All seniors are required to take a Senior Seminar second semester. This will count as a Theology credit. The seminars are multi-disciplinary, team-taught courses that attempt to challenge the student to apply what they have learned and experienced in their time here at Prep to real world issues and continued spiritual growth. Each seminar focuses on continued individual development towards The Profile of the Graduate at Graduation and challenges them to become men and women for others as they enter the next stage of their lives.
…and Justice for All.The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society - in economics and politics, in law and policy - directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in, succeed and influence society. With special emphasis on the Catholic Social Teaching principals of Participation, The Role of Government and Community and the Common Good, this course will evaluate social and institutional structures for their effectiveness in creating communities where all can participate and have equal opportunity to be successful, contributing members of society. Students will have the opportunity to research and present on a variety of topics regarding discrimination and justice.
Disease and Social Responsibility.A capstone seminar course designed to empower students to become agents for change. The course employs an interdisciplinary approach, including scientific, theological, socio-historical and ethical methodologies, to understand the proliferation and treatment of infectious diseases in the context of diverse global cultures and economies. Building on students’ broadening experiences of service through high school, they will explore justice work through advocacy for the larger human family.
Good and Evil. A capstone seminar course designed to help students understand the nature of humankind and apply that understanding to their own lives. The course’s interdisciplinary approach engages students in the study of Theology (especially scripture), philosophy, and literature as they attempt to answer three key questions: Are human beings inherently good or evil? How much choice do I have in answering that question? What does that mean for me in terms of how I live my life?
Peace Studies. This course is designed to provide a multi-disciplinary examination of peace and of the varied forms of violence and injustice that stifle it. The course assumes that in order to end situations of large-scale violence, hatred or injustice, viable peace requires more than wishful thinking and people with good hearts. It requires knowing the findings of various disciplines and best practices of experts that comprise modern peace studies as well as careful, in-depth reflection on how people who choose to reject violence can be extremely effective actors for justice and social change. The course will incorporate current events and controversies in local and global news sources as critical examples of the problems peace attempts to solve. Students will explore questions of ‘what is peace’ and ‘how do we get there’ as well as define their place in the future peace process of local and global communities. The course affirms our Catholic, Ignatian and Jesuit “faith that seeks to do justice in an ever increasingly global context.” Building peace and engaging in conflict resolution and transformation is the new citizenship education of the 21st century. The perspectives and skills of this course are useful for our citizen roles locally, nationally and globally.