Perhaps the hallmark of the distinctive forms of teaching developed at Brown and deemed “Integrative Contemplative Pedagogy” is a method of classroom study of meditation practices called the “Critical First-Person Perspective.” In this method, students try out specific contemplative practices that are linked to a Third-Person study of texts and contexts. In other words, they learn the practices and their cognitive frameworks without being asked to believe in the veridicality of these frameworks. This is a key distinguishing characteristic that differentiates classroom study from practice in a spiritual or religious center and is a necessary component of Contemplative Studies pedagogy in a secular university. This is an important component of the training of both humanistic and scientific researchers in the twenty-first century. This lecture will be illustrated with examples from the variety of “Meditation Lab” (“Medlab”) courses developed at Brown University.
Harold Roth, PhD
Brown University
Convening Faculty, Fellow, Grantee, Planning Committee Member
Harold D. Roth is Professor of Religious Studies and the Director of the Contemplative Studies Initiative at Brown University. Roth is a specialist in Classical Chinese Religious Thought, Classical Daoism, … MORE
