Consciousness-raising programmes with a holistic and spiritual approach to knowledge sit uneasily within post-enlightenment academic discourse, yet are vital in our contemporary world, where the secular and sacred are split apart. This MA is unique in the UK in that it seeks to bridge the gulf between theory and practice in the study of divination – which in the West primarily takes the forms of astrology, tarot and I Ching. We focus on cosmology, history, phenomenology, theory and method, addressing head-on the theme of revelatory knowledge. What mode of enquiry is this dialogue with ‘the unknown other’? What role does the imagination play in the interpretation of symbols? What is the connection between divination and parapsychology? Why is its mode of operation so alien to science, and rejected by mainstream religion? What part do theories of the unconscious play in our understanding of magical and divinatory ritual? From what kind of cosmologies do these practices arise? Most importantly, the MA raises the question of how to define and understand divinatory experience within the context of post-enlightenment paradigms of knowledge, in both academic and wider intellectual contexts. It seeks to integrate practice-based and theoretical study in order to foster an integration of critical thinking and intuitive imagination that enhances both professional development and skills in scholarship.
The MA in Cosmology and Divination can be delivered in both online and on-site formats. The on-line programme can be taken over two years as part time study, the on-site programme either full time (over one year) or part time. MA students register for a total of 180 credits (four module essays and a dissertation), Diploma students register for 120 credits (four module essays only) with the possibility of upgrading to MA status. The online programme will be delivered via a dedicated website with student fora, and will include the option of study weekends and/or summer schools to enable students to meet each other and the tutors, for lectures, seminars and tutorials. For information on individual modules, with indicative reading, sample powerpoint slides and audio files, click on the links below. For a brief background reading list, click here. For a full bibliography, click here.
The MA would be of interest and benefit to all those seeking to expand their knowledge and awareness of transpersonal phenomena, imaginal perception and divinatory theory. Students at Kent have been generally mature individuals with backgrounds in religious studies and theology, psychotherapy, divination (astrology and tarot), media, art, shamanic practice and acting. Personal development rather than vocational direction has been the chief motivation for study, although the programme would be of immense benefit to those wishing to pursue academic study in this area, or to develop practices in any form of healing, therapy or the arts.
We could also offer a general 'Studies in Divination' module to complement an existing MA programme concerned with consciousness studies, new age religion, myth and ritual and related themes.
The four modules or courses that will comprise the core programme reflect the programme's two principal aims and objectives: to cultivate a scholarly and critical appreciation of divinatory theory and practice, and to engage imaginatively with the process of symbolic interpretation in order to understand more fully the premises of magical discourse. Itis envisaged that individual modules may also be offered as stand-along e-learning elements for non-accredited educational projects.
The ideal MA programme would also provide a selection of optional modules to enable student choice. We have specialist tutors available to convene modules in a variety of topics, to include Divinaton and Parapsychology, Ancient Egypt and Alchemy, and Neoplatonism and Oracles.
Learning Journal
The Learning Journal is a compulsory element of the MA for all full time and part time students. Students will be required to present 2,500-3,000 words from their journal as a non-assessed written assignment, and on-site students will give on-going presentations from their Journal (750-1,000 words) at MA research seminars. Students will be chosen randomly each week, which means that everyone must come to the research seminars prepared to present from their Journal. We suggest students present at least four times during the year. Online students will be required to submit sections from their journal in the student online forum.
The Learning Journal is already established as an element of the MA in Jungian and post-Jungian studies at the University of Essex, acknowledging the need for "an interface between conceptual study and self-reflexivity" in areas of research where "the 'learning subject' and the 'object of study' are often (or usually) conflated." Throughout the duration of the programme, the student will record his or her personal responses to issues raised in the lectures, seminars and group discussions. It should be noted that "a learning journal is not a confessional account of the student's private life, nor an invitation to indulge in pseudo-therapy", but an opportunity to explore the connections between 'outer' and 'inner' dimensions of experience through narrative, image, poetry, divinatory readings, symbolism, synchronicities or any other creative method.
The Learning Journal process needs to be specifically related to the student's engagement with the course material. It could relate to current writing and research, or to challenges and issues raised in taught courses. The material presented in the group seminars and online forum will be discussed with staff and students, and therefore should be fully communicable in non-esoteric language. The presentations from the journal will therefore contribute to a group learning process, and will also be shared with the individual tutor or supervisor. In effect, the Learning Journal will constitute selected extracts from an ongoing personal record throughout the study period of student.
Assessment
Four module essays of 5,000 words each, and a dissertation of 12-15,000 words on a subject matter of the student's choice.
Entry requirements are normally a good first degree, two references and submission of a piece of written work.