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This issue focuses on the use of contemplative writing as a practice (or set of practices) used in the context of writing across the curriculum and in the disciplines. As explored in the essays within this issue, contemplative writing is most commonly one aspect of carefully constructed contemplative pedagogies and integrated into classes in scaffolded and deliberate ways that might encourage nonjudgmental awareness, embodied or spiritual experience, honor for the interconnectedness of all beings, and more. Most of the scholars in this issue speak of contemplative writing as a practice, much like one might speak of prayer or meditation as a practice. The scholars included in this special issue are building a broader definition of contemplative writing as they offer additional wisdom about contemplative writing and metacognition, contemplative writing and grading, contemplative research writing, and much more.
A unique collection of essays that provides theoretical basis for the value of using creative teaching assignments in Medieval and Renaissance history and literature classes and offers a whole toolbox of practical suggestions that allow students to connect course material to their own experiences and help them care more about the material they are seeking to master. First and foremost for teachers of the pre-modern to adapt and use in college courses of all levels, many of the assignments are also adaptable for a high school classroom. In addition, this volume reaches into broader questions of pedagogical methodology, philosophy, and theory. The contributors reflect on the value and necessity of creative teaching and learning, on using non-traditional classroom activities to tether the students to the material in a more intimate, deeper conceived, and often transformative engagement.
A unique collection of essays that provides theoretical basis for the value of using creative teaching assignments in Medieval and Renaissance history and literature classes and offers a whole toolbox of practical suggestions that allow students to connect course material to their own experiences and help them care more about the material they are seeking to master. First and foremost for teachers of the pre-modern to adapt and use in college courses of all levels, many of the assignments are also adaptable for a high school classroom. In addition, this volume reaches into broader questions of pedagogical methodology, philosophy, and theory. The contributors reflect on the value and necessity of creative teaching and learning, on using non-traditional classroom activities to tether the students to the material in a more intimate, deeper conceived, and often transformative engagement.
Contemplative pedagogy is part of the larger emerging field of Contemplative Studies. Louis Komjathy (2018) has observed three characteristics shared by various aspects of Contemplative Studies: practice commitment, critical subjectivity, and character development. This paper uses these three characteristics to describe and define a “contemplative course” and “contemplative writing.” First, this paper describes a contemplative approach to the development of the General Education course “Curiosity, Playfulness, Creativity” in terms of the author’s practice commitment, critical subjectivity, and character development. Second, the paper discusses these three characteristics as they apply to students’ contemplative writing experiences and assignments in that course. These notes on theory and practice may provide inspiration for educators across disciplines to craft context-informed contemplative courses and experiences that tap into the radical, transformative power of contemplative traditions.
About seven years ago, contemplative practice had deepened my capacities for and commitment to love and presence to such a degree that I found I could no longer teach and ask students to learn in the same ways I had been. My personal life felt fine but at my small, rural, New Hampshire state university I felt enveloped by students’ distress, colleagues’ stress, and a sense of general dispiritedness and joylessness. Students who, as children, had loved reading, claimed that now, as English majors, they despised it. And so, that August, I knew I had to make a change.
About seven years ago, contemplative practice had deepened my capacities for and commitment to love and presence to such a degree that I found I could no longer teach and ask students to learn in the same ways I had been. My personal life felt fine but at my small, rural, New Hampshire state university I felt enveloped by students’ distress, colleagues’ stress, and a sense of general dispiritedness and joylessness. Students who, as children, had loved reading, claimed that now, as English majors, they despised it. And so, that August, I knew I had to make a change.