THEO 201   Tags: neumann, theology  

You may ask why you should choose to use a book as a resource as opposed to a journal article or a site found on the web. 

Well, books tend to be resources that are longer and more in-depth than  journal articles or most web sites.  Books often provide great detail and different perspectives on a particular topic. 

On the other hand, a book may explore a multitude of different aspects that lie outside of your topic.  The use of specific, relevant chapters is perfectly acceptable.

So, does that mean that good researchers only use books?  The answer, of course, is that

the best researchers use a variety of different resources!

Welcome to the Neumann University Library's Research Guide for THEO 201!  This guide will help to familiarize you with many of the helpful tools that the library has to offer.  Along the way you will find guides, tutorials, & tips to help you use library tools strategically, effectively, and efficiently.  This Guide is here to help, but don't forget that we Librarians are also available to help you in person, by email, or via Meebo Instant Message!   

Use the "Getting Started" tab to make sure that you cover all of the research bases in a logical progression.

Good luck and happy researching!

Class Presentations

Sacramental Theology (THEO 201B)

Assignment Guidelines:

Each student has been assigned a sacrament to research. 

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation.  Total presentation time including discussion should be around 25 minutes.  Address the following points in your presentation (It would be wise to label your slides in a way that indicates which point you are addressing.):

1)      How does the sacrament continue to celebrate what Jesus did in his own life?  How does the sacrament continue to make Christ present in the world?

2)      Give a brief history of the sacrament.

3)      Have you seen the sacrament celebrated?  Have you celebrated the sacrament?  Do you know someone who has celebrated the sacrament?  What was it like?  (You may want to conduct an interview.)

4)      How does the celebration of the sacrament help people to become sacraments themselves? 

5)      How might this sacrament be related to areas of our lives that aren’t necessarily religious?  How might this sacrament be related to the lives of non-Christians/non-Catholics or those who will never celebrate the sacrament?

6)      What relevance do you think the sacrament has in our modern world?

7)       Do any non-Catholics celebrate this sacrament?  Do they have any rituals similar to it?

8)       What new insights about this sacrament did you gain from your study of The Catechism of the Catholic Church and The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults?  What did you learn in these resources that reinforced what we have discussed in class?  What other new insights did you gain from your research on this sacrament from others sources?

9)      What do you find to be most significant about the sacrament?  What significance does it have for you personally?

10)   Include three thought-provoking discussion questions at the end of your presentation that more our class discussion to a deeper level.

Present a hardcopy of your PowerPoint presentation to the instructor prior to your presentation.  Using the APA formatting guide (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/), prepare a Works Cited page of the sources used in your presentation. [You can include this page on the last slide of your presentation.]  Minimally, your presentation must utilize The United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, one of our texts, another book (from the library), and a periodical (from the library).  Be discerning in your use of internet sources.  You are encouraged to include other media (for example, video clips showing the celebration of your sacrament) in your presentation.  Be creative!

Suggested Resources:

o   Naming Grace (Mary Catherine Hilkert)

o   Exploring Catholic Theology, God, Jesus, Church and Sacraments (Bernard Hill)

o   The Total Parish Manual (William Bausch)

o   Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter with God (Edward Schillebeeckx)

o   Swear to God: The Promise and the Power of Sacraments (Scott Hahn)

o   Doors to the Sacred (Joseph Martos)

o   Rethinking the Sacraments (Bill Huebsch)

o   americancatholic.org

o   Catholic Encyclopedia (new edition, not found on-line)

o   ProQuest Database/ EBSCO – Select databases

o   How to Be a Perfect Stranger (Arthur J. Magida)