2006-2007                                                          Fontbonne Hall Academy

 

Building Loving Relationships                                      Trimester II

 

 

 

 

                                     

 

 

                                                                                                           

 

                                                                                                            Mr. Fred Herron

Course Description

The goal of this course is to consider love as the heart of all human experience. The foundation of our vision of love is the New Testament vision of Jesus and the interpretation of that vision in the history of Christian life and thought. Contemporary questions related to our loving relationships will be viewed through these dual perspectives.

 

Unit One                    Who Are the Lovers and How Do They Love?         Trimester II

Cycles 1-5

Objectives

1.      The student will consider social research regarding the human life cycle and relationship cycles.

  1. The student will review psychological theories of personality development and developmental problems associated with these.
  2. The student will be able to compare and contrast the traditional and the companionship models of relationships.
  3. The student will be able to discuss both the stages in the family life cycle and the stages of the relationship life cycle.

 

                                                           

Learning Resources

Fred Herron, Rain for the Roots: A Guide to Building Loving Relationships (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1995), 1-26.

 

Barbara Markey, “The Lifecycle States of a Marriage,” http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/Markey.pdf

 

W. Bradford Wilcox, “Seeking a Soulmate: A Social Scientific View of the Relationship between Commitment and Authentic Intimacy,” http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/Wilcox.pdf

 

Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, “Patterns and Predictors of Success and Failure in Marriage,”

http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/Whitehead.pdf

                                               

Learning Activities

1.      Two exams covering the following material:

Exam 1: (10 points)

·        Eight Stages of Epigenesis (Rain for the Roots, chapter 1)

·        Traditional and Companionship Models of Marriage

Exam 2: (10 points)

·        The Stages of the Family Life Cycle (Rain for the Roots, chapter 2)

·        The Stages of the Relationship Life Cycle (Rain for the Roots, chapter 3)

 

 

 

                                               

 

 

2. The student will have the opportunity to view the film “Kramer vs. Kramer” in class. (40 points)

 The revised script for the film may be found at http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/kramer.shtml

            The film may be summarized this way: Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is now faced with the tasks of housekeeping and taking care of himself and their young son Billy. When he has learned to adjust his life to these new responsibilities, Joanna resurfaces and wants Billy back. Ted however refuses to give him up, so they go to court to fight for the custody of their son.

 

                                               

1. Select one character and locate that character in relationship to Erik Erikson’s “Eight Stages of Epigenesis.” Making specific reference to the text and the class notes, indicate how the character is handling the specific psychosocial crises and tasks of that stage.

2. Indicate and discuss one element of the postmodern experience which is playing a part in the experience of the Kramer family.

3. Making specific reference to the article by Barbara Markey, “The Lifecycle Stages of Marriage,” indicate what stage was particularly problematic for the Kramer family and discuss why. Make use of other course material where appropriate.

4. Provide a detailed discussion of how the Kramer family moved through each of the stages in this dislocation of the family life cycle as they managed their divorce. Making use of the assigned reading material, especially A Family Perspective in Church and Society, locate the Kramer family in relationship to the larger social portrait regarding divorce.

5. After considering the significance of attachment theory, make some educated guesses regarding the experience of attachment which each parent had in their own lives and the impact of this divorce on their child’s future attachment. Make reference to the assigned readings to support your argument.

Each answer should be approximately 1 page in length. (See attached rubric regarding grading)  Due: Last Class of Cycle 5

Unit Two                Love in the Church’s Tradition                        Trimester II

                                                                                                                        Cycles 6-9

Objectives

  1. The major elements in the New Testament vision of love will be considered in detail.
  2. The student will be able to describe the trajectory of the Christian understanding of love as it was manifested in the Church’s history.
  3. A contemporary theology of God’s love, focusing on God’s care for humanity as sacraments of God’s love, will be outlined.

 

                                   

Learning Resources

Fred Herron, Rain for the Roots, 29-47.

Julie Hanlon Rubio, “Marriage as a Covenant and Sacrament,”

http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/Rubio.pdf

 

Wendy M. Wright, “Marriage as a ‘School of Love,’”

http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/Wright.pdf

 

Marian Crowe, “Preserving Marriage: A Radical Proposal,”

http://ethicscenter.nd.edu/archives/documents/MarianCrowe.doc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                               

 

Learning Activity (40 points)

The students will work in groups to prepare a powerpoint presentation highlighting the major elements in one of the assigned readings. Selected presentations will be posted on the course web site.

 

 

 

Student Evaluation

Exam 1: 10 %

Exam 2: 10 %                                                                                                              

Essay 1: 40 %

Powerpoint Presentation: 30 %

Class participation: 10 %

 

                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kramer vs. Kramer

Elements of Presentation                  Points Awarded                      Comments

40 points                                

Summary/Thesis (4)

 

 

 

 

 

Life Cycle (8)

 

 

 

 

 

Family Life Cycle (8)

 

 

 

 

 

Life Cycle of Relationships (8)

 

 

 

Sociological Analysis (8)

 

 

 

 

Presentation (4)