Rover faculty advisor Phillip Muñoz will teach Civil Liberties. Muñoz is an excellent lecturer who knows the best way to impart the essential ideas of the class reading to his students. Working with a mixture of Socratic questioning, on-the-spot analogies, and a deep knowledge of American history, Muñoz’s class will not disappoint. His work as a scholar focuses on religious liberty and the American founding, and he has been cited in several Supreme Court opinions. He genuinely cares about all student viewpoints and encourages a robust dialogue to occur in the classroom.

Rover faculty advisor Patrick Deneen will teach Liberalism and Conservatism, which promises to explore the intellectual foundations of the constellation of ideas that have become the dominant political worldviews in modern American society. He is also teaching Senior Seminar: Crisis of Modernity. Author of Why Liberalism Failed (2018), Professor Deneen is a leading expert in this area of political theory. He is also an engaging lecturer and caring professor.

Theology

Rover faculty advisor Fr. Terry Ehrman, C.S.C. will teach his popular courses Science, Theology, and Creation and Theology and Ecology. Both classes will satisfy the second theology requirement, and each promises a thorough exploration of the relationship between faith and reason in modern science. Fr. Terry is a beloved professor and always encourages his students to spend time outside.

Fr. Kevin Grove, C.S.C. will teach a section of Foundations of Theology. This class fulfills the first theology requirement and offers a thorough introduction to Catholic theology, as well as a challenge to deepen your understanding of salvation history and your place in it. Students are given the opportunity to engage with a beautiful selection of texts, be a part of a wonderful class community, and develop as writers, exegetes, and people of faith. Whether you have twelve years of Catholic education under your belt or are exploring Catholic theology for the first time, Fr. Kevin’s moving lectures, contagious enthusiasm, and obvious care for each student make his Foundations course a formative exposure to the richness of Catholic Tradition.

Rover faculty advisor John Cavadini once again offers his popular class The Catholic Faith. This course will provide an exploration of Catholic doctrines, which will be studied both individually and towards the development of an integrated vision of the Faith as a whole. This course satisfies the second theology class requirement. Professor Cavadini is an engaging lecturer and brilliant, world-renowned theologian. He always seeks to interweave comedy, personability, and profound theological truths in genuine, faith-filled interactions. His lectures are filled with perennial lessons and memorable analogies. Sitting in his class, one will never doubt the love for his students that permeates his lessons.

David Fagerberg offers thorough (and thoroughly enjoyable!) exposure to the life and thought of G.K. Chesterton in his course Chesterton and Catholicism. Fagerberg’s love for the material is contagious, and he offers a thoughtful introduction to Chesterton’s prolific corpus. A semester spent reading the writings of the “Prince of Paradox” promises to be engaging, philosophically formative, and personally enriching.

Lenny DeLorenzo will teach The Catholic Imagination. DeLorenzo is an excellent and humorous lecturer who works in this course to integrate literature and media with Sacred Scripture and Tradition to develop the student’s capability of understanding the tenets of the faith in a new light. Students will not only be engaged in class, but more importantly learn how to engage with the faith in an increasingly secular world. This course, which counts for Literature and Developmental Theology requirements, calls all of its students to develop skills of persuasion and perspective while continuously being grounded in objective truth and doctrine.

In The Eastern Churches: Theology and History, Yury Avvakumov provides rich and substantial intellectual formation in not only the development of Christological doctrines declared through the early ecumenical councils, but also in the thought of Eastern European thinkers, especially Dostoevsky, Florensky, and Tolstoy. The course immerses one in the aesthetic and spirituality of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches in such a way that expands the imagination of the students, forming their future academic research and experience. Best of all, it counts for a second theology course!

Anthony Pagliarini and Joshua McManaway will teach Johannine Literature. This course considers questions of the origin and content of the Gospel of John; 1, 2, and 3 John; and Revelation. Professor Pagliarini offers a deep knowledge of sacred scripture and a holistic approach to the discipline of theology. He is an engaging professor who enjoys getting to know his students. Professor McManaway is a phenomenal lecturer who effectively synthesizes intellectual activity with the lived experience of the faith. Drawing on his experience abroad in Israel and plethora of language proficiencies, Professor McManaway’s approach to biblical theology is vibrant and profound.

Jennifer Martin will be teaching God and Beauty and Great Books Seminar VI in the Program of Liberal Studies. As a concurrent professor of theology, as well as a systematic and historical theologian, students in her theology class will have the benefit of an expert in the field. She stimulates discussion well, raising pertinent questions and showing an interest in students’ ideas. She is also very approachable and helpful.

History

Rover faculty advisor Fr. Bill Miscamble, C.S.C. will teach the course Catholics & U.S. Public Life. This class investigates the participation of Catholics in American public life during the period since the election of a Catholic as president in 1960. The class will increase the student’s familiarity with Catholic influence on American politics and will deepen understanding as to how the Church should pursue justice in the world. Fr. Miscamble is an engaging professor who cares deeply about his students.

Brad Gregory, professor for Christianity/Commerce/Consumerism, works tirelessly as a professor, not only devoted to his work in the academy, but also to his students for whom he takes great care in getting to know. This is an interdisciplinary course that provides a cogent analysis of the profound transformations in time which have brought us to a world which assumes the amassment of wealth and earthly goods are beneficial without asking why that may be. If you wish to know how we got here, then this is the class for you. This class is cross-listed with theology, medieval studies, and constitutional studies.

French

Fr. Gregory Haake, C.S.C. will be teaching Advanced and Sorin Translation & Digital Exhibition and Advanced Composition: Art of Writing this spring. Few professors are as dedicated to their students as is Fr. Haake. He has flexible office hours and strives to help make students reach a high level of proficiency in both speaking and written French. His classes are challenging, but also engaging, and he creates a positive classroom environment through peer writing reviews and group presentations. If you plan to study abroad in the Angers or Paris programs, Fr. Haake’s class will prepare you well for the type of language courses you will encounter abroad.

Philosophy

Rover faculty advisor Nicholas Teh will teach Philosophy of Music. The course will explore the nature, meaning, and value of music, drawing on a variety of musical examples. The ability to read music is a prerequisite for this course, and some competence with an instrument will be extremely helpful. Professor Teh is a thoughtful, enthusiastic professor who enjoys getting to know his students.

Professor Therese Cory will teach a Philosophy University Seminar for freshman students. She is an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas. For you budding Thomists out there, don’t sleep on Professor Cory.

Sociology

Professor Christian Smith, well-known for introducing the concept of “moralistic therapeutic deism,” also has great interest in environmental issues and its relation to Catholic social teaching. Environment, Food, and Society, which counts for the second philosophy requirement, examines technological development, modernity, the global economy, and many other issues through the lens of food production and its impact on the natural world. Professor Smith is an extremely engaging lecturer and is committed to the Catholic mission of the University. Anyone taking his classes will be in for a treat!

Classics

Tadeusz Mazurek will teach Roman Criminal Law and Beginning Latin II,  and Elizabeth Mazurek will be teaching Intermediate Latin and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The Mazureks provide a great introduction to the Classics department and have an in-depth knowledge of their respective course material.

Architecture

Professor Philip Bess will teach “Catholicism and The City.” The course is available for theology elective credit as well as in Architecture. Bess shares with students his passion for Catholic and classical humanism, which is at the heart of the School.

Economics 

Another Rover faculty advisor, Kirk Doran, will be teaching two sections of “Principles of Microeconomics.” Doran is an accomplished economist and in class, he illustrates complex concepts with simple, humorous examples. He is a thoughtful professor who holds extensive office hours, takes time to get to know his students, and genuinely cares about their success in his class.

College of Engineering

Michael Seelinger will teach Mechanics II, as well as a section of Engineering Computing.  Professor Seelinger teaches thoroughly, clearly explains course expectations, and truly cares about students and their education. He is well-known for “Storytime with Professor Seelinger.”

Mendoza College of Business

Rover faculty advisor Martijn Cremers, Dean of Mendoza College of Business, and Craig Iffland teach their popular class Corporate Governance & Catholic Social Teaching. The course incorporates Catholic moral theology into the world of business. Answering questions about just wages, labor rights, and the morality of various kinds of investing, Cremers and Iffland prepare their students to incorporate an integrally Catholic life into their future work. Iffland is extremely available to students, enjoys getting to know his classes, and is a great mentor.

Rover faculty advisor Laura Hollis will teach Business Law: Contracts and Agency. Students taking this course will gain an understanding of the American legal system and learn fundamental rules of law, particularly of torts, contracts, sales, and agency. Professor Hollis’s background in English, entrepreneurship, and public policy enriches and rounds out her classes.

Jim Otteson will teach Why Business?, which will explore the role of business in a just and humane society. With a background in philosophy, Otteson offers a thoughtful course which seeks to understand and engage common critiques of business. Otteson is an intelligent, personable, and engaging professor who enjoys getting to know students.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all courses and professors who support and further the Catholic mission of the University of Notre Dame. This is a list compiled by the Irish Rover with individual recommendations from our staff.