Description & Aims

This roundtable will gather an intergenerational and interdisciplinary group of African-born scholars to share experiences of teaching and learning across continents, cultures, and contexts. Participants will share their lived experiences of navigating diverse educational systems, highlighting how they sustain their intellectual, spiritual, and professional longevity. The session aims to cultivate a space of honest and collegial engagement where participants can explore the following questions of identity, pedagogy, and mentorship:

• African Identities in the Empire: What is hybridity as an educator shaped by African, European, and US cultural systems and institutions? How does the trope of Africa get mobilized in the academy?
• Epistemologies and Pedagogies: What are the challenges and hopes of migrant and immigrant pedagogies? How do we navigate cultural and pedagogical differences? What are the challenges or opportunities of teaching in the US and Canada? What pedagogical strategies help scholars become rooted in the US academic environment? How can we assist the academy in considering the worldview and world-sense of African continental and African immigrant individuals? 
• Connection and Collaboration: How can we build connections and collaborate as African-born scholars? What relationships are essential for thriving and surviving in teaching, researching, and mentoring? How do we relate to our various communities—such as heritage and ecclesial groups—as scholar-educators? How can we foster a sense of community among scholars in the African diaspora? How might we create a pedagogical home among ourselves? How can we develop bridges to support the next generation of scholars from the continent who will be teaching in the U.S. and Canada?

Eligibility

• African-born scholar teaching religion, religious studies, or theology in an accredited college or university in the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada
• Tenured, tenure-track, continuing term, and/or full-time contingency
• Doctoral degree awarded by the time of application
• Institutional support and personal commitment to participate fully in all roundtable sessions

Application Materials

Application Contact Information

Letter of Interest

In 500-750 words maximum, describe how your academic journey and cultural background shape your teaching. Discuss what values inspire your teaching. Also, discuss what motivates you to apply for this roundtable and what you hope to gain from this gathering.

Curated Academic CV 

(4-pages) that provides a representation of teaching, research, and service

Letter of Institutional Support 

Written by a dean or department head, that speaks to the ways you might contribute to and benefit from this conversation