IKON Institute Courses

IKON® courses provide college-level courses, for credit, to help students integrate the knowledge they learn in their respective professional areas with their Christian faith.  Beginning with the students’ faith, the courses aim to integrate the varieties of knowledge found at a university. Through the grace of the Church, students will begin to see expansive horizons far and beyond a typical course.

"I wish [for students] to be at once oracles of philosophy and shrines of devotion…It will not satisfy me, if religion is here, and science there, and young people converse with science all day, and lodge with religion in the evening... I want the same roof to contain both the intellectual and moral discipline."

–St. John Henry Cardinal Newman

Core Courses:

GOING GLOBAL: CHRISTIAN CULTURE IN THE WORLD
This course explores the impact of Christian culture in the world – beginning with themes from scripture and the Jewish tradition to the Church’s encounters with ancient cultures and societies and civilizations to our global, modern age.

FROM THE HEART: WONDER - KNOWING - BEING
Along with critical thinking, students appreciate wonder and the ability to practice “wonderful thinking.” Viewing the whole in relation to particular circumstances, times, etc., students will acquire a working knowledge of biblical notion of the heart, faith and first principles.

THE HARMONY OF THE SCIENCES
Students come to appreciate the historical and contemporary harmony between human and natural sciences as well as the humanities and professions in relation to faith and the search for truth.

WORK AND HOLINESS
This course examines the experiences of work (studying, creating, practicing leading and following, economy, family and worship) through Christian scriptures, traditions and the desire for holiness.

Additional courses:

THE MYSTERY OF LOVE
An introduction into the mystery of divine and human love in Christian moral and social life. The relations of love will be used to explore psychological and sociological traditions.

A PASSION FOR JUSTICE
The Catholic-Christian moral vision through scripture and social teaching. Students learn how this tradition touches their political views on law, rights, equality, tolerance, etc.

FAITH FORMING THE BEAUTIFUL
Christian faith in history inspires building great things – from cathedrals to cures, St. Ephraim’s hymns to St. Theresa’s Interior Castle, the Pietà to gospel choirs in New Orleans.

IKON® SEMINAR: BEING SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS
Asking what spirituality and religion means, having space to discern a religious vocation, or a vibrant spiritual and religious life in marriage, being single, and in communion with others.

The Newman Idea continues the IKON® Institute at Tulane Catholic this Spring! Join us as we learn to integrate our faith with our learning and our lives so that you can begin to intellectually engage your faith and God's call for you. 

Our Spring course is "Wonder - Knowing - Being." Students will participate in an engaging seminar featuring eye-opening discussions. Through quality texts, dynamic conversation, and written analyses, students will learn to integrate the art of seeing with wonder, the science of knowing how ideas relate to each other, and the acts of being an integrated Christian in the world. 

This is a AUDIT course that lasts the semester.  It is not simply a lecture series with light readings. The course will follow a syllabus, have readings from acclaimed scholars and feature deep seminar discussions. 
 
Please register soon, and we will see you in class on January  14th at 4:30p.m.!

Dr. Delio
Director IKON® Institute @ Tulane Catholic
Dr. Brumfield
IKON® Program Director @ Tulane Catholic

Click for Syllabus 

The course will be offered in the Spring Semester 2020:
When: Thursday, 4:30-6pm
Where: Tulane Catholic (1037 Audubon Street), Classroom, 3rd floor
How Much: Free, please consider donating to help defray our costs. 

Course Description:
Along with critical thinking, students appreciate wonder and the ability to practice “wonderful thinking.” Viewing the whole in relation to particular circumstances, times, etc., students will acquire a working knowledge of biblical notion of the heart, faith and first principles.

Course Rationale:
The practice of seeing the integration of life and knowledge through the lens of wonder is essential to maintain and thoroughly Christian way of being in the world while remaining of the Church. This course introduces students and trains students in thinking with wonder and awe.

Intended Student Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate "wonderful thinking" which integrates the acts of the heart and mind;
2. Cultivate a well-formed mind;
3. Situate faith in dialogue with other academic disciplines and/or religious traditions;
4. Engage in successful reading, writing, and research to analyze and articulate Integrated Knowledge in argument and other literary forms.

Proposed Course Schedule (subject to change): 
Jan 16            The Soul: Between Metaphysics and Psychology
Jan 23            Wodner(ful) vs. Critical Thinking
Jan 30            Brains don't Think
Feb 6              Guest Lecture - Knowing that You are in Love
Feb 13            Scientific Challenges to Afterlife
Feb 20            Near Death Experiences: Wondering What Comes Next?
Feb 27            C.S. Lewis' Vision of Heaven and Hell
Mar 5              Guest Lecture - The Sociological Imagination
Mar 12            Is Faith Rational?
Mar 19            The Spiritual Life as the Intellectual Life
Mar 26            Escaping Plato's Cave
Apr 2               Guest Lecture - Terror, Wonder, Leisure
Apr 16            The Human Predicament - Why We Have Anxiety
Apr 23            Moral Dimension of the Mind - Against Wrong Thinking
Apr 30            Real Presences