File 2178 - Potential handouts for 1985 lecture course

0.5 cm of textual records

File consists of 22 pages of typed and photocopied handouts as well as a letter. The letter (dated March 9, 1985) is from Margaret Farley to Nouwen, giving him permission to duplicate her paper "Can Faith Survive Injustice? A question for women in the church" and distribute it to his class. The file contains this article as well as a photocopy titled "For a Peace Church Today: A Short Catechism" by George Hunsinger. This document is dated January 1985. An article by Dorothee Solle is also included, titled: Life in its Fullness. These documents are likely articles that Nouwen considered distributing to his class as handouts. Nouwen may have used these articles in his 1985 course Introduction to the Spiritual Life at Harvard Divinity School, or in his 1985 summer course Introduction to the Spiritual Life at Boston College. However, none of the material in this file appears in either of the 1985 bound volumes for Harvard and Boston College.

Title based on contents of the file.
Solle article is annotated in Nouwen's hand: "See D Solle's article. Good for class. Have it retyped and copies made."

Introduction to the Spiritual Life (course code 2543), offered during the spring semester of 1985, was the last course Nouwen taught at Harvard Divinity School. It was held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 9:30 am - 11:00 pm. The course was based on the previous year's course but with the Gospel of John replacing the Gospel of Luke as the core text. The course emphasized the relationship between The Word and spiritual life and the second term used a thematic approach to discuss intimacy, fecundity and ecstasy. Students were asked to keep a journal of reflections on John, class presentations, group debates, and lecture topics. They were also required to attend small group discussions of six to eight people and write a mid-course response. Unlike the 1984 course, students were only required to have two people read their journal and write a response. No grades were given for the course. In March, Nouwen organized a trip to Haiti for four students to assist the L'Arche community there. Teaching Assistants included David LeBlanc, Stephen Pavy, Peter Weiskel, Barbara Ernst, Michael O'Laughlin, and Jim Smith.

Revised by L Joson, 15 November 2018