Approaches to Teaching Teresa of Ávila and the Spanish Mystics
- Editor: Alison Weber
- Pages: vii & 297 pp.
- Published: 2009
- ISBN: 9781603290234 (Paperback)
- ISBN: 9781603290227 (Hardcover)
“Instructors who teach these authors in undergraduate courses, especially those with subject matter devoted to world literature, Spanish history and culture, or women writers, will benefit from this excellent sourcebook.”
—Feminist Teacher
The writings of Teresa of Ávila and the Spanish mystics, most notably John of the Cross and Luis de León, aroused passionate responses when they were composed. Though today’s students realize that religious beliefs have wide-ranging consequences, they are presented with particular challenges in studying the Spanish mystics because of their unfamiliarity with the linguistic, social, and religious history of early modern Spain. This volume is designed to help instructors elicit students’ curiosity, sympathy, and appreciation for writings that can at first seem alien or confusing.
Part 1, “Materials,” recommends accessible editions and translations; print, electronic, and visual resources; background and critical studies; and sources on the philosophical and theological responses to the Spanish mystics. Part 2, “Approaches,” presents methods for teaching the historical contexts of and various theoretical perspectives on the mystics’ works. Contributors consider these authors in relation to Islamic and Jewish mysticism, the traditions of women’s writing, feminism, theology, and autobiography. They also recommend ways to teach particular texts in different kinds of courses and institutions.
Gillian T. W. Ahlgren
Linda Belau
Dana Bultman
Joan Cammarata
William Childers
David H. Darst
Darcy Donahue
Ralph Keen
Dona M. Kercher
Howard Mancing
Michael McGaha
Bárbara Mujica
Kathleen Ann Myers
Mario A. Ortiz
Amanda Powell
Helen H. Reed
Elizabeth Rhodes
María del Pilar Ryan
Emily Scida
Barbara Simerka
Carole Slade
Cordula van Wyhe
Sherry Velasco
Marta V. Vicente
Lisa Vollendorf
Christopher C. Wilson
Preface to the Series (ix)
Acknowledgments (x)
Introduction (1)
PART ONE: MATERIALS
Editions
Anthologies in Spanish (17)
Editions in Spanish (18)
Bilingual Editions and Translations (19)
The Instructor’s Library
Reference Works (20)
Historical and Literary Studies (21)
Religious and Theological Studies (24)
Aids to Teaching
Music (25)
Internet Resources (26)
Illustrated Books (27)
Films (28)
Teresa in English Translation (30)
The Language of Teresa of Ávila (39)
PART TWO: APPROACHES
Historical Perspectives
Mysticism in History: The Case of Spain’s Golden Age (47)
Spanish Mysticism and the Islamic Tradition (57)
Teresa of Ávila and the Question of Jewish Influence (67)
Was Teresa of Ávila a Feminist? (74)
After Teresa: Mysticism in Seventeenth-Century Europe (83)
Theoretical Perspectives
The Mystical Encounter with Extremity: Teaching Teresa through Psychoanalytic Theory (95)
Teaching Spanish Women Mystics with Theories of Autobiography (102)
Feminist Epistemology and Pedagogy in Teresa of Ávila (107)
Specific Course Contexts
Making Mysticism Accessible to Undergraduates (114)
Teaching Teresa of Ávila’s The Book of Her Life in the Tradition of Western Spiritual Autobiography (123)
Successful Mystics and Failed Mystics: Teaching Teresa of Ávila in the Women’s Studies Classroom (134)
Defiance and Obedience: Reading the Spanish Mystics in Historical Context (142)
A Transatlantic Perspective: The Influence of Teresa’s Model on New World Women (148)
The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: Teaching Teresa of Ávila in a Women Writers Course (157)
Strictly Academic? Teaching Religious Texts in a Secular Setting (166)
Teaching Teresa as a Theologian (172)
Teaching Spanish Mysticism at an Undergraduate Catholic College: Issues of Relevance, Accessibility, and Self-Censorship (181)
Where’s Teresa? The Construction of Teresa of Ávila in the Visual Arts (190)
Teaching Specific Texts
Reading “Noche oscura” Twice (202)
Teresa of Ávila and Ignatius of Loyola: A Gender-Based Approach to Spiritual Autobiography (208)
Teaching Imagery and Allegory in Teresa of Ávila’s The Interior Castle (218)
Teaching Teresa’s Libro de las fundaciones (The Book of Foundations) (225)
Comparing Humanist and Mystical Understanding in Luis de Léon’s “Noche serena” and John of the Cross’s “La noche oscura” (232)
Teaching Luis de León’s Mystical Poetry as Pilgrimage (240)
Mysticism and Early Modern Musical-Cosmological Paradigms (247)
Notes on Contributors (259)
Survey Participants (263)
Works Cited (265)
Index of Names (291)
“I found the essays as well as the discussion of the evaluation process very stimulating from a pedagogical perspective. I also appreciated the volume’s interdisciplinary orientation through its inclusion of essays involving painting, sculpture, and music. I got any number of ideas for classroom activities.”
—Ronald E. Surtz, Princeton University
“This engaging book offers a wealth of fresh and compelling ideas to any professor preparing a class on the Spanish mystics.”
—Hispania
“This book is an excellent resource for teaching and thinking about the Spanish mystics. . . . The editor, publishers and contributors are to be commended for bringing together this valuable collection of essays.”
—South Central Review
