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The course will survey five key figures in the history of mystical theology. Beginning with Origen of Alexandria, the aim will be set on tracking the particularities of this distinctive stripe of religious thinking that is now referred to as ‘mystical theology’. What makes this variety of thinking unique? What is its relationship to conventional theologies and/or religions? Does it offer an opportunity for inter-religious dialogue? What is the difference between orthodoxy and heterodoxy and why is it important? This is just a sample of the array of questions that students will be encouraged to consider while engaging with the works of Pseudo-Dionysius, the Rhineland mystics, and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Teresa of Ávila’s seminal work, The Interior Castle, will then serve as the capstone for this course as a whole with an intensive reading of her systematic work on mystical theology. The course will then conclude with some modern and passing reflections on mystical theology from Michel de Certeau and Karl Rahner. |
