Credits
1.0
The course is of note: to those interested in spirituality both theoretical and practical; discernment; cultural history; narrative theology
The class will meet two hours a week for instruction. Class participation is required. Each student will submit 5 four page papers on topics derived from the class but go beyond what was presented. These papers will be assessed both for content and presentation.
Each worth is 15 % of the final mark. 15% will be given for intelligent class participation. 10% for an annotated bibliography of at least 5 books and 5 articles.
For graduate students there will be 5 four page papers, worth 40% of the total mark; a 12-16 page paper worth 30% of the total mark; and 10% for active, intelligent class participation beyond attendance; 10 % for an annotated bibliography of at least six books and 6 articles.
A detailed course schedule is available for download.
Week 1
An introduction to the course: concepts; aims, objectives, requirements. Other forms of the spiritual journey: the labyrinth; journaling; dreams; the vision quest; rites of passage; readings of personal history. An example of the spiritual journey: The Joseph story in Genesis (the book of Genesis)
Week 2
Moses and the Passover (The Book of Exodus)
Week 3
Jesus: From Incarnation to Ascension in the Gospels (The Gospels)
Week 4
The Beatitudes (Matthew’s Gospel Ch.5:1-16)
The Beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel describe the stages of spiritual development in a Christian’s life
Week 5
This class will look at the genre of autobiography as it describes the spiritual journey (redeeming the time)
Week 6
Rumi. (13 century)
The Essential Rumi. Trans. By Coleman Barks (Castle Books, 1997)
The poetry of this 13th. C Sufi mystic describes significant moments of the spiritual life
Week 7
The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. (16th century) based on studies in the language of the autograph. Trans. Louis J. Puhl. The Ignition exercises carries one on a journey to an ever deepening union with the Christ in service to the Father
Week 8
The Way of Faithfulness: Ignatius for Today
Week 9
Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) by William Blake
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner (1798/1817) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
This week examines the internalization of spiritual quest as explored in English romanticism, 1789-1815 with a nod to Jacques Lacan
Week 10
Eric Erikson Stages of Psycho-Social Development Transposed to the Spiritual World
Week 11
The Ox-Herding Pictures. These pictures from the sung dynasty – 12th. C. — trace the path to enlightenment in Zen Buddhism. See zen flesh, zen bones. Ed. Paul reps. (Charles E. Tuttle co., 1987)
Week 12
Contemporary Versions ( secular and sacred) of the spiritual journey
E.g. The Stalker. (Film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979).
This Russian film describes the journey of three men traveling through a post-apocalyptic wilderness called the zone to find a room with the potential to fulfill one’s innermost desires. Summing up of course
