Religious Studies at the University of Kent

MA in the study of mysticism and religious experience

Recommended reading for students applying for this programme

The nearest to an overall textbook for the study of mysticism is:

Robert S. Ellwood, Mysticism and religion, 2nd ed. New York and London: Seven Bridges Press, 1999

Other books that take one further into particular areas of the subject include:

P Donovan, Interpreting religious experience, London, 1979
I M Lewis, Ecstatic religion: an anthropological study of spirit possession and shamanism, London: Routledge, 1989
Bernard McGinn, The foundations of mysticism, New York: Crossroad Press, 1991
McIntosh, Mark A. Mystical theology: the integrity of spirituality and theology, Blackwell, 1998
Carol Zaleski, Otherworld journeys: accounts of near-death experience in medieval and modern times

Applicants are also encouraged to start reading some original mystical texts. Suggested texts include the Hindu Upanishads, and writings from the 14th century English mystics:

The Cloud of Unknowing
The Revelations of Julian of Norwich

Longer indicative bibliography on mysticism and religious experience

Books on mysticism published since 1978