Stumble it!Alternative Degrees
posted in Society by themaiden |There is a University named Naropa University near where I live. Naropa is a private institution, which means they can do what they want, but the fact that Naropa gets to use the title ‘University’ is a constant annoyance. True, Naropa is accredited, which is a horrific shame. Why? Well, I guess its namesake provides a clue– an Indian Buddhist mystic who spoke to magic fairy people… oops, a goddess. Shame on me!
One day whilst studying, a ḍākinī appeared and asked if he understood the words. He replied that he did and when she seemed so happy with his response, he added that he also understood their meaning. At this point the ḍākinī burst into tears, stating that he was a great scholar, but also a liar, as the only one who understood the teachings was her brother Tilopa. On hearing the name Tilopa, he experienced an intense feeling of devotion, and realised he needed to find the teacher in order to achieve full realization. He abandoned his studies and position at the university and set out to find Tilopa.
That’s right. Naropa is a purveyor of commodified and rhetorically dumbed-down eastern religion. Ron Rosenbaum, writing about yoga in particular, more or less sums up my feelings.
No, it’s the commodification and rhetorical dumbing-down of yoga culture that gets to me. The way something that once was—and still can be—pure and purifying has been larded with mystical schlock. Once a counterweight to our sweaty striving for ego gratification, yoga has become an unctuous adjunct to it.
There is the exploitative and ever-proliferating “yoga media.” The advent of yoga fashion (the yoga mat, the yoga-mat carrier, and yoga-class ensembles). And worst of all, the yoga rhetoric, that soothing syrupy “yoga-speak” that we all know and loathe.
It isn’t so much the strict academics, which at least superficially must meet some kind of standard, at Naropa that bother me, though I know at least one local business owner who refuses to hire anyone with a degree from the University. What bothers me is the attitude permeating the place that breeds such ‘academics‘ as Psychology and Health classes in reiki, hands of light healing, cellular cleansing, Business and Society courses like Transforming Your Relationship with Money
and World Wisdom courses like Curanderismo– witchcraft– and Sacred Geography which explores “the human creation of sacred landscape, the transformative energies of nature, and the numinous power of places—real and imagined—that expand our perception of both the world and ourselves.”
Sadly, and this is what started me along these lines, this junk is seeping into other universities.
Over the past decade, several British universities have started offering bachelor of science (BSc) degrees in alternative medicine, including six that offer BSc degrees in homeopathy, a therapy in which the active ingredient is diluted so much that the dose given to the patient often does not contain even a single molecule of it. Some scientists are increasingly concerned that such courses give homeopathy and homeopaths undeserved scientific credibility, and they are campaigning to get the label removed (see Commentary, ‘Science degrees without the science’)
…
Finding out exactly what is taught in the courses is not straightforward. Ben Goldacre, a London-based medical doctor, journalist and frequent critic of homeopathy, says that several universities have refused to let him see their course materials. “I can’t imagine what they’re teaching,” he says. “I can only imagine that they teach that it’s OK to cherry-pick evidence. That’s totally unacceptable.”
What they teach is a confidence game.
When a patient visits a homeopath, the practitioner asks questions that go beyond the symptoms and probe other aspects of the patient’s life, such as whether they are feeling stressed or unhappy. The result is an individualized treatment that takes longer than the ten or so minutes that the patient would get with a government-funded family doctor. This personal interaction is critical to homeopathy, both in tailoring the medicine and in gaining the patient’s confidence. Homeopaths say that if there is a chance that the patient might receive a placebo at the end of it, the necessary trust can break down.
Enlightenment be damned. No, not that enlightenment… this one.
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