Faculty Name

Julie Neraas

Document Type

Syllabi

School

CLA

Department

REL

Course Subject

REL

Course Number

3980

Course Section

01

Course Title

Topics: Cave Dwellers, Monks

Academic Term and Year

Fall 2016

Credits

4.00

Hamline Plan Letter

D, W

Area of Study

REL

Course Description

Amidst the swirls of a tumultuous time in history many people feel a great yearning to cultivate practices that anchor us in the Divine. For Christians there is a rich contemplative tradition to draw on. From the austere desert mothers and fathers of the 4th century, to influential figures like Hildegard of Bingen and Francis of Assisi in the middle-to-late Middle Ages, to soul friends in Celtic Ireland, to the famous Jesus Prayer, the life of modern monks Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating, to Quaker writers and others. In this course we reflect on the many meanings of contemplation, meet important figures, delve into some of its seminal practices, like centering prayer, lectio divina, and meditation. We will also visit a local monastery, Texts will include: Invitation to Love, Thomas Keating; Seven Story Mountain, Thomas Merton; The Jesus Prayer, ed., Per-Olof Sjogren; Anam Cara, John O’Donohue; Hildegard of Bingen, Fiona Maddocks; The Essential Mystics, Ed. Andrew Harvey; writings by Ignatius of Loyola, and selected poems.

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