Course Code: HUMA 3200
Academic Year: 2025-2026
Meditation aims to calm the mind, reveal and change structures of thought and consciousness, and engage transcendent realms. In this course, students will approach meditation from both third-person/objective/academic and first-person/subjective/experiential perspectives. Using the tools of philosophy and comparative religion, students investigate meditation practices and aims as described in Lakota, Hindu/yogic, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and contemporary health/wellness texts/accounts. Using tools of experiential learning and critical reflection, students practice and critically analyze meditation techniques. Questions include: What are the important similarities and differences among meditation practices aimed at encountering the divine, achieving enlightenment, and improving health and wellness? Does meditation involve one universal experience or change with cultural and historical context? What does meditation reveal about the self and consciousness?