This is a shareable, personal learning and research tool as part of the ABS RG The Modern Intellectual Traditions. Contents on this page are a personal initiative and are not an official part of the ABS course content. This is not a complete list of readings, resources, etc.
ABS RG The Modern Intellectual Traditions
Completion of the Learning Self-Assessment is a requirement for receiving a certificate of completion. It takes only a few minutes. In addition, we highly recommend that you share your learning with your family, friends, neighbors, and your religious community. We hope you will be able to do some of the following:
A devotional program. Use the materials in the course to shape or enrich a devotional or spiritual program for others. If you complete one, please share a description of it to the Forum for this unit, or email it to your mentor.
A presentation. Your presentation can be to one person or a thousand. It can be elaborate or simple. It can be to a class for children, junior youth, youth, or adults. It can be in a religious context (a Bahá'í Feast, fireside, study circle, deepening, home visit, church program) or another context (at home, work, or school). A posting about the presentation in the forum should mention where you made it, to whom, how many were present, what materials you used, and what the reactions and comments were.
An artistic project. An artistic project can be a song, painting, sculpture, quilt, whatever, as long as it relates to the course in some tangible way. If you want advice about the project, contact Robert Stockman at rstockman@usbnc.org, and he may be able to put you in touch with one of the Wilmette Institute’s arts faculty. The Wilmette Institute is looking for artistic work of quality to add to its online Arts Gallery. If you complete one, please share a photograph or description on the Forum, or email it to your mentor.
A research project or paper. Your mentor would be delighted to assist you with a research project or paper, and the Wilmette Institute is eager to share and promote student scholarship on its Library webpage. If you complete a research project or paper, please upload it to the Forum, or email it to your mentor.
Insights: I have read a PhD recently on how contemporary Haitian and African writers use Bakhtin's concept of the dialogic. Theorists examine how these authors are blurring borders between disciplines, genres to tell stories that are at the other end of the spectrum of the "single story." These are ideas I have not considered for over a decade. I had put Bakhtin aside. In my search for more current Baha'i literature on this, I discovered that the Association of Baha'i Studies no longer requires membership for access.
Reflect on what you have learned in this course. Look again at your Personal Learning Plan. Did you accomplish these goals?
Further readings suggested by others
1.Todd previously taught at Nancy Campbell
Nadia now doing her PhD at McGill
Tony
Vafa IT in Edmonton
John Walker previously on the NSA of Australia
"**. (From a Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to an individual believer- translated from Persian and Arabic)
"How manifold are the truths which must remain unuttered until the appointed time is come! Even as it hath been said: "Not everything that a man knoweth can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the capacity those who hear it."
"In this Day the secrets of the earth are laid bare before the eyes of men. The pages of swiftly-appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world. They reflect the deeds and the pursuits of divers peoples and kindreds. They both reflect them and make them known. They are a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech. This is an amazing and potent phenomenon. However, it behoveth the writers thereof to be purged from the promptings of evil passions and desires and to be attired with the raiment of justice and equity. They should enquire into situations as much as possible and ascertain the facts, then set them down in writing."
"It ill beseemeth thee to turn thy gaze unto former or more recent times. Make thou mention of this Day and magnify that which hath appeared therein. It will in truth suffice all mankind. Indeed expositions and discourses in explanation of such things cause the spirits to be chilled. lt behoveth thee to speak forth in such wise as to set the hearts of true believers ablaze and cause their bodies to soar."
"language should be moderate, tempered, and infinitely courteous" Abdu'l-Bahá
"advise you to couch the whole subject in such a form as to make it interesting and appealing to the non-Bahá'í reader." "Every one is perforce only an instrument in giving the Message which is more or less coloured by his own capacities and approach to life. There is no harm in this. You should write freely what you feel, what you wish to convey to the mind of the reader; afterwards you yourself, and those who pass upon Bahá'í manuscripts and publications, can make sure that all your points conform to the teachings. The way you give them out and present them is an individual matter and there is no objection to this at all." "We have, unfortunately, not very many capable Bahá'í writers, and the condition of confusion in the world is such that it seems doubtful if such a work would arrest the attention of distracted mankind." by Shoghi Effendi or on his behalf.
"avoid... stories that arouse the passions." UHJ
Scholarship by Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and Universal House of Justice compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. published in Compilation of Compilations, Volume 3, pages 226-264. 2000 PDF
Some thoughts on reading the Scholarship Compilation:
MFB: The scholarship compilation is one I was familiar with but like so many of the Writings, with each reading, there is always so much more to be gleaned each time. Recently I have been reading a lot of the BIC material and this quote from the 1993 UHJ letter was particularly astute: "Likewise, the expansion of the activities of the Bahá'í International Community in its relationship with United Nations agencies and other international bodies creates attractive opportunities for scholars to make a direct and highly valued contribution to the enhancement of the prestige of the Faith and to its proclamation within an influential and receptive stratum of society." The BIC sets a very high standard and I seek out their statements to the UN on a myriad of topics.
MFB: This quote from a 1993 letter from the UHJ 1993 also caught my attention: "Shoghi Effendi has for years urged the Bahá'ís (who asked his advice, and in general also) to study history, economics, sociology, etc., in order to be au courant with all the progressive movements and thoughts being put forth today, and so that they could correlate these to the Bahá'í teachings. What he wants the Bahá'ís to do is to study more, not to study less. The more general knowledge, scientific and otherwise, they possess, the better. Likewise he is constantly urging them to really study the Bahá'í teachings more deeply."
MFB: Spiritual qualities that lifelong learners should adopt include intellectual honesty, humility, moderation, measured...
MFB: Years ago I was studying the concept of "Memory work" in depth as "process of engaging with the past which has both an ethical and historical dimension." At the time I was reading Barbara Gabriel, Paul Ricoeur, and Pierre Nora and I found this approach to be very useful.
MFB: When doing memory work we must remember that "Historical research is largely a matter of evaluating evidence and deducing probabilities. Historical evidence, moreover, is always fragmentary, and may also be accidentally erroneous or even intentionally fabricated." (This is from the "The Challenge and Promise of Bahá'í Scholarship” prepared by the Research Department. PDF
We are asked to exercise great caution in our writing to be tactful and wise and to write so that our words will be accepted by the fair-minded and not lead to dissension.
"MFB: Thou hast written that one of the friends hath composed a treatise. This was mentioned in the Holy Presence, and this is what was revealed in response: Great care should be exercised that whatever is written in these days doth not cause dissension, and invite the objection of the people. Whatever the friends of the one true God say in these days is listened to by the people of the world. It hath been revealed in the Lawh-i-Hikmat: “The unbelievers have inclined their ears towards us in order to hear that which might enable them to cavil against Go , the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.” 1 Whatever is written should not transgress the bounds of tact and wisdom, and in the words used there should lie hid the property of milk, so that the children of the world may be nurtured therewith, and attain maturity. We have said in the past that one word hath the influence of spring and causeth hearts to become fresh and verdant, while another is like unto blight which causeth the blossoms and flowers to wither. God grant that authors among the friends will write in such a way as would be acceptable to fair-minded souls, and not lead to cavilling by the people." (From a Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to an individual believer- translated from Persian and Arabic)
MFB: As part of my personal plan I am making a simple web page as a locator for readings and resources related to writing biographies. This is the address http://www.meta4site.com/ModernIntellectualTraditions2023/.
* Universal House of Justice, Message on Scholarship
MFB: "The message on scholarship by the Universal House of Justice is short--2 pages--and provides guidelines for how to avoid some common pitfalls (Stockman December 5, 2017)." See also Comments on Bahá'í Scholarship On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated 3 January, 1979. To the Participants in the Bahá'í Studies Seminar held in Cambridge on 30 September and 1 October 1978. "The sundering of science and religion is but one example of the tendency of the human mind (which is necessarily limited in its capacity) to concentrate on one virtue, one aspect of truth, one goal, to the exclusion of others. This leads, in extreme cases, to fanaticism and the utter distortion of truth, and in all cases to some degree of imbalance and inaccuracy. A scholar who is imbued with an understanding of the broad teachings of the Faith will always remember that being a scholar does not exempt him from the primal duties and purposes for which all human beings are created. All men, not scholars alone, are exhorted to seek out and uphold the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. But they are also exhorted to be wise in their utterance, to be tolerant of the views of others, to be courteous in their behaviour and speech, not to sow the seeds of doubt in faithful hearts, to look at the good rather than at the bad, to avoid conflict and contention, to be reverent, to be faithful to the Covenant of God, to promote His Faith and safeguard its honour, and to educate their fellow-men, giving milk to babes and meat to those who are stronger." "The second danger, which may well be as insidious, is that of spiritual pride and arrogance. Bahá'í scholars, especially those who are scholars in the teachings and history of the Faith itself, would be well advised to remember that scholars have often been most wrong when they have been most certain that they were right. The virtues of moderation, humility and humour in regard to one's own work and ideas are a potent protection against this danger."
Individual Rights and Freedoms by the Universal House of Justice, December 29, 1988 "MFB: "Individual Rights and Freedoms" is quite a long document and not all of it is directly relevant to the course, so familiarize yourself with it in a general way. There is a lot in the document about self expression and the limits on it (Stockman)."
Clash of Civilizations
Notes: MFB: Her title refers to the 1992 publication The End of History and the Last Man, by Francis Fukuyama based on his 1989 essay against the backdrop of fall of the Berlin Wall. Fukuyama predicted that countries all around the globe would adopt a democratic form of government based on economic liberalism, resulting in the end of history in a in a Hegelian sense. Samuel Huntington's response was the publication of his controversial The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order in 1997. The first iteration was a 1993 article by the same title "Clash of Civilizations" published in Foreign Affairs. Instead of humanity heading toward an ideological convergence of ideas within an ever-widening network of democratic systems, Huntington argued in 1993, that the main points of conflict and divergence would be culture and religion. Huntington created three maps as part of his argument, "The West and the rest: 1920", "The Cold War world: 1960s", and "The world of civilizations: post-1990". These maps illustrate the three indices of "imagined communities" introduced by Benedict Anderson in the section "Census, Map, Museum" in his 1991 publication Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. In "The West and the Rest", Huntington, predicted "violent conflicts between groups in different civilizations are the most likely and most dangerous source of escalation that could lead to global wars". His ideological "axis of world politics" - the relations between "the West and the Rest" was colour-coded in these maps. Binaries such as Moslem/Christian, East/West, civilized/uncivilized, developed/undeveloped have hardened since the 1990s and affect national image-making processes. For example, Croatia has exerted efforts to be represented as a developed Western nation(as it was depicted in Huntington). Crotia will remain inside or outside the developed Western world. Huntington's "placed Crotia in the developed "Western sphere of his civilizational hemispheric map (Huntington 1993:24" Huntington's controversial work was well-received by some Croatian scholars and politicians who cite it as evidence that "Crotia belongs in the Western European religious and cultural sphere."
FORUM: A STATEMENT ON SCHOLARS
"Scholarship" by Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and Universal House of Justice compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. published in Compilation of Compilations, Volume 3, pages 226-264 2000
I wrote on December 8, 2017"
Universal House of Justice, Message on Scholarship: For those who prefer text that can be copied and pasted: see also Comments on Bahá'í Scholarship On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated 3 January, 1979. To the Participants in the Bahá'í Studies Seminar held in Cambridge on 30 September and 1 October 1978.
We are reminded again to avoid conflict and contention...
"All men, not scholars alone, are exhorted to seek out and uphold the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. But they are also exhorted to be wise in their utterance, to be tolerant of the views of others, to be courteous in their behaviour and speech, not to sow the seeds of doubt in faithful hearts, to look at the good rather than at the bad, to avoid conflict and contention, to be reverent, to be faithful to the Covenant of God, to promote His Faith and safeguard its honour, and to educate their fellow-men, giving milk to babes and meat to those who are stronger."
This caution is a good one to remember when we are researching: The insidious danger of "spiritual pride and arrogance." We are reminded that "scholars" which can be inclusive of learners?, "have often been most wrong when they have been most certain that they were right. The virtues of moderation, humility and humour in regard to one's own work and ideas are a potent protection against this danger."
"The Cause needs... people who not only are devoted to it and believe in it and are anxious to tell others about it, but also who have a deep grasp of the Teachings and their significance, and who can correlate its beliefs with the current thoughts and problems of the people of the world." Shoghi Effendi (21 October 1943 to an individual believer) "The Cause needs more Bahá’í scholars, people who not only are devoted to it and believe in it and are anxious to tell others about it, but also who have a deep grasp of the Teachings and their significance, and who can correlate its beliefs with the current thoughts and problems of the people of the world. (Shoghi Effendi 21 October 1943 to an individual believer).
"From reading this compilation it is clear the calling of a writer is high, so very high, and so much a part of our “two-fold moral purpose”, of transforming ourselves and the world around us!
Say: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its influence, this is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are detached and pure. Baha’u’llah
Resources
Please see the Resources box on the right for just a few of the many sites online for research. Also you might be interested in:
Wikipedia, Bahaikipedia and Encyclopedia Iranica
Surprise! There is a dedicated team of contributors and editors who work diligently to create and protect accurate Bahá'í content pages on Wikipedia. These friends work closely together to use authoritative resource materials so that they are acceptable and neutral according to the Wikipedia principles and guidelines. Certainly, Wikipedia only provides encyclopedia-like entries, but it requires that every fact be sourced and the References sections can point to valuable resources for your own research.
MFB:
Taking and Saving Research Notes
Roam Research
© 2023 Maureen Flynn-Burhoe. Last updated 23 January 2023