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.
Recommended Citation
Neraas, Julie, "REL3980-01.Topics: Cave Dwellers, Monks.F16.Neraas,Julie" (2016). Historic Syllabi -- full text access limited to internal Hamline administrative staff only. 11805.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/syllabi/11805