Syllabus: Spirituality and Comedy

As Anita Houck points out in her introduction, the two main elements of her course are not often considered as complementary or even closely related. SSCS members can check out the resources she uses to get her students to think otherwise. Here is her overview of the course:

Christianity has often been resistant to areas of life we associate with comedy, such as laughter, play, and joy; as Hugo Rahner asks, “May a Christian laugh, when he has heard our Lord’s warning, ‘Woe upon you who laugh now; you shall mourn and weep’ (Luke 6.25)? May a Christian go on merrily playing when a stern and strict choice has to be made for eternity?” This course will investigate the relationship between comic dimensions of human life and Christian spirituality. Since spirituality requires self-implication, a significant part of the class will involve participating in spiritual practices, as well as two experiential events outside of class; and since contemporary Christian spirituality is deeply shaped by engagement with other traditions, the course will also consider ecumenical and inter-religious engagement.

Copies of the syllabus are available to SSCS members by contacting the blog moderator.