The Course
Course Objectives
- Students will be able to articulate at least one theology of liturgical worship and explain how the musical, lyrical, and cultural choices they have made in their final project relate to a theology of liturgy.
- Students will participate in 20-30 hours of choral music singing and pedagogy.
- Students will be able to evaluate lyrics, melody, and theology of liturgical music.
- Students will collaborate with their peers and instructors to compose and arrange one piece of choral liturgical music of any style that engages with a serious issue or need they see in the contemporary world.
Course Description
Rhythms of Faith (RoF) is an innovative theology course for undergraduates at the University of Notre Dame. Students in RoF will be trained to grapple with liturgy and music primarily through the creative process, specifically by working with classmates to produce new works of art: texts and songs designed to be sung in community. In the community gathered together to sing praise, the assembly or ecclesia, the self-revelation of God continues to become clear, generation after generation.
By drawing on the centuries-old tradition of singing Psalms and Canticles in the Liturgy of the Hours, RoF will equip students with the conceptual framework for bringing their own experiences, ideas, and diverse musical backgrounds into creative conversation with liturgy and prayer.
This class is for anyone, regardless of their musical training or proclivity–the requisite singing and song-writing skills will be taught throughout the course. RoF will train students to harness their initial insights into a creative work, and teach a collaborative process for refining these into polished works. Small-group projects will also allow students to experience first-hand the process of integrating their intellectual knowledge of religion with embodied practice.
Through this community-based creative process, students will catalyze the formation of a community of trust–one of vulnerability, interdependence, love, and celebration. This exemplifies the church as a community of disciples, who strive to more fully understand God together.
Instructors
Kim Belcher
Associate Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame
Kimberly Hope Belcher is Associate Professor of Theology in Liturgical Studies. Her current research is on the role ritual should play in recovery from social and ecological crisis in pluralistic North America. Belcher is currently the President of the North American Academy of Liturgy and serves on three U.S. ecumenical dialogues: the Methodist-Catholic, Episcopal-Catholic, and Pentecostal-Catholic dialogues.
J.J. Wright
Director, University of Notre Dame Folk Choir
As a conductor, pianist, composer, and producer his interests lie at the convergence of the creative process, music-making, spirituality, and liturgy. J.J.’s work has appeared on Grammy-award winning and #1 Billboard Classical albums.
Meeting Time
Tuesday/Thursday 3:30-4:45 p.m.
Location: S328, Michuda Family Rehearsal Hall, O'Neill Hall of Music
Policies
We are friendly to people with disabilities, mental and physical illness, and other concerns. We want you to succeed and are willing to make accommodations. Please contact us if you are worried about something. Class conversations should be treated as confidential and discussions should always be conducted with mutual respect. Disagreements and challenges will be presented respectfully and will be welcomed.
We strive to be as fair as possible in this class, in grading and in how we treat our students. Please be fair yourselves, follow the Notre Dame honor code, and be honest with us and with one another. If we err, or if you or another student errs, please tell us.
All written assignments must be in 11 or 12-point serif fonts, with 1-inch margins, double spaced. We reserve the right to return ungraded any assignment that doesn't fit these requirements. To ensure proper formatting, submit electronic assignments in PDF format.
Technology within the classroom is limited to the purposes of the course. Any student using technology for another purpose in the classroom is asked to leave.
Please refer to Notre Dame’s Generative AI Policy for guidance on the use of ChatGPT and similar tools in this class: https://honorcode.nd.edu/generative-ai-policy-for-students-august-2023/
The Theology Department has an inclusive language policy, which will serve as a guide for discussing the original masculine language in many psalms and considering how to create accurate and inclusive lyrics for contemporary liturgical music:
- The department further calls upon its faculty, staff, and students, graduate and undergraduate, to adopt respectful and gender-inclusive language for human beings throughout all academic coursework, inclusive of classroom presentations and conversations, course syllabi, and both written and oral student assessment materials.
- The Department of Theology recognizes the ongoing debate and conflicting views about gender-sensitive language for God. As a result, the department currently adopts no formal policy statement concerning language for God. At the same time, the department is committed to promoting exchange of ideas and sharing of faith relative to the use of language for the divine.
Assignments and Grading
- Group composition for final liturgy
- Individual synthetic paper (2500-4000 words)
- Group participation based on self-evaluation and peer evaluation
- Attendance and singing participation
- Journal entries
The first three components of the course will be scored on a scale from developing (D) to proficient (P) to mastered (M). The other two will be credit/no credit.
- For an A Grade: Mastery Proficiency Level
- You need to attend at least 27 out of 29 classes actively, sing in the final liturgy, complete 13 out of 14 checked journal entries, and achieve Mastery proficiency on your Composition, Synthetic paper, and Group participation.
- For a B to C Grade: Meets Standard Proficiency Level
- You should attend at least 24 classes, sing in the final liturgy, complete a minimum of 11 journal entries, and meet the standard proficiency level or above in all assignments.
- For a D to F Grade: Developing Proficiency Level
- If attendance is less than 24 classes, if you do not attend the final liturgy, or if less than 11 journal entries are completed, or if 2 or more of the Composition, Synthesis paper, or Group participation are at the Developing level, this will reflect a lower grade.
In general, one rank higher or lower in evaluating "the big three" is equivalent to one grade step (from P to M on one category means from B to B+, for instance).
Please note that you cannot leave campus before the final liturgy or you will not pass this course. Everything is built for that day. Similarly, you cannot complete objective 2 on choral singing if you do not come to class. (Plus it will be fun.) We will of course accommodate medical emergencies.
Token system
Each student begins the course with two exception tokens, which can be spent to turn in a journal assignment late or excuse an unexpected class absence. You may be able to earn extra tokens by exceptional group participation and/or extra research and composition.