I am assuming that you have access to all the resources of the course - texts, lectures, movies, guest lecturers, web resources. Your answer can be drawn from any of these (or more, if that would help to construct a better answer). You will have 2:50 to write the exam, and it is worth 30% of the final grade. There will most likely be 4 questions on the final, but that could change. You should assume that you have about 45 minutes per question. I have not decided whether there will be choice within those questions. Since you have most of the questions in advance, I expect well organized answers in paragraph form. The best answers will be specific, will use the course materials, and will show analytic insight. You will not be allowed access to books or notes while writing the exam. NOTE: I reserve the right to have a question on the final exam that you have not seen before. I also reserve the right to alter the existing questions. So, it is worth knowing the material of the course thoroughly.
Please bring a blue book, 8 1/2 x 11 size.
1. Formulate a response to at least three of the points in "Why Studying Mysticism is a Really Bad Idea" (http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~janzb/courses/rel3432/badidea.htm). You can argue that some or all of the statements are misguided, or that some or all are basically correct. The important thing is to provide reasoning with appropriate evidence. The answer will be judged on the quality of the argument and the use of course material.
2. Compare Augustine's theology of sin with Julian of Norwich's. How are they similar, and how do they differ? Are either or both significant to mystical theology, and if so, how?
3. Meister Eckhart can be seen as having philosophical similarities to both Hegel and Heidegger, but in different ways. Outline some of these ways, using specific references to Eckhart's texts.
4. Jacob Boehme says this in Mysterium Magnum:
The out-going is the joy [Lust] of the Deity, or the eternal Wisdom, which is the eternal Understanding of all Powers, Colours, and Virtues, through which the three-fold Spirit in this joy [Lust] craves Power, Colour, and Virtue. This craving is an impressing or a grasping of itself. The Will grasps the Wisdom in the Mind [Gemüthe], and that which is grasped in the understanding is the eternal word of the Colours, Powers, and Virtues. This grasping is expressed by the eternal will through the spirit from the understanding of the mind [Gemüthe].
What does he mean by this, and how does it fit into his cosmology?
5. John of the Cross might be said to have a psychological or developmental form of mysticism. What does this mean? Give examples from Dark Night of the Soul.
6. Define the following terms, using examples:
7. Choose two of the following and answer these questions: In what sense might the following be mystical? Is there a sense in which they might not be?
8. William James' definition of mysticism includes the following elements:
Is this an adequate definition of mysticism? Do you think it works for the following people we looked at in class: Augustine, Hildegard, Mechthild, Eckhart, Boehme. Is there a definition that would work better?
9. Why does Julian of Norwich consider Jesus to be Mother? How does this relate to her discussion of the Lord and the Servant?
10. A number of contemporary thinkers, including Hegel, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Buber, Bataille, and Derrida have been interested in aspects of mysticism. Choose three of these theorists and briefly sketch how mysticism is relevant to their work. What issue does it address for them?
11. How does mystical art differ from other forms of spiritual art? What relation do these three images have to mysticism?