Liberal Arts
An unparalleled experience that promotes both personal and academic growth.
Program overview
The Liberal Arts are the foundation of education at Sacred Heart University, and the Catholic Intellectual tradition is committed to the whole person — mind, body, and spirit, and enriches students’ imaginations, expands their humanity and develops their moral compass.
Study in Dingle opens up an international perspective as students are exposed to the Irish culture, language, and society. Individual courses explore various dimensions, such as literature, history, music, sociology, psychology, anthropology, archeology, and religious studies. In addition to in-class lectures, discussions, and seminars, field study and experiencing the sites, sounds, smells, and textures of Ireland offer a unique opportunity.
AN 230 – Culture, Community and Folklore
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Humanistic Inquiry
- Social and Global Awareness
Offered
Spring Semester
Faculty
description
This course explores the interrelationship of folklore, social life and cultural identity in the West of Ireland. With special reference to historical and contemporary communities of the Dingle Peninsula, this course also examines the role of folklore in individual and community well-being.
AR 229 – Intro to Painting
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Humanistic Inquiry
Offered
Summer 2 Short Term
Faculty
description
In this site-specific offering of Intro to Painting, we will explore and document the Irish landscape, environs, and people of Dingle. Students will be provided a watercolor pad and watercolor kit to document their unique experience of Dingle through pictures and words, in a visual journal. The produced work will be catalogued and exhibited at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT in the semesters following the program.
The basic and essential skills of painting will be covered through demonstrations of landscape, portraits, and scene painting. The writing component will be explored through reflections, poetry, interviews, and/or essays. No previous painting experience is necessary. Let’s make art!
CIT 201 – Catholic Intellectual Traditions
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
None
Offered
Fall Semester
Faculty
description
CIT is Sacred Heart University’s academic signature core. It provide students with an interdisciplinary, foundational understanding of the Catholic intellectual tradition from the classical to the contemporary periods. Using seminar pedagogy, it gives students an understanding of the roots and development of the Catholic intellectual tradition as an ongoing, 2,000-year conversation between the Catholic community of thinkers, writers, artists and the cultures in which they have lived, asking fundamental questions about God, humanity, society, and nature.
In addition, it introduces students to fundamental claims of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition; enable students to understand that Tradition as characterized by open, rigorous intellectual inquiry in the context of a faith tradition; engage students and faculty in seminar discussion; and enable students to see the value of this Tradition in the contemporary world help develop students’ reading, writing, and speaking skills.
CIT 202 – Catholic Intellectual Traditions II
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
Offered
Spring Semester
Faculty
description
CIT is Sacred Heart University’s academic signature core. It provide students with an interdisciplinary, foundational understanding of the Catholic intellectual tradition from the classical to the contemporary periods. Using seminar pedagogy, it gives students an understanding of the roots and development of the Catholic intellectual tradition as an ongoing, 2,000-year conversation between the Catholic community of thinkers, writers, artists and the cultures in which they have lived, asking fundamental questions about God, humanity, society, and nature.
In addition, it introduces students to fundamental claims of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition; enable students to understand that Tradition as characterized by open, rigorous intellectual inquiry in the context of a faith tradition; engage students and faculty in seminar discussion; and enable students to see the value of this Tradition in the contemporary world help develop students’ reading, writing, and speaking skills.
ED 341/541 – Irish and American Education in Comparative Perspective
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
None
Offered
Summer 1 Short Term
Faculty
description
This course, based in the Gaeltacht region of West Kerry, compares the education system in Ireland with that of the United States. Topics addressed include curriculum and instruction, funding and governance, teacher preparation, multiculturalism, language policy, and contemporary school reform. Student will be introduced to the students and teachers of Dingle, Ireland and experience the Irish education system up-close and personal. You will observe classrooms in action, learn from Irish teachers and administrators, and meet teacher candidates and their professors.
Open to all students in FCE teacher preparation programs, the course counts in lieu of Education in the United States, Multicultural Education, or an MAT elective. ED 402 for undergraduate credit or ED 502 for graduate credit.
ENG 281 – Writing Identity in Ireland
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Humanistic Inquiry
- Social and Global Awareness
Offered
Spring Semester
Faculty
description
This workshop in creative writing is designed to encourage English majors’ and Irish Studies minors’ engagement with Irish literature through practice, the exercise of creative ideation, and to develop students’ deeper understanding and appreciation of historical and contemporary Irish literary texts through artistic expression.
Students will read and workshop their ideas about Irish and Irish-American-authored texts in class, which they will then build upon in weekly creative writings tasks. These projects will range from flash fiction to poetry, songwriting to scriptwriting and comic book-writing, which they will also share with each other in class and develop into a writing portfolio.
Unique to the Sacred Heart in Dingle campus, participants of this creative writing workshop will attend a number of readings by local/contemporary authors (who write both in English and Irish) and present their own work in two open mic nights alongside local practitioners. Students will develop an ongoing dialogue on Irish, Irish-American, and outsider identity, through the sharing of their writing and ideas. They will enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore and expand the Irish literary tradition from inside the Dingle literary arts scene.
ENG 299 – Ghosts, Changelings, and Mermaids: Tradition and the Body in Irish Writing
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Social & Global Awareness
Offered
Summer 2 Short Term
Faculty
description
In this course we read Irish literature — poetry, fiction, plays, and essays — at the intersection of disability, illness, the body, gender, sexuality, class, contemporary and historical medical approaches, folklore, and more. This course is cross-listed in English, Irish Studies, and Health Humanities.
HI 260 - Irish Pubs, Pints, and Poitín
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
None
Offered
Winter Short Term
Faculty
John B. Roney Ph.D.
description
Pubs are one of the most important Irish institutions in Ireland. Irish culture has centered around three institutions: church, local GAA sports club, and the pub. Until the 1970s Mass attendance was nearly 95%, and involvement in national sports has been a widely supported, and after each of the events that included church or GAA everyone visited the pub afterwards where discussions, stories, and great ‘craic’ (fun) was experienced. With smaller homes and lack of many modern conveniences, pubs offer social spaces for sharing community knowledge and friendship, conducting business, playing music, and discussing politics.
Well beyond alcohol, the atmosphere, warmth and friendliness are a well-known aspect of Ireland; the 20th century has exported pubs around the world. Ireland has also excelled at brewing excellent ales, beers, and the word whiskey comes from the Irish ‘uisce beatha’ or water of life. This course studies the history and culture of the Irish Public House.
HI 257 – IRELAND’S SECRET PAST: HISTORY AND MEMORY IN MODERN IRELAND
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
None
Offered
Summer 2 Short Term
Faculty
John B. Roney Ph.D.
description
This course examines significant places on the Dingle peninsula that exemplify cultural heritage. When travelling through Ireland, and certainly the Dingle peninsula, it is apparent that humans have inhabited the island for many thousands of years. Students will examine holy wells, burial and religious sites, and coastal places where locals ventured into the ocean for pilgrimage, trade, and fishing. It studies the material remains, the geography of landscape and seascape, legends, stories, poems, and music that determine modern Irish identity
MA 131 – Statistics for Decision Making
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Scientific Literary
- Natural/Physical Science foundational core
Offered
Fall Semester
Faculty
description
This course is geared toward liberal arts, science, business, and health science majors.” It introduces descriptive statistics, probability distributions (both discrete and normal), confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and correlation. Real-world applications are offered throughout for a more practical understanding of statistics use.
MA 299 – Big Data on a Small Island: Data Science and Irish Tourism
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
None
Offered
Summer 1 Short Term
Faculty
description
Tourism has become increasingly popular in the rural Dingle Peninsula, with some large cruise ships stopping in the tiny Dingle harbor. With this popularity comes a fresh slate of problems. How can the crowds be managed in the town and at tourist sites? How can the people of Dingle more equitably share in the benefits of tourism? How are climate change, tourism, and the peninsula connected?
Students will take a hands-on approach to the data science cycle from start to finish. They will learn about data collection, obtain data through observations and interviews with local Dingle residents and the Chamber of Commerce, master the basics of the R statistical environment to analyze data and look for patterns, and work in teams to communicate the results. Students in any major with an interest in data will enjoy and benefit from this course.
MU 106 – Introduction to Irish Music
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Humanistic Inquiry
- Art/Design/Communications foundational core
Offered
Fall Semester
Winter Short Term
Spring Semester
Faculty
description
This course provides students with a thorough overview of traditional Irish music, song and dance from their earliest references right up to today’s influence on the world music stage. Aural, as well as some basic traditional musicianship skills, will be developed over the course. Students will experience firsthand the Irish music scene locally.
Attendance at sessions and “céilís” will enable them to savor Traditional music in its natural social setting. The course will study the history and development of the tradition, while also ensuring the students gain a deeper understanding of this tradition by learning some practical skills.
PH 271 – Bioethics: Philosophical Approaches
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Social & Global Awareness
- Humanistic Inquiry
- Scientific Literacy
Offered
Winter Short Term
Summer Short Term
Faculty
description
Spend 2 weeks learning about ethical issues in health care by exploring compelling scenarios and case-studies. Study the role of ethics and the importance of Philosophy to the Irish Catholic Intellectual Tradition and investigate how health care concerns impact the lives of patients and health-care providers throughout southwestern Ireland.
Among the central topics to be covered include informed consent, medical futility, reproductive ethics, privacy, cultural competence, and clinical trials.
PS 295 – Health Psychology
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Social & Global Awareness
- Scientific Literary
Offered
Fall Semester
Faculty
description
Focuses on the relationship between attitudes and personality factors and health. Emphasis is on stress management and behavioral change methods for health improvement and maintenance.
PS 389 – Celtic Connections & Enriching the Brain
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
Offered
Summer 1 Short Term
Faculty
Rachel Bowman Ph.D.
Dawn Melzer Ph.D.
description
Engaging with Irish preschoolers, visiting the aquarium and creating enrichment activities for the animals, participating in a Celtic Cub Scavenger Hunt, immersing yourself in meditation in an Irish forest during Shinrin-Yoku and being exposed to Irish music and language through guest speakers and excursions.
These are just some of the experiences you will have in this course which offers an applied approach to understanding neuroscience, the intersection between psychology and biology. Students will examine key concepts in neuroscience including neuroplasticity, language acquisition, learning, stress, and environmental enrichment in applied settings.
In addition, it introduces students to fundamental claims of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition; enable students to understand that Tradition as characterized by open, rigorous intellectual inquiry in the context of a faith tradition; engage students and faculty in seminar discussion; and enable students to see the value of this Tradition in the contemporary world help develop students’ reading, writing, and speaking skills.
TRS 199 – Pints, Pilgrimages, and Holy Spirits
4 Credits
liberal arts exploration
None
Offered
Summer 2 Short Semester
Faculty
Robert Koerpel PhD
description
This experiential and immersive course explores the fascinating and curious relationship between Irish monasticism, the monastic phenomenon of pilgrimage, and the history of Irish brewing and distillation of spirits (alcohol). It considers the origins and development of early medieval Irish monasticism, focusing primarily on the Irish monastic practice of pilgrimage, and the role Irish monastic pilgrimages play in development and history of Irish brewing and distillation of spirits. Students enrolled in this engaging course will listen to guest speakers, visit Ardfert Monastery and Muckross Abbey, tour Dingle Distillery and Dick Mack’s Brewery, and walk The Saint’s Way, in addition to normal course reading, discussion, and activities.
TRS 271 – Celtic Religious Traditions
3 Credits
liberal arts exploration
- Humanistic Inquiry
- Social and Global Awareness
- Theology/Religious Studies foundational core
Offered
Fall Semester
Winter Short Term
Spring Semester
Faculty
description
Study the ancient religion of Ireland, of gods and goddesses, ancestors and rituals, holy places and sacred rulers. Learn about the Celtic origins of Halloween, and the great seasonal festivals of the druids. Walk through the landscape and discover traditions and customs from ancient times that are reflected in the modern world, through myth, place names and customs.
