Religion Watch Archives

Monitoring Trends in Religion - From February 1990 to January 2016

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archives
    • By Issue
    • By Article
    • By PDF (2008-14)
    • By PDF (1985-97)
    • All Articles
  • Sections
    • Current Research
    • Findings & Footnotes
    • On/File
  • Google Search
You are here: Home / Archive / Meditation finding place in the college curriculum

Meditation finding place in the college curriculum

November 1, 2005 by Richard Cimino

Print-friendly

There is growing interest and even involvement among educators in adding the practices of contemplation and meditation to the college curriculum, reports the Chronicle of Higher Education (Oct. 21).

Contemplative practices are now found in a range of college courses and programs–from economics to art history and music. As neuroscience has recently discovered the mental and physical benefits of meditation, professors are using contemplative practices as a form of “mental hygiene” for students. Beyond that, some educators believe that meditation can help students achieve insight and “enlightenment” in the learning process, writes John Gravois.

Leading the way in promoting the use of meditation in curriculum is the Northampton, Mass.-based Center for the Contemplative Mind in Society, which has recently teamed up with the American Council of Learned Societies to give out fellowships for professors wanting to integrate contemplative components into their curricula.

Integrating contemplation into classroom curricula takes very different forms. An economics professor at Emory University has drawn up a syllabus requiring students to meditate on pictures of poor people, while the University of Michigan School of Music uses contemplative practices in their jazz program to stimulate creativity. While some critics have charged that this development amounts to bringing spirituality and “pseudoscience” into the classroom, most students have given these exercises positive reviews.

Print-friendly

Filed Under: Archive

Also in this issue

  • Findings & Footnotes: November 2005
  • Religion and politics new bedfellows in Australia
  • Current Research: November 2005
  • Peer ministries growing on college campuses
  • Congregations emerge as ‘first responders’ after Katrina
  • Religious altruism and suicidal terrorism — is there a connection?

Search the Site

Download the first issue of RELIGION WATCH (1980)

Download the first issue of RELIGION WATCH (1980)

Click on the image for downloading

© 2016-2020 Richard Cimino / Religioscope
·News Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress