Introduction to World Mysticism

Central to many cultural trends is mysticism—a vague word that can be translated as “the spiritual principle at the heart of religion.” Many people believe mysticism is the golden thread that unites all the world’s religions, while others scoff at the idea. Decide for yourself in this class as we explore major themes and writings from the world’s great mystical traditions. Using Phyllis Zagano’s Mysticism and the Spiritual Quest: A Crosscultural Anthology as our textbook, we’ll examine the world’s great wisdom traditions—Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as pagan and philosophical forms of mysticism—acknowledging both the common ground and the distinctive qualities of each mystical path. Class is taught from an academic/nonsectarian perspective.

Class runs for five weeks, beginning on Wednesday, October 1 and running through Wednesday October 29.

Textbook for the class is Mysticism and the Spiritual Quest (not included in the tuition price).

Course instructor is Carl McColman.

To register, click here: http://ece.emory.edu/catalogSectionDetail.php?SectionID=20425