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Course Description

Summary

Mystics––historically portrayed as passionate, dangerous, romantic, heretical, satanic––are a thorn in the side of organized religion. From the very beginnings of recorded human time, the presence and practice of mystics has been controversial. Sufi mystic al-Hallaj’s pronouncement that he was “the Truth” was received as blasphemy by the orthodoxy. His execution followed shortly after. Christian mystics of the 4th and 5th centuries were relegated to practicing outside the peripheries of the Roman Empire, in relative secrecy. Despite the controversy that surrounds them, however, mystics across religious traditions have always believed themselves to be in direct communion with God. 

What exactly is the purpose of religious practice and why is that mystics seem to vex religious establishments with their particular orientation? To answer this question, we’ll mine the early texts of both Christian and Sufi mysticism. We’ll take a joint literary-historical approach, reading the biographical and autobiographical texts of the early mystics alongside their often prolific poetry and philosophy. We’ll read about 50-60 pages per week. Students will turn in a final 7-page (single-spaced) critical essay.