Narratives/Spiritual & Relig.Exper.

Narratives of Spiritual & Religious Experience
Fall Term 2016: Weekend Course
Saturday, October 22, 9am-4:30pm,
Friday, October 28, 1pm-4:30pm
Saturday, October 29, 9am-4:30pm
IST 2111 - 2 Quarter Credits

Instructors:
Dr. Gayle Civish, Ph.D.
Dr. Albert Hernández, Ph.D.

Course Description:

This course explores the nature and understanding of Personal Spiritual Experiences , (PSEs), the role such experiences play in people’s lives, and ways of increasing the safe expression of PSE’s for personal, group, and congregational life transformation. We will be utilizing information gained from Dr. Gayle Civish’s study of Personal Spiritual Experiences on the Iliff campus, published in 2013. A historical review of how, over the centuries, PSE phenomena have been expressed, and sometimes also repressed, will be offered. With insights gained from the history of religion and science as well as from qualitative psychological studies, we are able to reconsider personal religious and spiritual experiences in new and exciting ways that can revitalize faith and hope.

Course Objectives: 

1. Students will gain knowledge of Personal Spiritual Experiences (PSE’s), how these manifest, and what these experiences mean.
2. Students will increase their understanding of the reasons why some people are reluctant to share their PSE’s.  These deterrents are hidden deep in Western culture under the influences of logical positivism and the increasing secularization of society in the modern era.
3. Students will share and analyze spiritual stories and narratives.
4. Students will learn about the role of “mysticism” in the history of spirituality as well as its aims, practices, and its relationship to personal transformation.   
5. Students will create powerful applications of this work on PSE narratives.

Required Readings:

Civish, G. (2013) "The Calling: A Study of Personal Spiritual Experiences of Seminary Students," Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 15:3, pp. 186-214. (Available on the Files tab for this course).

Hernandez, A. (2010) Subversive Fire:  The Untold Story of Pentecost.  Lexington, KY:  Emeth Press. Please Read Chapter 5: pp. 191-250. (Available on the Files tab for this course).

Short Excerpts and Resources on Auguste Comte's "Logical Positivism" (1842) and S. Freud's The Future of An Illusion (1927).  Click on the Files tab for this course.

William James. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. New York: Random House, 1902. 

Please read Lecture I (Links to an external site.), Lectures XVI and XVII (Links to an external site.)

Please complete readings prior to class so as to facilitate class understanding and discussion.

Suggestions for Further Reading:

See the reference section in Dr. Civish’s journal article. 

Please see the quotes from Auguste Comte and Sigmund Freud concerning the logical positivism perspective posted at the end of the syllabus and cited above in the Required Readings section.

Course Outline (Updated - See Pages tab)

All students enrolled in this class for credit will be graded on a Pass (P) or Fail (F) basis.

Attendance during the entire three class sessions is mandatory and required for a grade of “Pass.”

***All students enrolled in this course for credit will be required to submit a final Reflection Project or a final Reflection Paper***  Details and options will be discussed in class.

The deadline for the final assignment is Friday November 18th, 2016. Please email your final assignment directly to Dr. Civish.  

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.