Spiritual Spaces: History and Mysticism in Michel de Certeau in Bloomington, MN

25 years after his death, Michel de Certeau's thesis of a correlation between the development of modernity and the history of mysticism, still remains a challenge for the study of spirituality in its quest for actual forms of spiritual experience. At the same time, the topographical approach of Certeau's historiography enables to find and to elaborate free spaces within dominating cultural practices. Therefore, a discussion with Certeau's multilayered approach of spirituality and mysticism can play a key role in today's quest for new forms of spiritual experience and conscience. Avoiding both neo-orthodox and purely subjective interpretation of spiritual life, the study of Certeau can open new perspectives for a critical spirituality in the 21st century.