Seminars
Participants are taught in small seminar groups of up to 12 students, and receive two one-on-one tutorials with their tutor.
Sunday
Seminar 1: Introduction to the study of mindfulness/meditation
Seminar 2: The tree of meditation: Varieties of East-West techniques
Monday
Seminar 3: Experiential Session: Modern Techniques
Seminar 4: Escape from the world: Meditation as tool for self-transcendence
Tuesday
Seminar 5: Secular mindfulness/meditation and the homeless self
Seminar 6: Experiential Session: Traditional Eastern Techniques
Wednesday
Seminar 7: Matters of the heart: East-West meditations based on love and compassion
Seminar 8: The clinical and social psychology of meditation: Wanted and Unwanted Effects
Thursday
Seminar 9: Experiential Session: Traditional Western Techniques
Seminar 10: Experiences of meditation: stages of meditation and self-transformation
Friday
Seminar 11: The ethics of mindfulness/meditation: Modern debates and controversies
Seminar 12: Deconstructing and reconstructing the self: Holy fools, mystics, poets, and narcissists
Programme timetable
The daily timetable will normally be as follows:
Saturdays
14.00–16.30 - Registration
16.30–17.00 - Orientation meeting
17.00–17.30 - Classroom orientation for tutor and students
17.30–18.00 - Drinks reception
18.00–20.00 - Welcome dinner
Sundays – Fridays
09.00–10.30 - Seminar
10.30–11.00 - Tea/coffee break
11.00–12.30 - Seminar
12.30–13.30 - Lunch
13.30–18.00 - Afternoons are free for tutorials, individual study, course-related field trips or exploring the many places of interest in and around Oxford.
18.00–19.00 - Dinner (There is a formal gala dinner every Friday to close each week of the programme)
A range of optional social events will be offered throughout the summer school. These are likely to include: a quiz night, visit to historic pubs in Oxford, visit to Christ Church for Evensong and after-dinner talks and discussions.