WELCOME to Early Christian Models and Methods of Spiritual Direction. This is the Announcements page.  Please follow the steps below to make sure you can play audio-lectures on your computer, then explore this course website and (if you are a registered participant in this course) introduce yourself in the Moodle Introductory Discussion Forum.

An indispensable part of this course will be downloadable audio-lectures that you may download to your computer or play directly from the Internet, depending on the speed of your connection. 

THIS is a link to the type of file (“.wma” for those who wish to know) that we will be using for audio lectures: AUDIO-FILE  (don't click on it quite yet). This is a music file consisting of the medieval prolix responsory Homo Quidam, and it will serve as a test of your computer's ability to play the kind of audio files we will be using in this course.

THIS is a link to a text-and-image file showing (at the bottom of the page) Gregorian notation of the Homo Quidam: TEXT-FILE .  The navigation panel (the grey panel on the left) will remain visible when you link to the text file, so you can return to this page at any time by clicking on “Announcements.”

THE goal is: (1) to get the AUDIO-FILE playing; then (2) minimize the player so you can see this window again; then (3) click on the link to the Gregorian TEXT-FILE, so you can look at the notated music while you hear the music being sung.  If you are able to do this, all is well; and you will have no trouble using texts and downloadable lectures.

If you have trouble doing this, I strongly urge you to obtain the technical assistance you need. Be aware that the download time for these audio files on a very slow modem may be as long as five to ten minutes.  If you need a new version of Windows Media Player, it may be downloaded from the Microsoft Website (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en&categoryid=4).  If your computer is so old that it simply cannot be induced to play the audio files, you will need to use another computer for this course. 

ONCE you are comfortable listening to audio while reading from a linked text-file, please click on the SYLLABUS link in the navigation panel, and review the Syllabus.

AFTER you have reviewed the syllabus, please click on the MOODLE DISCUSSION link in the navigation panel, log on to the Moodle segment of this course, and click on the  INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION forum to introduce yourself and meet your classmates.

IN general I will try to keep audio-lectures around fifteen to twenty minutes in length.  This is because a twenty minute lecture represents about 2.2 megabytes - a rather slow download for those using modems.  The downloadable lectures and webpage texts for the first week of our course are available now in Lectures and Assignments.

Please use the texts in the Course Documents section of the course in whatever way you wish: some students like to print them out to write on while listening to lectures; others prefer to work exclusively from the webpages on their monitors.  The downloadable texts often contain fuller (although not highlighted) versions of the documents we study as webpages. I would not recommend trying to print them all out, since we will only be using portions of some of them.  If you wish, you may download course documents to your computer without opening them in the same way you download an audio-lecture without playing it: namely, by right-clicking on the link and designating a folder.  Have fun: see you in discussion Forum One!

April 29, 2008

I WISH to thank all of you for your participation in this course.  It has been a pleasure to prepare and assemble; and I have very much enjoyed watching your interactions with one another in our Discussion Forums.  Again, please feel free, if you wish, to share in Discussion Forum 15 any suggestions or reflections you may have  concerning the course.  One final note: I am required to turn in grades to the Academic Office by May 22; so the last day I can receive completed research projects will be May 19.  Please let me know if this presents a problem for you.

AGAIN, thank you all very much.

April 25, 2008

THE final set of texts and lectures (Week 14) are now available in Lectures and Assignments. These really are the last set of lectures; however, there is an optional Forum (Forum 15) which is solely for the purpose of allowing you to share any reflections or recommendations you may have concerning the course.  Please also feel free to send me any suggestions by e-mail that you may not care to raise in an open forum.

OUR last subjects, liturgical and hesychastic prayer in relation to spiritual guidance, are necessarily presented in a very superficial way.  For this reason, I have made additional [and completely optional!] texts and lectures available for those who would like to learn more about these subjects.

April 8, 2008

A BRIEF explanation and apology on my part is in order.  In both the Syllabus and Lectures and Assignments. I incorrectly listed Demacopoulos, Chapter 2 (on Gregory Nazianzen), as part of the reading for Week 11.  Those of you who have already read this material may have rightly wondered what it has to do with Benedict, John Climacus or Dhuoda. In fact, I intended it to be part of the work for Week 12, during which we will read selections from Gregory Nazianzen's Second Oration.  Sorry about that!  I have now corrected both the Syllabus and Lectures and Assignments. 

SOME class participants have been inquiring about the possibility of an extension for the required paper or presentation.  This can be arranged, but the only way the academic office permits it is through the issuing of a (necessarily low) grade, which can be changed upwards when the work is complete.  Please let me know as soon as possible if this is something you need to request.

April 4, 2008

WELCOME back, all of you.  I hope everyone had a pleasant and relaxing Holy Week and Easter Week.

THE text pages for Week 11 (Early Manuals of Spiritual [self-] Direction) are all available: the downloadable lectures will be available this evening, together with the Discussion Forum, which I will open later this afternoon.

March 7, 2008

AGAIN, congratulations to all of you who are making our discussions such a fascinating opportunity for learning and sharing with one another.

PLEASE note that our “Spring Break” this year will include both Holy Week and Easter Week .  In other words, after next week (March 9-16) we will not be officially in session again until March 30, which will be Week 10 (§ 8, Spiritual Direction as Mutual Service) in our Syllabus.  The lectures, questions and forum for Week 10 will be available from next Thursday; so anyone who wishes to work on the material during our break is welcome to do so.  As always, feel free to contact me with any questions.

February 13, 2008

THANKS to all of you who have participated so ably in our discussions. The reflections and interactions are all of high quality, and I am delighted by your contributions.

THERE are still a few individuals who have not shared with me their thoughts on a research project (paper or presentation.  If you have not already done so, please let me know as soon as possible where your interests lie.  Many thanks.

January 30, 2008

AGAIN, thank you for your reflections and interactions with one another on the questions for Week Two.  The lectures, texts, and Moodle Discussion Forum for Week Three are available now.  As you have probably noticed (and as I mentioned last week), I will generally open the Lectures and Assignments for the coming week on the preceding Friday, while the Moodle Discussion Forum will be available on Monday of the week for which it is intended.

SOME of you have already contacted me with proposals for final papers or presentations: many thanks.  I would be grateful if the rest of you would let me know soon what sorts of possibilities appeal to you.  In the Syllabus I promised to start pestering you about this question at this point in the course: I'll send out a general “group e-mail” reminder to this effect in the next few days.

THE course Syllabus has undergone a very slight bit of “tinkering” during the past week that some of you may have noticed.  I will not change the overall course subject headings, but I have been forced to reconsider and rearrange a few of the lectures (and, sadly, delete one or two) in order to keep the course workload from becoming too excessive.  Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have. 

January 21, 2008

WELCOME to the second week of class.  Thanks to all of you who have introduced yourselves and shared your reflections on the questions for Week One.  I am delighted at the quality of your responses, and look forward to seeing your reflections on the material we will cover this week.

THE texts and lectures for Week Two are available in Lectures and Assignments. As I mentioned last week, the lectures for each week will be available  on the preceding Friday.  Keep up the wonderful work and have fun!

January 14, 2008

WELCOME to the first day of class!  For those who have not yet done so, your first two tasks will be (1) to make sure you can use the audio-lectures (instructions below) and (2) to introduce yourself in the Moodle Introductory Discussion Forum.

THEN, the real work of this week is to listen to lectures while looking at the webpages linked to Week One of the Lectures and Assignments page.  When you have done this, please post your reflections and comments in Moodle Discussion Forum One; and feel free to respond to one another’s postings. I will enter the discussion occasionally; but I prefer to allow class participants to interact with one another as much as possible.  A professor’s comments sometimes have the unintended effect of stifling further discussion.

IN general, I will open each week’s Lectures and Assignments on the preceding Friday.  I would hope that everyone will be able to post their responses to each week’s work by Tuesday of the next week (in other words, postings for Week One should be complete by Tuesday of Week Two, and so on).  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  I look forward to your self-introductions in the Introductory Forum, and your responses to the first set of questions in Forum One.

January 7, 2008

WELCOME to Early Christian Models and Methods of Spiritual Direction. This is the Announcements page.  Please follow the steps below to make sure you can play audio-lectures on your computer, then explore this course website and introduce yourself in the Moodle Introductory Discussion Forum.

An indispensable part of this course will be downloadable audio-lectures that you may download to your computer or play directly from the Internet, depending on the speed of your connection. 

THIS is a link to the type of file (“.wma” for those who wish to know) that we will be using for audio lectures: AUDIO-FILE  (don't click on it quite yet). This is a music file consisting of the medieval prolix responsory Homo Quidam, and it will serve as a test of your computer's ability to play the kind of audio files we will be using in this course.

THIS is a link to a text-and-image file showing (at the bottom of the page) Gregorian notation of the Homo Quidam: TEXT-FILE .  The navigation panel (the grey panel on the left) will remain visible when you link to the text file, so you can return to this page at any time by clicking on “Announcements.”

THE goal is: (1) to get the AUDIO-FILE playing; then (2) minimize the player so you can see this window again; then (3) click on the link to the Gregorian TEXT-FILE, so you can look at the notated music while you hear the music being sung.  If you are able to do this, all is well; and you will have no trouble using texts and downloadable lectures.

If you have trouble doing this, I strongly urge you to obtain the technical assistance you need. Be aware that the download time for these audio files on a very slow modem may be as long as five to ten minutes.  If you need a new version of Windows Media Player, it may be downloaded from the Microsoft Website (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en&categoryid=4).  If your computer is so old that it simply cannot be induced to play the audio files, you will need to use another computer for this course. 

ONCE you are comfortable listening to audio while reading from a linked text-file, please click on the SYLLABUS link in the navigation panel, and review the Syllabus.

AFTER you have reviewed the syllabus, (and if it is Monday, January 14 or later) please click on the MOODLE DISCUSSION link in the navigation panel, log on to the Moodle segment of this course, and click on the  INTRODUCTORY DISCUSSION forum to introduce yourself and meet your classmates.

IN general I will try to keep audio-lectures around fifteen to twenty minutes in length.  This is because a twenty minute lecture represents about 2.2 megabytes - a rather slow download for those using modems.  The downloadable lectures and webpage texts for the first week of our course are available now in Lectures and Assignments.

Please use the texts in the Course Documents section of the course in whatever way you wish: some students like to print them out to write on while listening to lectures; others prefer to work exclusively from the webpages on their monitors.  The downloadable texts often contain fuller (although not highlighted) versions of the documents we study as webpages. I would not recommend trying to print them all out, since we will only be using portions of some of them.  If you wish, you may download course documents to your computer without opening them in the same way you download an audio-lecture without playing it: namely, by right-clicking on the link and designating a folder.  Have fun: see you in discussion Forum One!

....x....  ’ “”.