Varieties of Mystical Experience

SAME AS RELST-UA 240.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Mysticism occupies a central place in the study of religion as a lived and transcendental experience. This course examines key approaches to the study of mysticism from the lens of comparative religion, religious theory, and neuroscience. It exposes students to classic mystical texts in the monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The class also studies the ways in which a number of medieval and modern mystics strove to merge religious traditions or to transcend them altogether. We explore both direct and indirect accounts of mystical experience in its rich variety through the medium of text, film, music, and dance.