Religion and the Arts Resources

"True art has a close affinity with the world of faith, so that, even in situations where culture and the Church are far apart, art remains a kind of bridge to religious experience." John Paul II

• Libraries
• DSPT Faculty
• Selected GTU Faculty

As a member of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), DSPT provides students more resources in the Arts than most other colleges: access to UC Berkeley Fine Arts programs, UC Berkeley museums and collections, courses at the Center for Arts, Religion and Education (CARE), resources of the Doug Adams Gallery at the Badè Museum, and the curatorial expertise of CARE's director to name a few.

Performances and art exhibits in the Blackfriars Gallery on campus expand learning beyond the classroom setting. Surrounded by the natural beauty of the San Francisco Bay Area, DSPT offers the perfect setting for artists and scholars to connect. Click here for quick links to Bay Area museums.

Libraries:

• UC Berkeley Library
• GTU - Lamson-Hewlett Library - largest theological library west of Mississippi
• Santa Clara University Library 
• Santa Fe Institute - DSPT exclusive collection, hand-selected by Fr. Michael Morris, OP

Back to top

DSPT Faculty:

• Michael Morris, OP - Religion and the Arts concentration director; Christian iconography; biography; oral history; film studies; art history; hagiography
• Marianne Farina, CSC - Islamic Religion and Culture
• Barbara Green, OP – Biblical Studies and Literary Theory
• Albert Paretsky, OP – Biblical Studies, Religion and Literature
  Go to the Ad Gentes page to see Fr. Paretsky's article "Reading Dr. Zhivago."
• Anselm Ramelow, OP - Philosophical Aesthetics
• Augustine Thompson, OP – Medieval Studies 
• Christopher Renz, OP - Poetry
• Marga Vega - Philosophical Aesthetics
• Hilary Martin, OP (Emeritus) – Aboriginal Art & Music  
• Brendan McAnerney, OP - Christian iconography

Back to top

Selected GTU Faculty:

• Carin Jacobs – (CARE) Museum Studies, Religion and Food
• Carla DeSola – (CARE) Dance
• Joan Di Stefano – (CARE) Master Classes in Studio Art
• Mia Mochizuki – (JST) Art History; Reformation & 17th century Dutch & Flemish Art; Impact of Iconoclasm; Art Theory & Criticism
• Ronald Nakasone – (CARE) Interfaith Aesthetics; Buddhist Art & Aesthetics
• Rossitza Schroeder – (PSR) Art History, Medieval Studies

Back to top

DSPT students enrolled in the GTU MA program may pursue studies in this area by choosing the GTU MA area of study named Art and Religion. Though all the coursework described for the DSPT MA (Theology) concentration is available to GTU MA students, they must be aware of this difference and ensure they fulfill the requirements of the GTU program.

"The power of the Good has taken refuge in the nature of the Beautiful." Plato