A 2011 course by Bruce Janz at the University of Central Florida seeks “to outline the history of western mysticism from ancient times to about 1700.” Majority of the course focuses on Christianity, but some attention is given to Jewish and Islamic mysticism as well.
A 2013 course by Eric Nelson at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell examines “the concept and experience of ‘mysticism’ through a comparative exploration of major expressions of mysticism and philosophical interpretations of mysticism in East Asian . . . and Western . . . thought.”
A 1998 course by Jordan Paper at York University introduces “a major aspect of religion: ecstatic experience of the individual and the effects of such experiences on culture and society.”
A 2002 course by Michael Sells at Haverford College “devoted to Jewish, Islamic and Christian Mystical Literature, with an emphasis on the the Dominican Meister Eckhart (d. 1327), Beguine Mystics Hadewijch of Antwerp and Margarete Porete (d. 1310), Sufi “Grand Master” Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240), and the author of The Zohar, Moses de Léon (d. 1305).”
A 2013 course by Jean Ranier at Florida International University “considers how symbols related to the supernatural world are created and structure,” their meanings and functions.
A 2010 course by Deeana Klepper at Boston University focuses “on some of the most important mystical texts and visionary literature from the High and Later Middle Ages, both Latin and vernacular, orthodox and heterodox.”
A course by Barbara von Schlegell at the University of Pennsylvania approaches “the nature of God and the hidden meanings of the Qur’an, dreams and miraculous powers, and the spiritual reality of sexual union” through Islamic mystical texts.
A course by Miriam Dean-Otting at Kenyon College “offers a comparative approach to the study of mysticism with a focus on Hinduism and Judaism.”
A course by Mary Suydam at Kenyon College “explores the evolution and development of the Christian spiritual mystical traditions and prayer practices from the origins of Christianity to the present day.”
