Curricular Clouds of (Un)Knowing: Learning About Mystery From the Mystic Traditions
Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies June 30, 2025 Holly Tsun Haggarty
Curricula traditionally focus on teaching and learning known knowledge, but this essay argues they should also engage with mystery—the dialectical condition of knowing while not knowing. Drawing on mystic traditions, mystery is characterized as an epithet of ultimate reality, a wholeness that attracts attention for its potential wisdom and transformation despite being incompletely knowable. Mystic traditions show that mystery is an ineluctable feature of any metaphysical theory, making belief inherent to metaphysical understanding, which underpins knowledge. A curriculum inviting mystery encourages exploring existential beliefs. The contemplative pathway from mystic traditions serves as both epistemological model and method, using reason to prepare for revelation and dealing with paradox. The essay concludes with a poetic inquiry.