Marshall University      Spring 2000
                                                    RST 280:  Western Mysticism and the Modern Mind

                                                        "One word of truth outweighs the whole world."   - Russian proverb

Sessions:  Tuesday/Thursday 9:30 - 10:45, Harris Hall 445
Office Hours :  MW  10 - 11, 12 - 2,  T/Thr  11 - 12:30, F 10 - 11
Office Email:   Student email will be responded to within 24 hours

Texts:  Varieties of Religious Experience, William James
           The Human Condition: Contemplation & Transformation, Thomas Keating
           Forgotten Truth, Huston Smith
           Weavers of Wisdom: Women Mystics of the 20th Century, Anne Bancroft

 World-wide web sites for both assigned and free reading

Class Type/Size: undergrad/discussion; 25 students/2000 

• improved reading comprehension, written and oral expression
• interpreted religious experience in a western cultural & intellectual context
• evaluated the causes and effects of mysticism upon individuals, religious traditions & cultures
• integrated understandings of mysticism with analysis of human experience in general
• engaged in active, collaborative, computer enhanced learning
• gained a deeper insight into one's own worldview and perspectives
• become a more imaginative, contemplative and critical thinker
• learned that genuine learning is enjoyable as a lifelong process

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           The following course explanation, in its totality, is a syllabus that is dynamic and flexible
              according to the needs of the learners and of the learning process. It is not presented
              as complete at the beginning of the study, but as an initial trajectory for the study.  More
              specific guidance and resources will be available as needed along the way.  You, the learner,
              have a key voice in the directions our study of world religions take so that our work will be
              significant for you and for the class as a whole within a learner/student-centered context.

This course is a reading, discussion and writing oriented course.  On-line writing resources are available.  All
writings are to be completely the work of the individual or the group doing the writing, thus avoiding all plagiarism.
Through the media of telecomputing we will be able to have a semester-long contemplative focus upon the writings,
interpretation and evaluation of those writings, and upon our own thinking and thinking about our thinking.  We will
critically and creatively think about what is the nature and meaning of mystical experience.  The goal is not the
accumulation of information, but the growing into wisdom with the help of the writers, cultures and religious traditions
we will encounter and engage.
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Course Objective
The goals of this course include the following:

• improve reading comprehension, written and oral expression
• interpret religious experience in a western cultural & intellectual context
• evaluate the causes and effects of mysticism upon individuals, religious tradtions & cultures
• integrate understandings of mysticism with analysis of human experience in general
• engage in actice, collaborative, computer-enhanced learning
• gain a deeper insight into one's own worldview and perspectives
• become a more imaginative, contemplative and critical thinker
• learn that genuine learning is enjoyable as a lifelong process

The educational use of telecomputing will facilitate ongoing asynchronous discussion, submission and revision of student
writings, peer review of student writings, collaborative group writings and projects, individual communication with the
professor, or among students, and publication of an electronic course journal with student contributions.

Telecomputing tutorials are available as is guidance on how to engage in respectful communication on the Internet
(netiquette).  In using web sources, please refer to Documenting Sources from the World Wide Web.

The purposes of the using of computer technology in this study are as follows:

• Participation in the archived, asynchronous class discussion list (mailserv)
• Anytime communication of questions, comments, problems, etc. with the professor/mentor via individual email
• Engage in a semester-long discussion with other learners in the course via the class discussion list
• Submit individual & collaborative writings electronically to the class list or professor
• Investigate relevant World-Wide Web sites
• Collaborate with other students in the course on projects/writings via email
• Expand opportunities for reflective participation in the study, beyond classroom time & place
• Encourage learners/students to become more central to the learning process and more responsible for their                     own, and others', learning
• Develop computer skills
• Allow learning to become more enjoyable, valuable, enduring, self-directed, active and expansive beyond just a                transfer of information                                                                                                            Return to Top

Attendance Policy
Attendance at every class is expected and necessary to best benefit the act and art of learning through the discussion
and writing orientation of this course on a very complex subject.  Anyone not willing to be responsible for attending all
classes is advised not to take this course.
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Drop Policy
The official withdrawal policy is observed where the withdrawal ("W") period for an individual course begins
January 18th and ends March 17th.
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Course Evaluation
                  Discussion List & Writings           40%
                   Group Project                              20%
                   Final Essay                                 40%
* Voluntary participation in the writing, editing & publishing of issue of the course journal is available
All writings need to be received on time (allowing for computer system outages) for full evaluation.
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                                            "Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established,
                                              that, unless we love the truth, we canot know it."  - Pascal

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