REL-316W: Medieval Women's Spirituality

Examines visionary literature written by women from late antiquity to the 15th century. Steeped in Neo-Platonic philosophical assumptions, it is literature written about religious experience, an attempt to express the inexpressible. As such, it is very unlike the more narrative, expository, speculative or technical styles of writing commonly encountered in the academic setting. Students of visionary literature must continue to think critically while offering unbiased and serious consideration to experiences very unlike their own. Medieval women's devotional literature offers valuable insight into specific gender roles, lifestyles, societal expectations, and religious practices in a time long past. In the same instance, it reaches out across time and addresses the nature of the human condition in any social, cultural or historical setting. FILA general education: philosophy or religion and writing intensive.