At the conclusion of the course, students will be expected to appreciate the Orthodox tradition's understanding of itself as embodying a distinctively Biblical and incarnational spirituality. As religious studies scholars , students will bring perspectives and employ tools other than those that Orthodox insiders use to understand their own tradition. As intellectual historians , students also appreciate the ways in which the Orthodox tradition is shaped by Jewish antecedents and the philosophical traditions of Greece and Rome. As comparativists , students will ask questions about the ways in which Orthodox spirituality is like and unlike Muslim dhikr or Hindu yoga. The successful student will be able to find ways to combine fruitfully the perspectives of the faithful insider and those of the critical outsider to understand Orthodox theology and spirituality.
Informed participation is essential to active learning.
Students are expected to come to class having completed the assigned readings for the day and prepared to engage in discussion. In a seminar course, students are expected to play a central role in their own learning. Consequently, the major work for the course is the work of daily reading and preparation for class. Three absences are allowed. Each additional absence will result in a deduction of a HALF of a letter grade from your class participation grade.