units

ATS2611

Faculty of Arts

12 April 2013 20 June 2013

Undergraduate - Unit

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitCentre for Studies In Religion and Theology
OfferedNot offered in 2013
Coordinator(s)Professor Constant Mews

Notes

Previously coded HSY2765

Synopsis

This unit explores the ways God is imagined literature of mysticism in a variety of religious and mystical traditions, Jewish (as in the Kabbalah), Islamic (Sufism) and in Christian teaching, the Kabbalah. It will consider how mystical literature and teaching relates to any religious practice, its social function within any religion, and the extent to which it may challenge religious authority, while also drawing its discourse from a religious tradition. There will be opportunity to consider mysticism outside as well as within monotheist tradition. It thus raises questions about the nature of mysticism in its various forms, and its relationship to both rational and poetic thought.

Outcomes

Upon completion of this unit, students will be expected to:

  1. Demonstrate awareness of the major theoretical issues relating to mystical literature within a variety of religious traditions.
  2. Demonstrate awareness of the developments of mystical teaching in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with particular attention to mysticism in medieval Christianity, Sufism, and Kabbalah in Judaism.
  3. Show understanding of the relationship between mystical literature and the religious tradition from which it emanates.
  4. Consider the historical context in which mystical teaching has emerged, and what social and political function it may play within a religious tradition.
  5. Demonstrate awareness of the major theoretical debates raised by the phenomenon of mysticism, and the question of whether or not it involves experiences common to different religious traditions.

In addition, third level students will have engaged in substantial research into the teachings and implications of at least two major mystical theorists within one or more religious traditions.

Assessment

Exercise (1000 words): 10%
Class Presentation: 10%
Assignment (2000 words): 50%
In-class (1500 words): 30%

Chief examiner(s)

Professor Constant Mews

Contact hours

One 90-minute lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Religion and theology
Jewish civilisation
History

Prohibitions

HSY2470, HSY3470, RLT2470, RLT3470, SHS3470, ATS3611