Crash Course
A glimpse of Notre Dame classes in action
All lectures begin at 2:30 p.m. in 129 DeBartolo Hall. No ticket is required.
2025 Courses
Sport and Society in the Ancient World
9.12.2025 (vs. Texas A&M)
with Luca Grillo (Classics)
Today, sports and sport-like spectacles are a source of livelihood, entertainment, and social interaction for huge swathes of the global population. Fans and athletes were likewise a major component of ancient Greco-Roman society, from the earliest Olympic Games to the Roman gladiatorial contests and chariot races. In this session, attendees will engage in an introductory examination of the origin and nature of sport and spectacle in the classical world and will compare the role that athletics played in ancient society to the position it occupies in our own lives.
Writing in the Age of AI
9.19.2025 (vs. Purdue)
with Nathaniel Myers (University Writing Program)
Would you use ChatGPT to complete a report for work? Would you use it to write an apology letter to a loved one? What about drafting a toast for a wedding reception? Generative artificial intelligence technologies can produce text that sounds convincingly human, and they hold the promise to make us more efficient and effective writers. But they're also prone to fabricating information — and besides, what do we owe our (human) readers? In this session, attendees will get a glimpse into how this course examines what it means to write with AI across many different situations, provides strategies for incorporating it into the writing process, and encourages us to reflect on why we might choose to use AI (or not) in the first place.
Economics and the Seven Deadly Sins
10.3.2024 (vs. Boise St.)
with Bill Evans (Economics)
Catholic theologians have identified seven deadly sins — pride, envy, anger, sloth, avarice, gluttony, and lust — which can lead to the death of the soul. Attendees of this session will learn how, using the tools of modern economic analysis, researchers examine the cause, consequence, and control of these sins. Examples of topics covered in the class are gun violence in the U.S. (anger), obesity and drug use (gluttony), the persistence of corruption in some economies (avarice), the large ranks of idle young American men (sloth), the decline in religious participation (pride), and the impact of social media on mental health (envy).
A History of Art in 25 Objects
10.10.2025 (vs. North Carolina St.)
with Rachel Patt (Art History)
A History of Art in 25 Objects takes a radically different approach to introducing art history, as survey courses typically move methodically from cave paintings to cathedrals, then from Renaissance frescoes to contemporary phenomena. Instead, this class probes from Day One the questions of “What is a work of art? And how can we use art to illuminate themes vital to the complex, messy, and profoundly joyful experience of being human?” In this session, attendees will see how the class examines 25 key artworks spanning the breadth of the globe’s cultures as prisms to explore the fullness of the human experience in worlds past and present. Students learn to apply art in exploring themes like power and social justice, cross-cultural encounters and exchanges, and the nature of identity.
Space Ethics
10.17.2025 (vs. USC)
with David Clairmont (Theology) and Heather Foucault-Camm (McGrath Institute for Church Life)
The human journey into space has captivated the imagination but has also raised significant ethical issues. As the human presence in space for research, recreation, commerce, and possible future habitation draws closer, the urgency of addressing the ethical issues surrounding the human presence in space has also increased. In this session, attendees will get a sense of how this course considers the theological and cultural understandings of the origin and meaning of the cosmos, reviews the various ways that human beings have approached their presence in space, and contemplates the ethical issues associated with space commerce.
Becoming a Force for Social Good: Sociology in Action
11.7.2025 (vs. Navy)
with Terence McDonnell and Erin McDonnell (Sociology)
How can we build stronger communities and make a difference in the world around us? This dynamic course equips students with the tools and confidence to turn values into action. Blending cutting-edge social science, Catholic social tradition, and hands-on engagement in immersive methods like interviews and policy design, students explore real solutions to real problems and learn how to cultivate trust, belonging, and care in the service of the good. In this session, attendees will experience how Notre Dame educates students to lead lives of impact and purpose.
Translating the Founder
11.21.2025 (vs. Syracuse)
with Fr. Greg Haake, C.S.C. (French and Francophone Studies)
In this one-of-a-kind course, students transcribe and translate the French-language correspondence of Fr. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., the founder of the University, and of other francophone early figures in the history of Notre Dame. Completed letters have become part of a digital archive available to scholars, to the wider public, and to anyone interested in the University's history. In this class session, attendees will learn about some of the challenges of transcription and translation, see images of the original letters, and hear some interesting tidbits about the University’s early history.
Visit the full archive of previous lectures in the College's Ahead of the Game and Saturday Scholars series (including video for many).