RANDALL B. SMITH

Associate Professor of Theology

University of St. Thomas

 

EDUCATION:

 

Ph.D. (August, 1998), Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame

                  Dissertation: How the Old Law Showed Forth the Precepts of the Natural Law: A Commentary on Certain Questions Concerning the Law in the Summa of Theology of Thomas Aquinas

Director: Ralph McInerny, Grace Professor of Medieval Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

Readers: Alasdair MacIntyre, David Solomon, Alfred Freddoso

                                                                                               

M.M.S. (May, 1991), Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame

                 

M.A., (May, 1987), Department of Theology, University of Dallas

                  Thesis: The Gospel of John and Neo-Platonic Metaphysics in Augustine’s Literal Commentary on Genesis: A Study in Patristic Scriptural Hermeneutics

 

B.A., (May, 1981), Cornell College.  Major: Chemistry

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

 

Associate Professor of Theology, University of St. Thomas, 2001-present

 

Undergraduate Courses taught:
* Social Justice and the Church

* Christian Ethics and the Law

* Faith and Moral Development

* Modern Challenges to Christianity

* Teachings of the Catholic Church
* Introduction to Sacred Scripture

* Honors Seminar: From Empire to Christendom

 

Graduate Courses taught:

* Law and Grace in Aquinas (for the Center for Thomistic Studies)

* Community and the Human Person (for the Masters of Liberal Arts Program_

* Natural Law and Prudence (for the Center for Thomistic Studies)


 Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame, 1998-2001

 

Courses taught:

* Foundations of Theology

* Who is Jesus?: Foundations of Christology


Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Notre Dame, 1991-96


Courses:

* Asian Philosophy: treated Gandhi, Hinduism, Confucianism, Daoism, Budhism, and Zen

* Ancient Wisdom and Modern Love: used ancient and medieval philosophical texts to illuminate contemporary issues facing students

* Introduction to Philosophy: focused primarily on ethics, philosophical anthropology, and philosophy of religion

* Thought of Aquinas (with Prof. Ralph McInerny): a general introduction to Aquinas' philosophy

* Philosophy of Law (with Prof. John Robinson, Univ. of Notre Dame Law School, Spring 1996): a case-based introduction to the philosophy of American jurisprudence


High School Teacher, Immaculate Conception Apostolic School, Center Harbor, NH, 1987-89

 

Courses taught: World History, U.S. History, Chemistry, Latin, and English Literature and Composition.

 

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY:

 

Latin (classical and medieval), French, German, Ancient Greek, Spanish

 

FELLOWSHIPS:

 

Strake Foundation Grant, 1997-98

- devised and directed a $10,000 university lecture series on the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality

 

Bradley Foundation Fellowship, 1994-95; 1996-98

 

EXPERIENCE IN ACADEMIC EDITING:

 

Research Assistant, Ambrosiana Library (Milan), University of Notre Dame, 1991-92

 

(Founding) Assistant Managing Editor, Medieval Philosophy and Theology, 1989-90

 

Assistant Editor, Society of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy Newsletter, 1989-90

 

TEACHING AND RESEARCH INTERESTS:

 

Moral Theology (esp. Natural Law and Virtue Ethics), History of Christian Thought, (esp. Patristic and Medieval), and History of Philosophy (esp. Ancient and Medieval)

Other areas of interest: History of Biblical Exegesis, Post-Modernism and Christianity, History of Architecture, New Urbanism, Theology and Science

 

PUBLICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS:

 

Publications In-Print or Accepted for Publication:

 

“Thomas Aquinas,” encyclopedia article in Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, ed. G. T. Kurian (The Scarecrow Press, 2010).

 

“The Hebrew Bible and Creation,” in Green Discipleship: Catholic Theological Ethics & the Environment, edited by Tobias Winright (accepted for publication and scheduled for print in the Fall of 2011, St. Mary’s Press).

 

“Christian Temperance and Mimetic Desire,” in Temperance, ed. R. E. Houser (accepted for publication and scheduled for print in the Fall of 2011, Catholic University of America Press).

 

“Don’t Blame Vatican II: Modernism and Modern Church Architecture,” in Sacred Architecture (Fall 2007).

 

Book review of Russell Hittinger, The First Grace: Rediscovering the Natural Law in a Post-Christian World, in Crisis (October 2003).

 

“Thomas Aquinas's Semiosis of the Old Law in Terms of the Natural Law,” in Semiotics 2002, ed. Scott Simpkins and John Deely (Ottawa, Canada: Legas, 2003), pp 185-201.

 

“The Semiotic Function of the Epigraph in Aquinas' Biblical Prologues and Sermons: A Mixing of Memory and Desire,” in Semiotics 2001, ed. Scott Simpkins and John Deely (Ottawa, Canada: Legas, 2002), pp.420-438.

 

“Why Charity is Necessary to Fulfill the Natural Law,” in Charity, ed. R. E. Houser, (forthcoming from Catholic University of America Press). 

 

“The Old Law as a Textbook of Prudence,” in Prudence, ed. R. E. Houser (forthcoming from Catholic University of America Press).

 

“How to Read a Sermon by Thomas Aquinas,” (scheduled for publication in Nova et Vetera)

 

What the Old Law reveals about the Natural Law According to Thomas Aquinas,” (scheduled for publication in The Thomist)

 

Recent Scholarly Presentations:

 

“If Wonder is the Wellspring of Philosophy, then Christianity is the Best Foundation for Philosophy” – paper delivered at the annual Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture Conference: “Younger than Sin: Retrieving Simplicity Through the Virtues of Humility, Wonder & Joy” (18-21 November 2010).

 

“A New Model for University Management: Getting Rid of the “Middle Man,” U-6 Forum on International Cooperation and Education, Anhui University, Hefei P.R. China (10-12 October 2010).

 

“Sovereignty and the Natural Law” – paper delivered at international colloquium on “La souverainete dans tous ses etats,” Institut Catholique d’Etudes Supérieures, La Roche Sur Yon, France (7-8 April 2010)

 

“Hope and History” – paper delivered at 44th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2009)

 

“The Natural Law and Charity” – paper delivered at the annual Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Philosophy Conference, Villanova University (October 2008).

 

The Delay of Marriage and the Destruction of Adolescence” – paper delivered at Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture 9th Annual Fall Conference, “The Family: Searching for Fairest Love” (November 2008).

 

“Faith and Courage: Seeing the World Truly While Saving Lives – Far From Walden Pond,” – paper delivered at 43rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2008).

 

“We’ve Got to Represent!:  From Enlightenment Rights to Post-Modern Virtues,” – paper delivered at Center for Ethics and Culture 8th Annual Fall Conference, “The Dialogue of Cultures” (November 2007)

 

“Thomas Aquinas and the Possibilities of a Post-Modern Phenomenology of Faith,” – paper delivered at 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2007)

 

“The Old Law as a Textbook of Prudence” – paper delivered at the 41st International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2006).

 

“Natural Law and Grace” – paper delivered at Calvin College Conference on the Natural Law (May 2004), the follow-up conference to a six-week Summer Seminar on the natural law led by Prof. J. Budziszewski of the University of Texas.

 

“Why Charity is Necessary to Fulfill the Natural Law” – paper delivered at the 39th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University (May 2004).

 

Christianity and the Liberal Arts: Intellectual Community as a Foundation for Faith” – paper delivered at Baylor University Conference, “Faith as a Foundation for Intellectual Community” (March 2004).

 

Toward a Liturgical Architecture: Modernism and Modern Church Architecture,” – invited lecture at the Savannah School of Design, Savannah, Georgia (April 2004).

 

"Re-consecrating Public Space: Churches and the Naked Public Square," – invited lecture at St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, (November 2003).

 

“From Modern Rights to Post-Modern Virtues” – paper delivered at the annual American Maritain Association meeting in Chicago, Illinois (October 2003).

 

“Judicial Despotism and a Judicial Review Amendment to the U. S. Constitution” – paper delivered at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture 4th Annual Conference (October 2003).

 

“Re-consecrating Public Space: Churches and the Naked Public Square” – invited lecture at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, University of California at Berkeley Consortium of Graduate Schools, Berkeley, CA (April 2002).

 

“The Eucharist and the Risen Body of Christ” – invited paper at the University of St. Thomas Twelfth Annual Lenten Lecture Series, “Reflections on the Eucharist” (March 2002).

 

“The Loss of Civic Virtue in America and the Role of Embodied Communities of Faith” – paper delivered at Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture 3rd Annual Conference, “From Death to Life:  Agendas for Reform” (October 2002).

 

More Popular Publications (Both On-Line and In-Print):

 

“Our Numbered Days: Certain Death & the Last Lectures of Socrates & Jesus,” Touchstone, March-April 2011, Volume 24, Issue 2.


“Quick, Call the Police!  It’s an Academic Lecture,” The New Oxford Review, January-February 2011, Volume 78, Number 1.

 

“Waiting for God? On the Meaning of “Providentially, Just in Time,” Touchstone, January-February 2011, Volume 24, Issue 1.

 

“Revelations Public and Private,” The Catholic Thing, 28 January 2011.

 

“The Missing Foundation of Social Justice,” The Catholic Thing, 23 December 2010.

 

“Studying With Ralph McInerny,” The Catholic Thing, 22 September 2010.

 

“Say It Again: What Is There To Talk About In Heaven?” Touchstone, September-October 2010, Volume 23, Issue 5.

 

Fides et Ratio:  The Aeterni Patris of this Generation?” The Catholic Thing, 19 August 2010.

 

“Reading the Church Fathers and Doctors,” The Catholic Thing, 13 June 2010.

 

“Books and the Hungry Soul,” The Front Porch Republic, 8 June 2010.

 

“But I by Backward Steps Would Move,” The Front Porch Republic, 26 February 2010)