MYSTICISM

This course covers a wide range of male- and female-authored mystical texts (poetry and prose) ranging in date from Late Antiquity to the fifteenth centuries and provides an introduction to some of the major medieval Christian mystical texts in the Western tradition. In addition, we will see how the legacy of mysticism has permeated later philosophical traditions and contemporary culture, whether it be in Descartes’ meditations, contemporary narratives of psychedelic experiences, or in representations of outsiders in film. Throughout our readings, we will confront the question of what mysticism means, how women’s and men’s mystical texts compare, and how “literariness” impacts mystical experience. How does poetic form or literary prose shape the nature of mystical experience? What do we make of the insistence on bodily experience and on the appearance of biography? How does it relate to the role of exemplarity, pedagogy, hermeneutics, or to narrative in general? Where do we find the language and tropes of mysticism in contemporary culture and to what end?
 
Texts will include works by St. Paul, St. Augustine, Origen, Beatrice of Nazareth and her hagiographer, Hadewijch of Brabant and William of St. Thierry, Bonaventure and Angela of Foligno, Marguerite d'Oignt and Guigo II, St. Francis and St. Claire, Marguerite Porete and Meister Eckhart, St. Juan de la Cruz and Teresa of Avila Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Walter Hilton and Richard Rolle. Middle English texts (Julian, Rolle, Hilton, and Margery) will be available in Middle English; all other texts will, however, be read in modern English translation. No prerequisites necessary. Assignments will include: two written papers (6 pp) and weekly responses to prompts.