In the past, the practice of exegesis, or drawing the meaning out of scriptural texts, has been the province of scholars specially qualified to produce scholarly commentary. In Writing about the Writings: The Art and Craft of the Personal Reflection Piece, however, students will engage in a different kind of exegesis with the goal of writing a more informal and accessible kind of commentary that does not require scholarly background—the personal reflection piece. The assumption behind the course is that all readers have a share in the multiplicity of meanings, which, according to `Abdu'l-Bahá, are embedded within scripture.

The purpose of the course is to empower readers of Bahá’í scripture to share their insights into the Bahá’í writings in the context of the personal reflection piece, a form of commentary that does not employ the conventional apparatus of scholarship, such as research, critical analysis, and familiarity with other commentary on the same texts but, rather, simply embodies the individual reader’s thoughtful response to a given passage, tablet, or longer work by the Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, or`Abdu'l-Bahá. You will learn the art and craft of writing such a personal reflection piece by receiving instruction from faculty as well as feedback from fellow students.