General Course Description:
The Benedictine Raven designation identifies courses, outside of the Integrations Curriculum’s Theology courses and outside of the Theology Department, that provide students exposure to “the Catholic Intellectual Tradition as guided by the Benedictine principles of the colleges’ founders.” The Benedictine Raven designation provides students with more advanced (scaffolded) learning of Benedictine practices, values, and heritage. The designation encourages students to reflect on a Benedictine perspective throughout their curricular work, and especially outside of the exposure they typically receive in their Theological coursework or their co-curricular activities. The designation is intended to be embedded in courses of almost any discipline and taught by faculty from across all divisions. In these courses, students will create a reflective artifact for the electronic portfolio that explains or demonstrates how the student used a Benedictine perspective as a lens for examining or interpreting questions in contemporary life.
----
In the Integrations Curriculum a course can be designated as either:
- A Way of Thinking, AND/OR
- A Thematic Encounter or Thematic Focus
- CSD: Identity (CI) or CSD: Systems (CS), OR
- INTG 100: Learning Foundations (LF), INTG 205: Transfer Seminar, or INTG 300: Learning Integrations (LI), OR
- Theological Explorations (TE) or Theological Integrations (TI)
Any course carrying one of the above designations may also have one engagement^ (except for TE, CSD:I, LF, and LI, which cannot carry engagements:
- Artistic engagement (AR)
- Experiential engagement (EX)
- Global engagement (GL)*
Any course may satisfy the Quantitative Reasoning skill requirement.
Any course (except courses that fulfill Theological Explorations, Theological Integrations, Learning Foundations, or any course with a THEO course number) may also satisfy the Benedictine Raven (BN).
Any course except INTG 100 Learning Foundations, CSD:I, INTG 105 College Success, and INTG 300 Learning Integrations may satisfy the WR designation.**
^Semester-length study abroad courses may carry both GL and EX.
*Classes entering the Fall of 2020 and 2021 are waived from the GL and BN requirements.
**For classes entering in the Fall 2022 onward.
----
Benedictine Raven Learning Goal
Students develop an awareness of a Benedictine perspective (practices, values, and heritage) using texts or experiences inside or outside the classroom and reflect on how a Benedictine perspective might apply to questions in contemporary life.
After taking a course with the Benedictine Raven designation, students will be able to:
- Articulate awareness of a Benedictine perspective.
- Apply a Benedictine perspective to questions in contemporary life.
- Provide relevant evidence for the portfolio artifact.
Courses that would be particularly appropriate to carry the Benedictine Raven include:
- Cultural and Social Difference: Systems
- Way of Thinking - Thematic Focus course
Please note:
A. The committee understands that some courses may still be in development. Prompts that ask for examples of assignments seek information about the spirit of what students will do and instructors are not bound to the specific details (e.g. writing prompts) provided.
B. The committee includes faculty from a variety of disciplines. Please remember to briefly explain disciplinary terms, contexts, and/or texts to allow all the members of the committee to best understand how your responses address the question.
C. As you are answering these questions, please keep in mind that students will need to produce work to assess their fulfillment of the related learning outcomes if applicable.
