I realized I hadn’t given an update as to what I’m up to this semester in terms of classes, beyond job-seeking and field education and planning my wedding that is.
Classes this semester include the following in no particular order:
The Life & Theology of Paul Tillich: I’ve taken two classes with Dr. Mark Lewis Taylor at PTS (Empire & Capital and Feminist & Womanist Theologies), and this will be my third. It’s been a treat so far because the eloquent Tillich is really one of Dr. Taylor’s specialities, and we’ve been reading his Socialist Decision, The Courage to Be, as well as his Systematic Theology.
Pastoral Counseling: This class, taught by Deborah Van Deusen Hunsinger is for those who are interested in pastoral counseling as a vocation, but I am learning a lot about Nonviolent Communication. A few friends and I are forming a group to practice nonviolent communication skills toward our final project. I encourage people to check out Marshall Rosenberg’s book on the topic- it’s really good.
Spirituality & Health: This class is team taught by a Princeton professor and a Rutgers Professor of Psychology who is also an Episcopal priest and psychologist. I’ve become increasingly aware how instrumental holistic health is in my daily life, what with yoga an contemplative prayer, but this class has also pushed me to final crack open the book I gave my mother for her birthday, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, a medical anthropological account of the collision of cultures and medicine between a young Hmong girl and an American hospital and California. It comes highly recommended to me, and only two chapters in, I’m thinking about how I might use it for my final project!
Spiritual Autobiography: This class is taught by a new professor as of last semester, Dr. Yolanda Pierce, with whom I previously took American Religion, American Literature. While the reading for this class isn’t quite as enjoyable, Dr. Pierce really brings the spiritual autobiographies to life, and we are also doing some creative writing on our own, which is something I always loved and didn’t get enough of in undergrad or here.
Well, that’s just a snapshot of my semester…now back to some reading for the evening.
little sacred space 