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• LOCATION :

  Carmelite Institute - Mdina - Malta

• Date :

  Friday 4th - Sunday 6th April 2014

• Price :

  Free Entrance

Seminar Overview

In the school of spirituality the allegorical praxis is unavoidable. It is employed as an interpretive tool, and as an agent of meaning making. It doesn’t require much effort to value the beauty of allegory, but it does entail some degree of critical thinking to appreciate it’s footsteps in history, literature, art and people’s stories. Due to its flexibility it can be easily employed in diverse academic arenas conveying various, and sometimes even conflicting meanings.

‘Allegory and Spirituality’ is an introductory seminar wherein the essentials about allegory and its relations to spirituality are presented. It aims to present:

1. basic notions surrounding allegory and symbolism;
2. various methods of allegorical interpretation and of allegorical construction;
3. how allegories and symbols are employed in communicating feelings, values, meanings and desires;
4. notions how the symbol is constructed and deconstructed in the struggle for personal and social integration.

Programme for the seminar can be downloaded from here.

This is not a residential seminar, and participants can opt to come to parts of the seminar.

Learning Outcomes

This seminar aspires to equip participants with the ability to:

1.  appreciate the role of metaphors, personifications and symbols in making sense of life;
2. use allegory as a tool for facilitating personal expression and inner healing;
3. acknowledge the interrelationship between spiritual and human maturity;
4. tap beyond the literal meaning of biblical/literal/artistic material;
5. empathize with people’s narratives;
6. interpret narratives and people’s stories with an open attitude for growth;
7. analyze closer how personal/social aspiration, values, desires and conflicts are expressed through allegory;
8. obtain an deeper appreciation of the uniqueness surrounding spirituality;
9. facilitate integration of one’s intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual self.

Seminar Intended For

The seminar is intended for person working in the social field (social workers, teachers, psychologists), or persons who have a particular interest in artistic and literary material. It is also geared towards persons studying theology, philosophy and other humanistic subjects. Being an introductory seminar it is open to the public who are taking seriously their spiritual-psychosocial development.

Interested participants for this series are invited to email on info@carmelitepriory.org or phone on 79791881.