THEO111 Christian Experience I (Personal Relationship)

Recent popes have emphasized the necessity of personal encounter with Jesus Christ. This exhortation raises questions, however, for individual Christian disciples. For JPCatholic students, specifically, this course considers how such an encounter can be fostered within a university community, and how it might be lived in an ongoing way. It therefore doubles as an introduction to university community and to Catholic theological study, and connects faith principles with lived experience so as to bolster faith and spur evangelization.

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THEO112 Christian Experience II (Catholic Doctrine)

This course introduces students to the diverse world of radio, television, news, cinema, internet, print and advertising. Students will learn how to critically experience such media and analyze its desired results. Students will also explore how media has developed and evolved through history and examine the current influences of media on society from a cultural, artistic and economic perspective. In addition, we will explore what the role of Christians in this new media environment can and should be, and how we can best utilize the opportunities available to us to become who we want to be.

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THEO112 Christian Experience III (The Sacramental Life)

Our redemption was accomplished by a God who entered history. As a consequence, Catholics understand communion as something that occurs in a context of tradition. Faith is handed down over centuries by the successors of the apostles; we read and interpret Sacred Scripture according to long-established understandings and principles; our prayer to the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit bears a striking resemblance to that of the first Christian communities. This course examines sacramental ritual and considers the perennial necessity of personal prayer, enabling students to better understand the power of this ancient faith. In its essential elements it never changes—which is precisely what allows it to change us.

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THEO216 Christian Experience IV (Theology of the Body)

It is all too easy to see one’s own desires as what really matters, and to live accordingly. With his Theology of the Body, however, Pope St. John Paul the Great offers a fresh perspective, one that dares to lift us above the confusion and malaise wrought by this era’s remarkable selfishness. This course affords students an opportunity to explore this theological treasure given to the Church by our university’s patron, and to better see how an individual human life can be lived not selfishly, but as a gift received from God and intended for others.

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THEO205 New Testament

In this course the student explores the Scriptures, particularly the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to understand the person of Jesus Christ. This Scripture course serves as the starting point for JPCatholic University’s religion curriculum. While examining some of the basic literary and historical issues relating to Scripture study, the course also introduces students to the theological principles of Catholic biblical exegesis. The course also explores ways the study of Scripture enhances the life of prayer.

PHIL101 Logic

In this course students learn about the basic structures of sound reasoning, focusing largely on classic Aristotelian logic. The course serves to help students think and argue with clarity as well as to effectively analyze arguments of others. The course includes a careful analysis of the operations of the intellect, i.e., understanding, judgment, and reasoning, focusing on their products, i.e., term, proposition, and syllogism.

PHIL203 Philosophy of Nature

This course is a detailed study in the various understandings of nature, beginning from the mythology of the Enuma Elish as a primitive attempt at grasping the world, to the classical understanding found in Aristotle’s Physics and 141 Parts of Animals and their Medieval development in Thomas Aquinas’s The Principles of Nature, to foundational texts in modern natural sciences such as those of Descartes, Galileo and Newton, to discussions of evolution found in Darwin, and finally to near contemporary physicists such as Heisenberg. The contrast between the classical stress on substantial form and formal causality and the modern method of material causality and mathematical law will be brought to the forefront, as will the emphasis on technology as a mastery of nature in modern science and the question of teleology, whether nature acts for a purpose.

PHIL204 Philosophy of Man

After providing an overview of the basic principles of the Philosophy of Nature, this course examines the nature of the human being, beginning from the Epic of Gilgamesh, continuing through the Classical period by means of Aristotle, the Middle Ages in St. Thomas Aquinas, the Renaissance via Blaise Pascal, and concluding in the modern period in Nietzsche, Freud and T. S. Eliot.

PHIL408 Philosophy of Man

This is a course in the various understandings of metaphysics, or the nature of being as being, beginning from Plato’s Timaeus, continuing through the Classical period by means of Aristotle, and the Middle Ages in St. Thomas Aquinas. The course continues by covering several related questions, beginning with Natural Theology (discussing the traditional proofs for the existence of God, the Divine Attributes that can be understood using reason alone, the analogy of being, and the act of creation), continuing with the “problem of evil” and the question of free will.

HUMA111 Cultural Foundations I (The Classical Period)

As this course engages apparently timeless literary works from the classical tradition, it situates them within specific historical contexts. This approach enables students to better appreciate the enduring power of story even as they recognize the complex relationship art to its surrounding culture. Masterworks of pagan antiquity (Homer and/or Virgil) give way to key texts of early Christendom (Augustine, Beowulf, and others) in order to further illuminate the impact of Christian theology and anthropology on artists and thinkers in myriad disciplines.

HUMA112 Cultural Foundations II (The Middle Ages & the Renaissance)

This course tracks the development in European art and thought during the transition from the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Special attention is paid at the outset to the tensions arising from, surrounding, and even bringing about this epochal shift, especially as evidenced in Dante’s Divine Comedy. When the course later shifts its focus to texts produced by Shakespeare and other authors in Renaissance England, students find these tensions now located in increasingly realistic and complex human figures and dramas. Through these explorations students come to see the distinctive groundwork being laid for what will later be recognized as the modern period.

HUMA113 Cultural Foundations III (The Early Modernity)

This third course in our Cultural Foundations series tracks the rise of modernity against the backdrop of various 18th and 19th century upheavals. In order to best appreciate the dynamism and complexity of this period, students will immerse themselves in the literary form most characteristic of the 19th century: the novel. By applying order to an increasingly dissonant world, the great novels of the European tradition illuminate daily life amidst revolutionary change in a uniquely personal way, and they capture in their progress both the subtlest movements of human consciousness and the most profound transformations of human hearts.

HUMA301 Global Cultures, History & Politics

This course studies a wide variety of global cultures by listening to indigenous voices expressing themselves in cultural products that include novels, films, music, poetry, essays, speeches, and journalism.

HUMA120 Culture Making *

This course examines how media and business shape the attitudes, practices and beliefs of individuals and groups, and develops in students a rich understanding of the subtle and powerful cultural currents swirling around them, so that they can make valuable contributions to the development of future cultures. Students will consider critically how media and business shape them, learning to recognize the attitudes, assumptions, arguments and ideas promoted by media and business enterprises and products. They will develop a full, thoughtful and practical understanding of what cultures are and how they grow, and of the university’s mission to Impact Culture for Christ. They will gain an understanding of how Christians are perceived by the cultures around them, and appreciate how one gains the privilege of participation in the shaping of cultures. Finally, students will learn to articulate what of value they have to offer the cultures around them, and how they hope to make that contribution over the course of their lives and careers.

HUMA122 College Writing I *

This course will emphasize the use of correct grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. Students will be required to apply these skills to writing assignments.

HUMA124 Advanced College Writing

Students conduct research on a primary text and write a lengthy paper, practicing revision and editing skills as they develop their original theses. This class encourages a “close reading” of a primary text, requires students to build an annotated bibliography to evaluate secondary and tertiary source material, and introduces rhetorical concepts in the effort to help students become stronger readers and writers.

MATH202 Personal Finance & Success

This course provides students with concepts and strategies related to practical financial and personal decision-making. Taking a holistic approach, students will be given the tools to manage not just their personal finances, but their investments in time, service, etc. Topics will include budgeting, spending, hsaving, borrowing, investing, time management, tithing, and giving.

SCIN300 Science, Technology & Culture

This course will familiarize students with fundamental scientific concepts and explore how the application of those concepts affects society and global economics. Topics include: the structure of the atom and its applications in biology and physics; circuits, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things; DNA, diseases, and vaccines. Each topic builds towards the question, "what does Catholic teaching tell us about how we as Christians live and participate in this rapidly changing world?"

BUSI106 Entrepreneurial Thinking

In today’s world there is a need for strategic thinking and business vision based on a different paradigm. Competition is not only between products and services, but also between business models. Students will learn about innovation-driven business strategies and methodologies to develop business designs to successfully compete in the new economy.

BUSI193 Introduction to Marketing

This course focuses on introducing the idea of “entrepreneurial marketing” and is aimed at students who plan to start a new venture or take a job as a marketing professional pursuing an innovative marketing approach. Students will study a full spectrum of marketing strategy and tactics that are especially suitable for entrepreneurial firms aiming for high growth and innovation yet faced by limited resources and uncertain industry dynamics. Students will work in teams on marketing plans for their own venture or for other high profile entrepreneurs or executives. The focus of this course is on hands-on experiences and practical relevance of innovative marketing concepts.

BUSI209 Building Blocks of Business

In this class students get a “big picture” look at the ingredients of a start-up firm and the process of creating one. The class details those ingredients, discusses the stories (good & bad) of people who have done it, and learn the process by going through it with a self-select team. Students learn: the business planning process, which maps how to move from an idea to an actual enterprise offering an actual product/service/apostolate; How to craft a compelling and clear business story that captures the true essence of your business; and finally acquire inquisitiveness as to how the world of business really works. The class deliverable is a complete Business Plan created by student teams along with a presentation of the plan.

BUSI300 Negotiation Skills

This course teaches students to meet and resolve objections and conflicts that result from written and oral proposals and pitches. Emphasis is on resolving customer obstacles before addressing your own. Topics covered include: Wants vs. Needs; Win-Win Strategies; Best Alternatives to Agreement; Schedule vs. Quality vs. Cost; Progress vs. Perfection. The class progresses through carefully structured, progressively more complex negotiation exercises. Students learn how external and internal negotiation has become a way of life for effective managers in a constantly changing business environment.

BUSI393 Leadership and Management

This course is an introductory-level course for students. Its intent is to give an in-depth understanding of the differences between – and similarities of — leadership and management. The course focuses on the major traits of leaders and managers, and augments these with examples of great historic leaders, including George Custer and Jesus Christ. The course also studies the many leadership traits of Abraham Lincoln, and looks at how these can be applied in modern business to improve management techniques. As part of the learning process, students give summaries of Lincoln’s leadership lessons, using short, Power Point presentations.

COMM200 Business Communications

This course will teach students how to write and speak effectively in business and other communication.

ENTM203 The Producer: Planning for Production

The Producer: Planning for Production provides a theoretical and practical introduction to the role of the film producer in five principle areas:

• Creative Development
• Packaging
• Financing
• Budgeting, Scheduling & Hiring
• Marketing & Distribution

ENTM101 Story, Genre & Structure

A theoretical and practical introduction to the human phenomenon of storytelling, what stories are, their central role in culture from ancient times to the present day, and how storytellers seek and communicate meaning. Particular attention will be paid to the significance of story in the Judeo-Christian tradition and story’s role within the Christian faith. Students will generate numerous story ideas, and with the help of their classmates and the instructor will evaluate those ideas in terms of audience appeal, theme and meaning.

ENTM102 Media Survey

This course introduces students to the diverse world of radio, television, news, cinema, internet, print and advertising. Students will learn how to critically experience such media and analyze its desired results. Students will also explore how media has developed and evolved through history and examine the current influences of media on society from a cultural, artistic and economic perspective. In addition, we will explore what the role of Christians in this new media environment can and should be, and how we can best utilize the opportunities available to us to become who we want to be.

ENTM207 Visual Storytelling: Film Criticism

This class will study some of the most important films in American cinema to understand the cultural context in which they were created, the role of the director in the filmmaking process, and the lasting legacy that the various films enjoy.

ENTM410 Media Law & Ethics

The course examines the legal relationships in the motion picture and television industries, as well as the legal relationships between artists and their personal managers. It covers the key legal principles that are involved in most media productions. This includes with trade unions, licensing, intellectual property and contract issues. In addition, this course explores ethical challenges students are likely to encounter working in entertainment and guides them through the development of a personal code of ethics that is informed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

ENTM421 Media Career Strategies

In this course students identify their specialized interest and value within the media industry, and through the creation of a comprehensive career strategy, use specialized knowledge, skills and experience to prepare themselves to be hired by media companies and promote themselves within the media industry. The class will also look at the unique world of freelancing and give students the tools necessary to venture into self-employment.

ENTM491 Senior Project

The senior project is a series of courses (up to three) in which students will work either individually or as part of a team and create or contribute to a significant media project that spotlights their area of emphasis. Class II is the production phase.

Instructor approval is required to take this class.

ENTM105 Writing & Pitching a Script

This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, with specific application to writing for the screen. The student will learn the basics of scriptwriting and will combine this with previously acquired writing and storytelling skills to write a spec script for an existing half-hour or hour-long television series. Students will hone their presentation skills to pitch their television story. Class time will be dedicated to covering beginning and intermediate topics including breaking stories, scene writing, dialogue, subtext, direction, giving and receiving notes in a writers’ group, and script format. Students will critique one another’s work in small groups, with instructor guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write outside of class. Students will read and respond to the required texts as well as assigned episodic television scripts.

ENTM200 Fundamentals of Story Development

This course builds on student understanding of screen storytelling established in Story, Genre and Structure and Writing and Pitching a Script. Students will develop an original feature-length screen story from multiple ideas through idea evaluation and selection, character creation and development, story structure, treatment, pitch and beat sheet. At the end of the course, students will register their work with the WGA (a $20 fee). Students will consider more advanced screenwriting concepts presented in the text and will apply those principles to their developing stories.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105

ENTM201 Writing for the Screen I

This course builds on the work completed in Fundamentals of Story Development. Students will at a minimum write the first two acts of a screenplay. They will read classic and modern screenplays. Class time will be dedicated to covering intermediate topics including scene transitions, writing with subtext, visual writing, and further developing skills in scene and dialogue writing and script formatting, and finding solutions to writer's block. Students will critique one another's work in small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105, ENTM200

ENTM202 Writing for the Screen II

Students will continue their study of screenwriting begun in Writing for the Screen I. They will complete the first draft of a feature length screenplay and plan and complete a second draft of that screenplay, and they will register their finished work with the WGA. Class time will be dedicated to covering intermediate and advanced topics including rewriting, working with producers, directors and agents, types of professional meetings and how to make the most of them, how to seek buyers for scripted material, and the articulation of a well-developed personal code of ethics in entertainment. Students will critique one another's work in small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write. Students will read and respond to the required texts as well as to feature screenplays and episodic television scripts.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105, ENTM200, ENTM201

ENTM208 Writing Short Form Cinema

Students will continue their study of screenwriting with a focus on writing narrative films under 40 minutes in length. They will screen and analyze multiple examples of short cinema to gain an understanding of the qualities possessed by the best examples of the form. They will write numerous short scripts with the goal of generating one or more short scripts of high quality that can be produced either inside or outside the university setting. Students will critique one another's work with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write. Students will read and respond to the required texts.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105

ENTM311 Adaptation

This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, and Fundamentals of Story Development, with a focus on the principles and skills of adapting for the screen a story which originates in another medium, as well as adapting true stories for the screen. The student will consider the challenges inherent in adapting a story from another medium, and from true life, and will gain skills and experience by writing, developing, and/or pitching multiple stories of this type. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained in this course will serve aspiring screenwriters, as well as aspiring producers, directors, agents, managers, and executives who will involve themselves in the development of story material for the screen. Students will pitch their adaptations and will critique one another’s work in large and small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write and develop stories outside of class. Students will read andrespond to the required text.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM200

ENTM312 Advanced Writing Seminar I

This course provides advanced writing experience for students who have completed multiple scripts for the screen. Assignments will be individualized based on student experience, interest, and skill, and may include development and writing of feature film scripts, television episodes or pilots, short film scripts, and scripts for web-based distribution. Students may also rewrite existing works for which they've written earlier drafts. Students will read and lead discussions of numerous screenplays. Students will pitch their stories, and may be asked to pitch to students in other courses. Students will critique one another’s work in large and small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. They will also develop a personalized career strategy as a writer for the screen. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained in this course will serve aspiring writers, writer-directors, and writer-producers for film, television, and new media. Considerable time will be required for students to write and develop scripts outside of class

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105, ENTM200, ENTM201, ENTM202

ENTM121 Writing for TV

An exploration of the business and craft of writing for television. Students will study the distinctive characteristics of television storytelling, including episodic structure, character orchestration for television, hour-long versus half-hour writing, group writing and rewriting, spec writing for existing shows, the development and pitching of new series, writing pilots, and launching a television writing career.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105

ENTM214 Writing Dialogue

This course makes a rich study of screen dialogue. Students will read and screen a wide range of examples of extraordinary dialogue from film, television and the stage. They will analyze the variety of jobs dialogue performs in narrative and consider the principles they can apply to write effective dialogue for the screen. They will employ what they learn writing, rewriting and polishing dialogue for the screen.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105

ENTM321 Christian Content in Mainstream Media

Hollywood spends hundreds of millions of dollars making Christian movies every year… they just don’t know it yet, and neither do most audiences. Many writers aspire to write stories with deep faith and spiritual themes, that will speak to a wide audience. Very few, however, succeed at doing more than preaching to the choir, if their films ever get made at all. This course is meant for students who wish to write faith-based stories that will speak to — and get made by — people who wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere near a “Christian movie.” This course will offer tips for the aspiring Christian screenwriter, not only for how to craft such stories, but how to survive as a Christian in an industry that seems completely unfriendly to them.

ENTM322 Screenwriting Analysis

This course explores the craft of screenwriting through analyzing and studying successful screenplays in a wide variety of genres and styles. Students read excerpts from numerous masterworks of screenwriting and strive to craft writing samples that achieve artistic and technical excellence guided and inspired by what they have read.

Prerequisites: ENTM101

ENTM324 Creating Science Fiction Script

A combined screening, lecture and workshop series. In this guided workshop course, students develop an understanding of the science fiction genre and undergo creative development, writing, and re-writing to craft a high quality screenplay in that genre. The class will explore shaping a story through speculation and world-building. Screenings and class readings will analyze popular sub-genres in science fiction (e.g., post-apocalyptic stories, space opera, near-future and “hard science” vs. science fantasy), with an eye toward acquainting students with the conventions and cliches of their chosen arena.

ENTM325 Feature Film: Story Development

This course is part of the Feature Film Program. Students apply the knowledge and experience gained in Fundamentals of Story Development to craft entertaining and unique story concepts that are producible on an independent scale. The best projects will be selected as candidates for production within the Feature Film Program.

Prerequisites: ENTM200

ENTM326 Feature Film: Rewriting

One of the most vital skills any writer can have is the ability to recognize the flaws in one’s own work and fix it before anyone else does. This course will provide students with the opportunity to bring in original scripts for the express purpose of identifying their flaws, magnifying their strengths, and revising their work with a set of editorial skills that will serve them well in their careers as screenwriters.

Prerequisites: ENTM105

ENTM328 High Concept Screenwriting

Nothing kicks a door open in Hollywood faster than a movie concept that instantly promises to attract and entertain an audience. This course will teach students how to find or create high concept stories, how to field-test them prior to writing or pitching them, and how to craft them into screenplays that exploit the full potential of their ideas. Skills that will be fostered in this class include The Brainstorming Process; How to Pitch a High-Concept Story; How to Tell if Your Story is Pitchable (or will need to be written as a spec), and How to Know You’ve Got a Really Good One.

ENTM403 Advanced Writing Seminar II

This course follows Advanced Writing Seminar I and provides additional advanced writing experience for students who have completed multiple scripts for the screen. Assignments will be individualized based on student experience, interest, and skill, and may include development and writing of feature film scripts, television episodes or pilots, short film scripts, and scripts for web-based distribution. Students may also rewrite existing works for which they've written earlier drafts. Students will read and lead discussions of numerous screenplays. Students will pitch their stories, and may be asked to pitch to students in other courses. Students will critique one another’s work in large and small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. They may also be asked to supervise the script development work of underclassmen. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained in this course will serve aspiring writers, writer-directors, and writer-producers for film, television, and new media. Considerable time will be required for students to write and develop scripts outside of class.

Prerequisites: ENTM101, ENTM105, ENTM200, ENTM201, ENTM202, ENTM312

ENTM000 Advanced Writing Seminar III

Course description coming soon

HUMA233 Studies in Fiction

Fictional narrative, that human invention that trips so naturally from the tongues of children and grandparents alike, appears simple, even inevitable. Such appearances can be deceiving, however. Any narrative worthy of the name—one employing richly drawn characters and tensile plotting, and set down in lucid and evocative language—functions as a highly complex artistic organism. This course brings students to notice trademarks of excellent and lasting prose fiction, and to engage critically with prominent works so as to discern accurately between a masterpiece and a piece of pulp masquerading as well-hewn literature.

HUMA234 Studies in Poetry

This course exposes students to the vast wealth of the English-language poetic tradition. Beginning with the micro-sagas, riddles and serenades that populate Old and Middle English verse, students advance to engage with major writers and works of intervening centuries before concluding with the more familiar speech—but also the bewildering disjunction—of the poetry of our modern era.

HUMA220 Writing Short Fiction I

This course serves as an introduction to the art of short story writing, providing students with the opportunity to engage in their own original work with foundational aspects of prose fiction. Class discussions focus on the work of established masters of the short story form, and regular workshop sessions provide opportunities to explore and critique the stories of classmates, and to build a supportive community of writers in the process.

HUMA320 Writing Short Fiction II

Picking up where Writing Short Fiction I leaves off, this course affords advanced students additional instruction in the demanding art of short story writing. The workshop model continues to serve discussions of original student work, and during other class discussions articular stress is laid on finer aspects of craft and sincere engagement with more recent masters of the form.

Prerequisites: HUMA220

HUMA323 Writing Poetry I

This course affords students the opportunity to engage with the art of poetry as practitioners. By increasing each students’ awareness of musicality, artistic process, aesthetic sensibility, and the impressionistic power of language, this course aims to enable the crafting of lasting pieces of literary art.

HUMA342 Novel Development II

This course is oriented toward the production of a complete, substantial, and complex work of prose fiction. This process of writing a novella or significant prose narrative will provide students with a unique opportunity to learn and master elements of prose fiction such as character, structure, plot arc, narrative voice, and prose style, with the ultimate aim of creating a lasting work of literary art.

Prerequisites: HUMA339

HUMA346 Literature Seminar

This course enables focused study of a specific author, era, or literary movement. Focus will be on significant literary texts with additional attention to critical literature, historical context, and cultural influence as needed. Repeatable for credit with different topics.

HUMA421 Writing Poetry II

This course continues where Writing Poetry leaves off, offering students additional engagement with the art of poetry as practitioners. Readings of well-crafted and thought-provoking poetry will inspire original work, and exercises will prompt additional growth in specific areas--musicality, form, contrast, and line, among others. The quarter will conclude with students assembling a collection of original work.

Prerequisites: HUMA221