Join a vibrant community of learners in this newly developed series of courses at Hamline University. Students will immerse themselves in the work of writers — from many timeframes and from religious traditions including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Native American tribes — who link sacred experiences in their own lives with universal themes. Then, students will use the texts as a guide to reflect their individual spirituality through poetry and creative nonfiction.

Courses are open to current Graduate School of Liberal Studies students, as well as to members of the community. You can sign up for one course, or take all six courses required to earn a Certificate in Spirituality and Writing (four 4-credit courses and two 2-credit courses spread over two years). Equal weight will be given to the theological/spiritual content and to the craft of writing.

Fall term 2009 Spirituality & Writing Coursework, scroll down:

Good Evil and Personal Responsibility:
Historical, Philosophical and Psychiatric Perspectives
GLS 8016-17980

Saturdays, September 12-December 12. 9:30am-12:30pm.
Giddens Learning Center (GLC) 204E.  4 credits.

This course presents an interdisciplinary overview and comparison of various models of individual responsibility. We begin with an overview of the theological frameworks of good and evil posed by biblical and Buddhist perspectives. We also analyze key ethical formulations by philosophers including Kant, Nietzsche, and Buber. The contributions of twentieth century psychiatry will be examined by way of Freud and Robert Jay Lifton. The issues posed by violence and war will be considered through the writings of Gandhi and others. Two long critical essays will be required.
Instructor: Larry Sutin

Real Magic: Magical Realism and
Realistic Magic in Native American Literature
GLS 8119-18239

Thursdays, September 10-December 10. 6-9pm.
Giddens Learning Center (GLC) 204E. 4 credits. 

This course is about how writers write about their spiritual experiences. It is about the sacred in the ordinary.  Subjects such as dreams, ghosts, revelation, prayer, ritual, magic and tradition will come alive through course readings and student writing.  The emphasis will be on fiction, but poets and creative non-fiction genres will be explored as well.  Susan is skilled at introducing readers and writings to Native literature and expanding their point of view.  Readings may include:  Blond Indian, Ernest Dean Haines:  To The Mountaintop,  Shell Shaker; Joy Harjo's The Woman Who Fell From the Sky;  Louise Erdrich's The Painted Drum. 
Instructor: Susan Power (Instructor Bio coming soon)

The Great Stories
GLS 8163-17971

Mondays, September 14-October 26. 6-9pm
Giddens Learning Center (GLC) 103E.  2 credits.

Stories are the loom upon which the meanings of our lives are woven, and mythic stories are always about soulmaking and the pathos that accompanies it.  In the Great Stories, universal themes and patterns emerge across time and culture; creation, the wrestling of order from chaos, love, loss, the battle between good and evil, exile, descent to the under-world, the road of tests and trials, threshold crossings, homecoming, transformation.  In this course we examine parallels between Great Stories, old and new, as well as the need for re-storying in our rapidly changing global community and withering planet, asking: what new stories need to be woven in our time?

Readings may include:  The Hero and the Goddess, Jean Houston; The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood; The Best Day, The Worst Day, Donald Hall; Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, Philip Hallie; Pushing the Bear, Diane Glancy; Inanna, Wolkstein and Kramer; American Requiem, James Carroll;  Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston; The Life of Pi, Yann Martel. 
Instructor: Julie Neraas

Reading & Writing Spiritual Memoir
GLS 8165-18465

Mondays, November 2-December 7. 6-9pm.
Giddens Learning Center (GLC) 103E. 2 credits.

The literary forms of spiritual memoir and autobiography go back thousands of years. In these testaments, writers link the unique details of their experiences with the sacred with universal themes and structures that cross time and traditions. Whether they are stories about trauma and healing, encounters with the holy, the sacred in the ordinary, or the joys and difficulties of organized religion, the process of writing one's own spiritual journey can itself be a transformative spiritual practice.

In this class we look at literary texts that have been intentionally crafted as spiritual memoir. Readings may include ”The Snow Leopard” by V.S. Naipaul; ”The Spiral Staircase”, Karen Armstrong; ”The Winged Seed”, Li Young Lee; ”Salvation on Sand Mountain”, Dennis Covington; ”Proverbs of Ashes”, Brock and Parker; ”Standing Alone”, Asma No-mani; ”Faith”, Sharon Salzburg; ”The Jew in the Lotus”, Roger Kamenetz; ”Seven Story Mountain”, Thomas Merton; ”The Way to Rainy Mountain”, Scott Momaday; and other poetry and articles. Students will write a critical review/analysis of one of the texts, and will use the texts as guides for their own creative work.  Instructor: Julie Neraas

Poetry and the Sacred (taught Spring 2009)
Since the beginning of time, poets have given voice to the longing for, and discovery of the sacred. From the biblical poets’ mysticism and prophetic impulse, to the Sufi, Rumi’s ghazals, Dante’s map of heaven and hell, the Kashmiri poet Lalla, Hindu mystic Mirabai, Jewish poet Amachai, American Buddhist Gary Snyder, or Hirschfield, Harjo, Piercy, Rilke and others, poetry can stir us at the level of our essential self.  It preserves myster-ies and helps us experience kinds of truth not available to the reasoning mind.  It is about awakening and staying awake.

In this course, visiting poets: Jim Moore, Heid Erdrich, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Angela Shannon team with Julie Neraas to take us through these texts and excerpts from their own.  Weight will be given to both craft issues and content.  Readings may include:  Holy Fire, ed., Halpern; Leaves of Grass, Whitman; The Art of Blessing the Day, Piercy; In Mad Love and War, Harjo; News of the Universe: Poems of Twofold Consciousness, Bly, Final Harvest, Dickinson, and Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook.

The Labyrinth (taught January term 2009)
The labyrinth is an archetypal pattern that appears across time and cultures. It has been stamped on Minoan coins, found in Indian caves, used with luminaries to tell time in China, formed in stone to guard the entrance to harbors in Scandinavia. In the Middle Ages its pattern on the floor of select European cathedrals simulated an actual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Some call it a divine imprint, or a snapshot of the soul's journey. Others believe it is a coded message from our ancestors. It is prevalent in nature, including marine life, like the chambered nautilus and in the human body, in the coils of the brain and intestinal track. This fascinating symbol has recently been rediscovered as a meditation tool. It seems to birth uncanny in-sights in those who walk it. In this course we will not only read about the labyrinth, we will walk it, meditatively. Readings will include: Walking a Sacred Path, Lauren Artress, The Labyrinth in Culture and Society, Jacques Attali, Mazes and Labyrinths, Jeff Saward, The Maze and the Warrior, Craig Wright. Professor: Julie Neraas

Reading and Writing Spiritual Memoir (taught Fall 2008)
The literary forms of spiritual memoir and autobiography go back thousands of years. In these testaments, writers link the unique details of their experiences with the sacred with universal themes and structures that cross time and traditions. Whether they are stories about trauma and healing, encounters with the holy, the sacred in the ordinary, or the joys and difficulties of organized religion, the process of writing one's own spiritual journey can itself be a transformative spiritual practice.

In this class we look at literary texts that have been intentionally crafted as spiritual memoir. Readings may include ”The Snow Leopard” by V.S. Naipaul; ”The Spiral Staircase”, Karen Armstrong; ”The Winged Seed”, Li Young Lee; ”Salvation on Sand Mountain”, Dennis Covington; ”Proverbs of Ashes”, Brock and Parker; ”Standing Alone”, Asma No-mani; ”Faith”, Sharon Salzburg; ”The Jew in the Lotus”, Roger Kamenetz; ”Seven Story Mountain”, Thomas Merton; ”The Way to Rainy Mountain”, Scott Momaday; and other poetry and articles. Students will write a critical review/analysis of one of the texts, and will use the texts as guides for their own creative work.  Professor: Julie Neraas with Elizabeth Andrew.

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Future Courses:

Eastern Texts
Pilgrimage Stories
The Prophetic and the Mystic Impulse
Sacred Texts of Six Religious Traditions
Biblical Literature
Elements of the Craft: Poetry
Elements of the Craft: Creative Nonfiction

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Please read the policy & procedure information below before registering. To register, download the Registration Form (.pdf document), complete and return to the GLS Office. Current Hamline degree-seeking students may register for the for-credit section via Piperline.

REGISTRATION POLICIES & PROCEDURES:

• Credit Options
  Students have three registration options: Hamline University graduate credit; no-credit, with evaluation; or audit, which receives no academic credit and no evaluation.
  
  Students who take a course either for graduate credit or non-credit are expected to participate at the same level. The only difference is the graduate level credit a student will or won't receive after successful completion. Both students participate in all classroom activities, projects, and assignments and receive feedback on their work. Students who audit a course will not receive academic credit, but will receive the designation "AU" on Hamline University transcripts. (see tuition structure in the Fees section below)
  
  Students must possess a bachelor’s degree to earn graduate credit. Work expected of those opting for credit will be equivalent to campus-based courses in Hamline’s Graduate School of Liberal  Studies.
  
  
• Registration/Tuition Deadline
  Registration & tuition payment deadlines follow the official academic calendar: www.hamline.edu/academiccalendar. Students are responsible for following the deadlines as noted by the official academic calendar.
  
  
• Cancellation
  If a course does not reach minimum enrollment, it will be canceled at least seven days prior to the first session. Tuition paid will be refunded or held for another course.
  
  
• Withdrawal
  In accordance with the Official Academic Calendar, restrictions on refunds apply. The official academic calendar refund/withdrawal rules apply for credit and non-credit options. Please call Student Administrative Services at 651-523-3000 for details.
  
  
• Evaluation
  Letter grade or Pass/No Pass option must be specified at the first class (credit section).
  No-Credit section is Pass or No Pass only. Outside assignments will be required of all registrants, regardless of grading system.
  
  
• Application to Degree Program
  Only courses taken for credit and earning a letter grade may be considered for future transfer into a Hamline University degree program. Grades earned must be a B- or better. Application and admission to a degree program are required.
  
  
• Parking
  Free in St. Paul campus lots after 4:30 p.m. and on weekends. Free parking at the HU Minneapolis Center.
  

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TUITION & FEES:

2009/2010 tuition rate: $416 per credit for the for-credit option; $1000 (or $500 for 2-credit courses) flat rate for the non-credit option. Winter (January) & Summer (June) Term classes are typically 2 credits; Fall & Spring Term courses are typically 4 credits. $500 flat rate for audit. 

Texts and course packets at additional cost may also be required. Those considering a payment plan should call Student Administrative Services 651-523-3000 for details.