BA (Hons) Philosophy and the Catholic Tradition

BA (Hons) Philosophy and the Catholic Tradition

Maryvale Institute offers an Open University validated, part-time, distance learning BA in Philosophy and the Catholic Tradition ; allowing students unable to attend full-time programme access to this Degree.

The aims of the Degree are to:

• Equip students with knowledge and understanding of enduring philosophical disciplines, such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and logic.
• Explore the relationship between these and Catholic theology, guided by the vision of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio.
• Develop in students an ability to conduct a personal study at the level required of an informed and independent scholar, aiming to become an Honours level graduate.

Programme of study

• This unique programme is a five year, part-time, distance learning course, validated by The Open University.

Applications accepted for January start.

The BA in Philosophy and the Catholic Tradition allows students to encounter those outstanding figures in the history of philosophy who are also major figures in the history of Catholic thought. The course also presents the Catholic tradition of philosophy to students as a living, dynamic reality, in critical and constructive dialogue with the other philosophical traditions at work in our contemporary culture. The course aims to engage Catholic students fully with the western philosophical tradition, to enable them to understand their faith better and so to contribute to the evangelisation of the culture in which they live.

Who is the programme aimed at?

The programme would appeal to those wishing to study philosophy within the Catholic tradition in some depth. The course is at an undergraduate honours degree level and is validated by The Open University . Within this programme, students may gain a Higher Education Certificate and Diploma in Philosophy and the Catholic Tradition for two and four years study respectively. To suit the needs of clerical and religious students, there are opportunities to take appropriately ordered combinations of modules, from the degree course. Students who wish to discover the scope of the Programme and the level of studies it requires may follow Module One ‘Introduction to Philosophy’ before applying to follow the degree programme.

What are the entry requirements?

In general, entry to this degree programme is ‘open’ in the sense that no specific previous qualifications are needed but evidence will be sought of ability for degree level work and the application will need to be supported by appropriate references. The Programme is delivered in English and evidence of competence in the language may be required of those for whom English is not their first language.

How long is the programme?

The programme is part-time and takes five years to complete and is validated by The Open University.

When does the next programme start?

A new programme begins each January.

Programme information

Aims:

• To introduce students to the main branches of philosophy, and to some classic texts, together with the major philosophers in the western tradition.
• To provide students with a critical understanding of the Catholic philosophical tradition.
• To explore the relationship between the Catholic philosophical tradition, continental philosophical traditions and Anglo-American philosophy.
• To enable students to engage with diverse philosophical standpoints from the perspective of the Catholic philosophical tradition.
• To analyse the various philosophical foundations for the study of theology together with the use of philosophical principles in the life and thinking of the Church.
• To enable students to prepare for further study, especially in the fields of philosophy and theology.

Structure:

The course is studied over five years with three double modules being taken in year one and six modules in year two. In years three and four students study six modules in each year. In year five students study one further compulsory module, then choose a further elective module from a list of options and then embark upon the writing of a long essay.

Each module is studied following a tutor-assisted, supported, open learning process over a period of between 6 weeks and 12 weeks, depending on module length. Students are expected to study for around 15 hours per week during the Certificate years and for an average of 20 hours a week during the Diploma and BA years.

Students attend two residential weekends per year and a residential week. A key element during each of the residential periods, and especially during the residential week, is the seminar study of module-related prepared primary texts.

Content:

Modules of study are taken on:

• Introduction to Philosophy
• Epistemology
• Metaphysics
• History of Philosophy
• Philosophy of the Human Person
• Logic
• Ethics
• Philosophy of God
• Philosophy of Science
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Issues in Contemporary Philosophy
• Cosmology
• Philosophy, Culture and Evangelisation
• Philosophy of History
• Philosophy of the Arts
• Phenomenology, Gadamer and Newman
• The Thought of St Thomas Aquinas
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy and contemporary Catholic Theology
• Plus optional modules in Edmund Husserl or Thomas More and Renaissance Philosophy.

Assessment

There are three elements in the assessment strategy for this programme:

• Assignments
• Examinations
• Primary text reflections

How do I apply?

Applications are welcome throughout the preceding year, up to the first week of January.

Accessibility

If you have a disability or any long-term condition that impacts on your day-to-day life, please download the Accessibility Form, open and edit it in Acrobat Reader, and email or post the completed document to the Accessibility Coordinator (address included on the form), to ensure we can give you the best possible support during your course of study. Disclosing a disability will not be a factor in the Institute’s decision as to whether or not to offer you a place on the course. However, it is important that the Institute knows if you have any special needs in order to provide you with appropriate support and facilities. This information will remain strictly confidential.

Student Feedback

What have you found especially positive about the last study weekend?

• "The structure of the material covered was very stimulating, particularly as an introduction to this subject."
• "The discussions and networking with fellow students were delightful and also friendly relationships with staff."
• "The simple lecture format (without the need to page through coursebooks)."
• "The variety of presenters and presentations."
• "Breaking new ground into the study of philosophers who I knew nothing about.."
• "Lectures by experts in the field."
• "The introduction to the web resources and the Library."
• "The peaceful environment."
• "The friendly staff."
• "The lecturers put previous reading into context."
• "Very clearly presented and ideas explained in a way that reassured and engaged."
• "Practice tips for dealing with coursework."
• "Opportunity to use the Library."
• "Quiet study environment."
• "The peaceful and calm atmosphere and retreat, like I stepped out of normal life."
• "The lectures were useful and focused on what was needed."

What insights have you gained over the study weekend for your own philosophical development?

• "The idea of philosophy as an ongoing journey, as opposed to the complete definite answers."
• "The introduction [served] as a sort of road map, with different elements to be explained."
• "The necessity to know what it is and means to be human."
• "That there is no definitive and complete philosophy canonised by the Church."
• "That there is some valuable knowledge in every philosophy."
• "The importance of Fides et Ratio as a whole grounding for the course."
• "Philosophy is an ongoing enterprise - always new ideas - but much of it is a conversation with classical ideas, e.g. metaphysics."
• "Philosophy is itself multi-disciplinary and in dialogue with other disciplines, e.g. psychology and linguistics."

BA Philosophy Students - January 2018

About Maryvale.

Maryvale lies at the centre of the ancient settlement of Oscott, about five miles from Birmingham City Centre. With its charming buildings, in which Christian values and prayer are almost tangible, its long and interesting history and peaceful grounds, Maryvale is spiritual ‘home’ to many.

It has been the aim of the Maryvale Institute from its inception to provide opportunities for lay people, clergy and religious to achieve a deeper understanding of the faith and to appreciate more clearly its joyful message for the lives of individuals and communities. Maryvale stands within the Catholic theological tradition, whose riches it seeks to explore, and draws from that tradition an insistence, not only on the foundational importance of faith for theological reasoning, but also on the place of reason in the response of faith. In pursuance of this, the Institute provides opportunities for Catholic formation and education through courses across a wide range of subjects and levels.

Maryvale has a well-equipped library, where internet access and computers are available to students, together with multi-media and audio-visual resources. The House can accommodate up to 150 people on a daily basis in its lecture, conference and seminar rooms, and has study bedrooms to accommodate 40 students. The Bridgettine Sisters welcome guests and maintain a regular cycle of prayer in the Chapel. The Shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a popular place of pilgrimage. The grounds include a Rosary walk with Stations of the Cross, ample car parking, and easy access to numerous sites of historic interest, Oscott College, the Birmingham Oratory and Birmingham City Centre.

A Historic Spiritual Environment for Academic Work

Maryvale occupies a unique place in the history of the Catholic Church in England. Catholic worship has been celebrated continuously on the site for over 1000 years. The oldest part of the present building, originally called Oscott House, was the home of the Bromwich family, and the base for the local Catholic mission during the 17th and 18th centuries. Andrew Bromwich was one of the last priests to be imprisoned towards the end of the penal period, and when he inherited the family house he gave it over for the use of the Church as the English mission emerged from the shadows with the gradual relaxation of the anti-Catholic laws.

From 1794 to 1838 it became the first seminary established in England and, being placed under the patronage of Our Blessed Lady, became known as St Mary’s College, Oscott. When the seminary was relocated to a new and larger building in 1838 (in the area of Birmingham that is still called New Oscott) it was used as a school until in 1846 it became the home of Blessed John Henry Newman and his community of fellow converts. Following ordination in Rome, he established the first English Oratory there and renamed the house Maryvale.

After the Oratory moved to central Birmingham, Maryvale briefly became the novitiate for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and was visited by their founder, St Eugene de Mazenod. Then for nearly 130 years, it housed an orphanage run by the Sisters of Mercy until they left in 1980 when it assumed its present role as an institute for adult faith formation.

Maryvale also contains Britain’s first public shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, established by Bishop Milner in 1814, who built a small chapel to house an image of the Sacred Heart painted in glass as described by Saint Gertrude. The monthly first Friday devotions are held in the Institute chapel, and there is an annual novena leading up to the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and culminating with a pilgrimage mass on the Sunday following.

Maryvale Chapel remained as the parish church and the centre of the local Catholic community until the new church of Our Lady of the Assumption was opened in the 1950s to accommodate the needs of the expanding Maryvale parish.

So as well as being a specialist educational centre, Maryvale is a place of worship, a place of pilgrimage and a spiritual community of prayer and mission. In 1999 sisters of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour of St Bridget - the Bridgettines - came to live at Maryvale in a new convent financed by Saint John Paul II. In addition to a deep devotion to our Lord’s sufferings and to the Blessed Sacrament, which is regularly exposed for adoration in the chapel, the sisters’ special charisms are contemplation, hospitality and prayer to foster unity among Christians.

The integration of study and prayer is a feature of all Maryvale courses and students participating in the day or short residential programmes at the Institute enjoy teaching and learning opportunities united to a cycle of prayer and worship, including Mass and the Divine Office.

A Place of Study

A Unique Academic Environment

Maryvale is committed to the highest academic and professional standards and is recognised internationally for these standards and its unique opportunities for distance learning based upon the Catholic philosophy of learning for life.

Whether you are training for a special ministry in the Church, looking for professional development, or seeking personal growth, Maryvale offers courses for all. It can help whether you are faced with the challenge of assisting in the parish, instructing a parish Confirmation group, or if you hope to stretch your academic capacity at masters or doctoral level.

All of Maryvale's courses can be audited

If you would like to follow one of Maryvale's courses without presenting work or seeking a qualification you are welcome to do so. All of the courses can be followed simply for one's personal interest and development. Students taking a course in this way receive the modules and follow the course without being eligible for a qualification.

Individual Needs

Many Further Education courses allow for the study of individual modules for those wishing to study a particular area; read the individual course pages for further information.

Special rates and arrangements are available for those wishing to use the Certificate in Studies of the Catechism in Formation Programmes for Religious and Pre-Seminarians (formerly Course for Religious).

Maryvale Institute's Vision and Mission

Vision

The vision for Maryvale Institute, as per the Trust Deed, is to be a diocesan, national and international college which:

• Lives and presents the Catholic faith, morality and its contribution to contemporary religious, moral and ethical issues;
• Provides a range of formation courses offered primarily, but not exclusively, to lay and consecrated religious members of the Church, especially those involved in catechesis or other lay apostolates;
• Takes a self-critical stance as an academic community in monitoring and evaluating its own courses and methods in the light of evidence gathered internally and that provided by external agencies to ensure the highest possible standards and relevance of its academic activities;
• Develops its courses and other activities according to the findings of ongoing evaluation procedures and in response to changing needs in the wider community, as advised by the Board of Trustees;
• Develops collaborative partnerships with other centres of Catholic theological education in the UK and elsewhere, and other UK higher education providers;

Mission Statement

• The Mission of Maryvale Institute is to be a leader in the provision of lifelong learning for all, and research opportunities, in Catholic Evangelisation, Catechetics, Theology, Philosophy and Religious Education in order to serve Christ’s mandate and his Church’s mission of evangelisation in contemporary society. This provision is a distinctive combination of the methodology of distance learning and critical engagement with the Word of God in Scripture and Tradition, guided by the Church’s Magisterium. This work is carried out within an environment of Christian Faith, of academic and administrative quality, of open dialogue and the mutual valuing of the work, gifts and the personal and professional development of every member of the Institute.