Comparative Monasticisms

HDS 2032 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Please note that this course meets on a special schedule:

• Intensive Residential during January Term
  • Monday January 18-Friday January 22, 2026
• 4 Mandatory Seminars
  • Thursday November 19, 2026, 7:00-9:00 AM, Location: TBA 
  • Thursday February 16, 2026, 7:00-9:00 AM, Location: TBA 
  • Thursday March 25. 2027, 7:00-9:00 AM, Location: TBA 
  • Thursday April 22, 2027, 7:00-9:00 AM, Location: TBA

(NB: Participation in all morning seminars is mandatory, thus precluding the possibility of registering for other very early Thursday evening courses in either semester, including sections of Meaning Making.) Selection for this course is on at first-come, first-served basis; therefore, returning the application forms as quickly as possible to Kerry Maloney will be advantageous. Contact kmaloney@hds.harvard.edu beginning September 8, 2026. Deadline for ennrollment and payment: November 1, 2026. All students who are selected for this course must register for it as a Spring Term course through the Office of the Registrar.

Drawing on its historical strength Christian studies and its significant resources in global religious studies, Harvard Divinity School educates scholars, teachers, ministers, and other professionals for leadership and service both nationally and internationally. To help in building a world in which people can live and work together across religious and cultural divides, we strive to be a primary resource in religious and theological studies for the academy, for religious communities, and in the public sphere.

This one-week course in comparative monasticisms will immerse up to nine students and the instructor in an encounter with the daily practices of the resident Buddhist monks at Peace House in Cambridge, MA, and the Christian monastic community of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge, MA. In addition to joining the monks of each community for their respective periods of meditation, prayer, and work, we will also hold a daily seminar with a member of each community.

Assignments: Brief written responses to each required text or video will be posted to the Canvas site on the due dates. Prior to our week of immersion, each student will be asked to choose a text from a supplied bibliography to read and to present to their peers in short seminar format during one of the Spring seminars. Each person will be expected to keep a journal of their experiences throughout the week, due to be posted to the Canvas site on the due date. Students will also be required to write a substantive paper, 10-12 pages in length, comparing a significant aspect of the Buddhist and Christian monastic movements or experiences as well as exploring its potential present implications for those who live beyond monastic communities. Alternatively, students may elect, in consultation with the instructor, to undertake an extensive creative project, with a similar focus. All final papers and projects will be due no later than 5:00 PM on Thursday April 23, 2027.