Semester Hours:3Periodically
Due to the private nature and the ineffability of mystical experience, this course begins by questioning the very possibility of thinking about mysticism. It explores the works of major theorists in the academic study of mysticism and charts the most important debates where mystical writings are set within broader sociopolitical and religious contexts. Many of these critiques view mystical knowledge through the lens of gender and power to reveal in discussions of mysticism a male-dominated and Eurocentric discourse.
Prerequisite(s)/Course Notes: RELI 010, 012, 015, 016 or 075. [Formerly (HP) Thinking Mysticism in the Academy: Gender and Power.]