| CODE | MRT5006 | ||||||
| TITLE | World Spiritualities | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Moral Theology | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit, intended to go beyond the Christian spiritual experience, will be divded in three main parts. The first will delve into the rudiments of Sanskrit spirituality, which is the root for not only quite a fiew Ind-European languages, but also incarnates in a most unique language the spiritual tradition of Far Eastern religions. The second part, will then go into Jewish spirituality. The last part will finally examine Islamic spirituality. This topic begins with a discussion on the origins and development of mystical tradition in Islam. It then proceeds to describe the development of Muslim confraternities, after which one begins to discuss some themes that appear in the writings of the principal Muslim mystics of the classical period of Islam. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit aims to: - present the fundamental spiritual experiences of these three traditions. - expose texts and engage personal contact with the texts that these three traditions have given humanity. - form participants in the art of inter-religious dialogue. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - compare and contrast the rudimentary spirituality of three of the world's greatest religions. - illustrate the complexities of spiritual and religious distinctions, wherever this exists. - read and discuss fundamental texts of these three world religions. - argue academically the transcendental nature of humanity as expressed in different religions and cultures. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - contextualise these religions within their cultures, philosophical worldviews, and spiritual responses. - evaluate the nature of the human religious psyche. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Sanskrit: - Hodgkinson, D., Foundation Sanskrit (Delhi: Originals, 2000). - Maurer, W. H., The Sanskrit Language (London: Routeldge, 2010). Jewish: - Green, A. (ed.), Jewish Spirituality: From the Bible through the Middle Ages (= World Spirituality Series 13) (New York: Crossroad, 1986). - Green, A. (ed.), Jewish Spirituality: From the Sixteenth Century Revival to the Present (= World Spirituality Series 14) (New York Crossroad: 1986). Islam: - Renard, J. (ed), Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2004). - Sells, M. (ed), Early Islamic Mysticism (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1996). - Smith, M., The Way of the Mystics: Early Christian Mystics and the Rise of the Sufis (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978). |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: General knowledge of non-Christian religious | ||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Stefan Attard Joseph Ellul Michael Zammit |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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