UNIVERSITY OF KENT
MODULE SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE
SECTION 1: MODULE SPECIFICATIONS
1.
Title of the module
Spirituality and Therapy
2.
School or partner institution which will be responsible for management of the module
SECL
3.
Start date of the module
September 2014
4.
The number of students expected to take the module
10-20
5.
Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module and consultation with
other relevant Schools and Faculties regarding the withdrawal
None
6.
The level of the module (e.g. Certificate [C], Intermediate [I], Honours [H] or Postgraduate [M])
Postgraduate [M]
7.
The number of credits and the ECTS value which the module represents
30 (15 ECTS)
8.
Which term(s) the module is to be taught in (or other teaching pattern)
Autumn or Spring
9.
Prerequisite and co-requisite modules
None
10. The programmes of study to which the module contributes
MA in Religion
11. The intended subject specific learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will have:
 11.1 Demonstrated comparative familiarity with practices and concepts of spirituality and
therapy in ancient and contemporary forms from a range of texts.
 11.2 Described how practices, concepts, and institutions of medicine, philosophical wisdom,
cultural critique, and religion are mutually influential in ancient, non-European, and also recent
discussions of spirituality and therapy.
 11.3 Critically assessed recent trends in the inflation of spirituality as a value in relation to its
marketing as a form of self-help and business success.
 11.4 Examined critically the ways modern and contemporary models of therapy and
spirituality have repeated, translated, and suppressed aspects of ancient or globally
comparative spirituality or ‘therapy of the soul’.

11.5 Used ancient or contemporary texts to develop new comparative models and topics of
research relating to recognized traditions of cultivating and shaping inner experience, clinical
therapeutic practice, and academic discussions of psychic life
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UNIVERSITY OF KENT
12. The intended generic learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will have:
 12.1 Demonstrated improvement in oral and interpersonal skills through seminar
participation/presentation.
 12.2 Demonstrated refinement in communication skills and argumentation through one
extended piece of written coursework and an oral presentation.
 12.3 Demonstrated development in close reading, analytical, and comparative skills.
 12.4 Demonstrated independent research skills.
13. A synopsis of the curriculum
The course will develop an understanding of what in ancient, non-Western, and modern European
contexts are the historical and conceptual relationships between therapy, spiritual exercise, medical
discourse, the search for wisdom or insight, and the critique of cultural life.
How do the different ancient, non-Western and modern or contemporary traditions imagine
happiness, enjoyment, or bliss, and what is the imagined relationship between these states and
the goal of therapeutic practice? Might something like a general theory of therapeutics, spiritual
exercise, or “anthropotechnics” constitute an overarching category that unites what we normally
imagine to be distinct areas of philosophy, psychology, religion, and clinical practice?
This comparative course explores how modern psychological and psychoanalytic therapies have
more to do with religious traditions of spiritual exercise than tends to be indicated by academic
disciplines, acknowledged by professional therapeutic societies, or actively explored in the
development of new therapeutic models.
14. Indicative Reading List
 Giorgio Agamben. The Highest Poverty: Monastic Rules and Form-of-Life, Stanford. Stanford
University Press: 2013.
 Franco (Bifo) Berardi. The Soul at Work. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009
 Jeremy Carrette. Religion and Critical Psychology: Religious Experience in the Knowledge
Economy, London: Routledge, 2012.
 Jeremy Carrette & Richard King. Selling Spirituality: the Silent Takeover of Religion, London:
Routledge, 2004.
 Michel Foucault. The Birth of the Clinic: an Archaeology of Medical Perception, London:
Routledge, 3rd edn 2003.
 Pierre Hadot. Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault, Oxford:
Wiley-Blackwell, 1995
 Mahmood Jamal (ed). Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the early Mystics to Rumi,
London: Penguin, 2009
 Raymond Martin & John Barresi. The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self: an Intellectual History of
Personal Identity, New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.
 Juan Mascaro (ed). The Upanishads, London: Penguin, 1965.
 Shyam Ranganthan (ed). Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, London: Penguin, 2009.
15. Learning and Teaching Methods, including the nature and number of contact hours and the
total study hours which will be expected of students, and how these relate to achievement of
the intended module learning outcomes
The module will be taught by means of a weekly two-hour seminar for 10 weeks (with 2
additional reading weeks). Each student will also deliver one seminar presentation as preparation
for the writing of the coursework essay.
Total contact hours: 20.
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UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Total study hours 300.
These Learning and Teaching Methods will satisfy learning outcomes 11.1-5 and 12.1-4
16. Assessment methods and how these relate to testing achievement of the intended module
learning outcomes
100% coursework, consisting of 1 x 5000-word essay.
This assessment method will contribute to achieving the following learning outcomes: 11.1-5, and
12.1-4.
17. Implications for learning resources, including staff, library, IT and space
As this course will constitute one of the optional modules on the new MA program in Religion, and as
we already have strong library resources in the area, no implications need to be noted.
18. The School recognises and has embedded the expectations of current disability equality
legislation, and supports students with a declared disability or special educational need in its
teaching. Within this module we will make reasonable adjustments wherever necessary,
including additional or substitute materials, teaching modes or assessment methods for
students who have declared and discussed their learning support needs. Arrangements for
students with declared disabilities will be made on an individual basis, in consultation with
the University’s disability/dyslexia support service, and specialist support will be provided
where needed.
19. Campus(es) where module will be delivered:
Canterbury
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UNIVERSITY OF KENT
SECTION 2: MODULE IS PART OF A PROGRAMME OF STUDY IN A UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
Statement by the School Director of Learning and Teaching/School Director of Graduate Studies
(as appropriate): "I confirm I have been consulted on the above module proposal and have given
advice on the correct procedures and required content of module proposals"
................................................................
..............................................
Director of Learning and Teaching/Director of
Graduate Studies (delete as applicable)
Date
…………………………………………………
Print Name
Statement by the Head of School: "I confirm that the School has approved the introduction of the
module and, where the module is proposed by School staff, will be responsible for its resourcing"
.................................................................
..............................................
Head of School
Date
…………………………………………………….
Print Name
SECTION 3: MODULE IS PART OF A PROGRAMME IN A PARTNER COLLEGE OR VALIDATED
INSTITUTION
(Where the module is proposed by a Partner College/Validated Institution)
Statement by the Nominated Officer of the College/Validated Institution (delete as applicable): "I
confirm that the College/Validated Institution (delete as applicable) has approved the introduction
of the module and will be responsible for its resourcing"
.................................................................
..............................................
Nominated Responsible Officer of Partner
College/Validated Institution
Date
………………………………………………….
Print Name
…………………………………………………..
Post
………………………………………….
Partner College/Validated Institution
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UNIVERSITY OF KENT
Module Specification Template
Last updated February 2013
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