THEO1090 · Theology
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
Freshmen only The course introduces students to the Judeo-Christian Biblical texts and to the writings of such foundational thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Bacon, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Hegel, and Kierkegaard. The first semester considers the birth of the self-critical Greek philosophic spirit, the story of the people of Israel, the emergence of Christianity and Islam, and concludes with a consideration of medieval explorations of the relationship between faith and reason. Attention will also be paid to non-Western philosophical and theological sources.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.5 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.7 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.7 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.5 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~5.5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Associate Professor of the Practice, Theology Department
4.4 / 5
4.2 / 5
Associate Professor of the Practice, Theology Department
4.9 / 5
4.6 / 5
Part Time Faculty, Theology Department
4.2 / 5
4.0 / 5
Assistant Professor of the Practice, Philosophy Department
4.7 / 5
4.5 / 5
Associate Professor of the Practice, Philosophy Department
4.7 / 5
4.4 / 5
Associate Professor of the Practice, Philosophy Department
4.8 / 5
4.4 / 5
5 evaluations for this course
4.4 / 5
4.2 / 5
Associate Professor, Theology Department
4.7 / 5
4.5 / 5
Joseph Chair in Catholic Spirituality, Theology Department
3.0 / 5
2.8 / 5
Professor of the Practice, Philosophy Department
4.4 / 5
4.4 / 5
4 evaluations for this course
4.7 / 5
4.5 / 5
Part Time Faculty, Philosophy Department
4.0 / 5
4.1 / 5
Professor of the Practice, Philosophy Department
3.8 / 5
3.7 / 5
Associate Professor of the Practice, Philosophy Department
4.7 / 5
4.5 / 5
Part Time Faculty, Philosophy Department
4.7 / 5
4.7 / 5
Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department
4.9 / 5
4.9 / 5
2 evaluations for this course
4.0 / 5
3.9 / 5
Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department
4.0 / 5
3.6 / 5
Assistant Professor, Theology Department
4.7 / 5
4.5 / 5
Visiting Instructor, Theology Department
4.3 / 5
4.1 / 5
Professor, Philosophy Department
4.5 / 5
4.0 / 5
Associate Professor, Philosophy Department
4.8 / 5
4.7 / 5
Part Time Faculty, Philosophy Department
4.3 / 5
4.1 / 5
Student perspective
Recovered and new anonymous comments are shown as written and may reflect different course formats.
Nov 20, 2025 · Historical comment
Lectures are beyond confusing, they are little to no help on exams. Exams are open note which is nice but it doesn't really end up helping with how little time you have to complete the exams. Also a very weird and uncomfortable sense of humour.
Jun 7, 2025 · Historical comment
Clearly cares a lot about philosophy & her students. Entirely discussion-based classes, leaves concepts clear but details blurry (annoying bc she’s an extremely nit-picky grader). Hella reading, cold calls, hard to fail but also hard to get an A. It might be true that she pre-determines your grade.
May 11, 2025 · Historical comment
Professor Atanassova is a great teacher who loves to engage with her students and make the class enjoyable for everyone. She is always prepared and very knowledgable in every aspect of the Perspectives class.
Apr 10, 2025 · Historical comment
Really amazing professor. Generally an easy class, although there is a lot of reading most of it is pretty interesting. Fr. Shea is kind and very forgiving in terms of grading and deadlines. I would very highly recommend taking his Perspectives class over any other.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Fall 2024
60 sectionsFall 2023
23 sectionsFall 2022
14 sectionsFall 2020
15 sections