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ASR310 - Mysticism and Religious Experience

Year:

2021 unit information

Important Update:

Unit delivery will continue to be provided in line with the most current COVIDSafe health guidelines. This may include a mix of on-campus and online activities. To find out how you are impacted, please check your unit sites for announcements and updates. Unit sites open one week prior to the start of each Trimester/Semester.

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Last updated: 4 June 2021

Enrolment modes:

Trimester 2: Cloud (online)*

*This is the final offering of this unit

Credit point(s):1
EFTSL value:0.125
Unit Chair:Trimester 2: John Powers
Cohort rule:

Nil

Prerequisite:

Nil

Corequisite:

Nil

Incompatible with:

Nil

Scheduled learning activities - cloud:

1 x 1-hour class per week (recordings provided), 1 x 1-hour online seminar per week

Content

Mysticism and Religious Experience focuses on descriptions of advanced meditative states and spontaneous encounters with transcendent beings by some of the most important figures in world religions. It is a historical and topical survey of some of the world's major mystical traditions, which will be concerned with the principal characteristics of mysticism in Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Islam and with the thoughts and practices of some major figures in these traditions. Other related concerns will be questions about (1) the nature of religious experience and its relationship to religious authority; (2) the psychology of religion, especially of mystical religion; (3) contrasts between mysticism and other forms of religious experience, such as prophetism; and (4) implications of mystical experience for religious belief and theological expression. We will begin by considering some of the most influential models for analysing and categorising accounts by mystics and the systems in which they trained, and this theoretical background will enable us to compare and contrast these descriptions in a global religious perspective.

ULO These are the Learning Outcomes (ULO) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes
ULO1 Apply discipline specific methodology to critically analyse reports of mystical experiences in four traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Islam

GLO1 Discipline knowledge and capabilities

GLO4 Critical thinking

ULO2

Examine and explain how mystics and their reported experiences have influenced the development of their respective traditions.

GLO1 Discipline knowledge and capabilities

GLO4 Critical thinking

ULO3

Evaluate influential interpretive models for understanding mysticism

GLO1 Discipline knowledge and capabilities

GLO4 Critical thinking

ULO4 Understand and critique the relation between the doctrines of religious traditions, the training regimens of mystics, and the reported outcomes of their training.

GLO1 Discipline knowledge and capabilities

GLO4 Critical thinking

These Unit Learning Outcomes are applicable for all teaching periods throughout the year.

Assessment

Assessment Description Student output Grading and weighting
(% total mark for unit)
Indicative due week
Assessment 1 - Essay 1000 words
or equivalent
25% Week 5
Assessment 2 - Quizzes 3 x 200 words or equivalent 15% Ongoing
Assessment 3 - Presentation 400 words
or equivalent
10% Ongoing
Assessment 4 - Essay 2000 words or equivalent 50% Week 11

The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.

Unit Fee Information

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