Teaching CST: The Documents Dilemma

Its feast or famine with me, folks.  To respond to Rick’s post from eons ago about methods for teaching a CST & the law seminar, I’m finding that I just can’t get away from the texts of the encyclicals.  This semester I am teaching a one-credit (7 week) seminar on CST & Economic Justice.  My technique has been to showcase one of the documents, flanked by a particular application.  (eg, Populorum Progressio with a discussion of liberation theology; Laborem Exercens with a discussion of Billable Hours and law firm schedules, etc.).  For next week’s discussion of Centesimus, Mark Sargent is going to be our honored guest, to discuss his “Competing Visions” of the corporation piece, as well as his CST critique of Law & Economics, Utility, The Good and Civic Happiness.  Rick, I have found that the various issues to consider emerge on their own from the encyclicals, and that after a few weeks they have the tools to dig in with a pretty sophisticated read.  If anything, based on this experience with a focus on just the Economic Justice documents, I’m inclined to work toward a series of mini-seminars on specific topics (eg, CST & Abortion Law & Policy; CST & War; CST & Environmental Law & Policy) – so not to try to digest a myriad of topics, but give them equipment for the principles in one area, together with more space to explore a number of applications.

Amy