Online Course Format
Our courses are asynchronous, so you can log in any time of the day or night to access the course materials, but they have a weekly Zoom meeting that all are encouraged to participate in (they will be recorded and posted). To facilitate the flow of discussion in the online course forums, each course is divided into units. You will be encouraged to progress through the course alongside the other course participants. A two-week period at the end of the course is provided for you to reflect on what you have learned, to consider how your learning can be applied to your daily life, to give feedback on your learning experience, and to complete any outstanding readings or assignments.
Faculty: Sandra Hutchison
In the past, the practice of exegesis, or drawing the meaning out of scriptural texts, has been the province of scholars specially qualified to produce scholarly commentary. In Writing about the Writings: The Art and Craft of the Personal Reflection Piece, however, students will engage in a different kind of exegesis with the goal of writing a more informal and accessible kind of commentary that does not require scholarly background—the personal reflection piece. The assumption behind the course is that all readers have a share in the multiplicity of meanings, which, according to `Abdu'l-Bahá, are embedded within scripture.
The purpose of the course is to empower readers of Bahá’í scripture to share their insights into the Bahá’í writings in the context of the personal reflection piece, a form of commentary that does not employ the conventional apparatus of scholarship, such as research, critical analysis, and familiarity with other commentary on the same texts but, rather, simply embodies the individual reader’s thoughtful response to a given passage, tablet, or longer work by the Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, or`Abdu'l-Bahá. You will learn the art and craft of writing such a personal reflection piece by receiving instruction from faculty as well as feedback from fellow students.
Tuition: $150 (tuition discounts available)