Spirituality of Female Mystics

Catalog description

Taught by JST. This seminar will utilize deep reading and round-table dialogue to investigate female authored mystical texts. In the first half of the semester we will study primary sources together, raising questions from the field of spirituality. During the second half of the semester, students will select a female mystic, for example, Beatrice of Nazareth, Teresa of Avila, Hildegard of Bingen, Hadewijch, Jeanne Guyon, Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, Mother Teresa, or Simone Weil, whose writings they will examine more deeply. Each participant will select texts to share with the seminar in order to introduce their thesis about the subject's spirituality. We will explore how these intimate friends of God hermeneutically expressed their mystical revelations and approached the implications of their spirituality, theologically and politically. How did they interpret scripture, exegete society, and present their divine revelations, especially in contexts of gender inequality, political instability, and ecclesial restriction? This course is suitable for advanced MA, MTS, and MDiv students, especially those approaching or in thesis-writing stage, and PhD, STL, and STD students.