Week 8 - Miguel Flores

          Shanjahan’s piece questions why spirituality is not taught in universities and colleges. He expresses his sentiment that if we have diverse courses in many universities why can’t they have courses that covers the significant importance of spirituality. He argues that the reason why spirituality is given with such an odd perception because of the corporatization of universities that pushes agendas and courses that benefits their own enterprises and companies. Money talks when it comes to university courses and curriculum and for most students, they follow the money trail and enroll in courses that will essentially benefit them in the long run. Spirituality as a course is not as appealing as it sounds; it is considered as an elective in most universities and it is unpopular among college students unless it is counted as a required elective course, but even then, these courses are rigid textbook knowledge that hardly talks about the significant sociological impact to individuals. The author is trying to prove a point that there should be more open dialogue in integrating spirituality to academies. He also outlines a sentiment that there should be a louder movement in reformulating the academy and to show universities that spirituality is more than just a course, but an experience and a matter that is beneficial for the social and spiritual growth of every individual. 

Websites like SpiritualUniversity.com delves into an exploration and introductory courses on Spirituality that are offered and backed by Ivy League Schools.

         Here at UC Davis, I am fortunate that there are classes that explores spirituality and inter-dimensional realms, but there only limited classes that do talk about the importance of spirituality and its multicultural origins. However, I also argue that not a lot of students are interested in taking these courses because of the mere fact that these classes are “odd,” unconventional, and unaligned with the courses they are currently taking here. Based on my experience, I too once one of those people who viewed subjects like Gender Studies, Religion and Spiritual Studies, and Spirit Realm Studies as too “weird” to take as elective courses and it was definitely something that I am not really interested in learning about. I was introduced through these courses by actually enrolling myself into these courses because I was motivated by my odd paranormal encounters. I have decided to take a Spirit Realm class that coincidentally as one of my requirements for my Asian American Studies minor. From then on, I became open-minded and intrigued by the spirit realm. My experience is motivated by my personal intentions, but what about those students who needs convincing to realize that these “odd” courses are more than the subject of spirituality?