Resources
Podcast Series. A podcast exploring conversations of Critical Digital Pedagogy, listening for ways to empower students and champion learning.
Podcast Series. A series of conversations with teachers about teaching -- mostly with faculty in higher education, but occasionally other teachers as well.
Podcast Series. In each podcast the editors provide a review of the current issue of "Times Higher Education."
Podcast Series. Interviews with effective and critically reflective professors
Like Teresa Delgado I’ve composed and deleted several versions of this post. My first draft, started several weeks ago, reflected on how we talk about race, violence, and nationalism post-Charlottesville. I wanted to add my voice to the many inspiring people who have found ways to incorporate discussions of xenophobia, violence, and white privilege into their courses. In that post, I attempted to address the types of questions and frameworks that our students naturally employ in the aftermath of tragedies. Specifically, I was interested in the ways our students personalize these experiences by asking each other “What would you do?” We all hope to be the people who do something in the face of hate. If I hadn’t fallen behind in the wake of a hectic fall semester that would be the blog post you would be reading. This week, however, I’ve been tasked with a different question. Not what would you do, but rather, what will we do? I write not from the perspective of post- but the perspective of pre-. The League of the South (along with several other white supremacist organizations) are planning a rally next weekend in both Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. According to a spokesperson for the organization, the group is not rallying around the preservation of statues this time because the state’s Heritage Act already makes it quite difficult to remove confederate monuments. Instead, their stated topic of contention is refugee resettlement (an issue which happens to be close to home for me; I volunteer as a translator for a local refugee family). Right now there are several groups mobilizing in opposition to these rallies. Both local organizations and ones from out of town are coordinating resistance activities and counter-protests. Across social media and at various public forums, citizens of Murfreesboro are divided as to what the appropriate response should be. Some people are firmly resolved, others are uncertain, and many are afraid. Coincidentally, in my introductory Religion and Society class, my students are in the middle of a unit examining religious codes and systems of ethics. Last week, we looked at Craig Martin’s A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion that explores how ethical decisions are filtered through Bourdieu’s notion of habitus. That seemed like as a good a place as any to think about the different possible actions that one might take against a white supremacist rally. So here’s what I did, pre- an event like Murfreesboro/Shelbyville 2017. I began by reflecting on the fact that we’ve had more conversations than usual about current and political events this semester. From Puerto Rico to Las Vegas; from nuclear threats from North Korea to a church shooting in the town next door; and from the epidemic of sexual violence against women epitomized by Harvey Weinstein to the movement inspired by Colin Kaepernick to expose systemic racism. Over the past two months there has been no shortage of current events for our students to assess or debate from the position of “What would you do?” I went on to say that I wanted to have a different type of conversation. Rather than describing or offering their own opinions, I would be asking them to do a higher level of analysis. Description, I told them, is an important part of what we do in religious studies, but that’s not all we do. I called on the students who are also enrolled in my Jesus class to explain how in that class we’ve undertaken a discursive analysis wherein we’re not interested in what the texts say (and certainly not in whether they are right or wrong), but instead are interested in what they do (and what the doing does). I printed off conversation threads from four different public Facebook events/pages that are making plans in opposition to the white supremacists’ rally. The different options presented by these pages are: Do nothing (ignore them, don’t invite conflict) Hold a family-friendly rally in a different location (a protest of sorts without direct confrontation) Have a counter-protest and call on citizens to stand against white nationalism, Nazis, and the KKK (a protest with direct confrontation but the avoidance of physical violence) Take part in an Antifa-style protest (direct confrontation with anticipated violence)[1] As we worked our way through the four sites, I asked the class to read the language closely for evidence of how each group describes themselves, the white supremacist group, and other planned protests. We discussed how they legitimated their perspectives and where they placed their authority (in the case of the first three, each claimed to have the best interests of Murfreesboro at heart and worked to establish their local identity via connections to different community groups and networks). From there we sketched out a basic conception of how all four read the moral position “white supremacy is wrong” through different lenses provided by their habitus and with very different consequences. The activity seemed to work well. I wanted to have a conversation that did something different than simply reiterating the students’ own viewpoints. While those types of conversations can be helpful because they provide an opportunity for students to practice speaking about contentious issues, this particular discussion is more urgent. Often I find classroom discussions devolve into each student waiting their turn to state their case and figure out who is “on their side.” My hope was that by working together to analyze the discourses and social locations of the different groups rather than evaluating each other, the boundaries that sometimes emerge in these conversations would dissolve. I also hoped that they might come to better understand their own perspectives and how they are shaped by social factors. Finally, and most prominently, I hoped they would be able to more fully understand these events as embedded in cultural systems, rather than independent, chaotic occurrences. By way of a conclusion, I offered myself as a case study and asked them (based on their assessment of my own identity, values, and habitus) to offer evidence for and against my participation in each of the four counter activities. I told them that I was uncertain about which of the options I wanted to participate in and that I would take their advice to heart when deciding what to do. They made passionate cases for and against each position with a level of perceptiveness and concern that exceeded my expectations. Previously, when I’ve thought about how I teach current events in the classroom it has focused on reflection as reaction. I’ve invited students to consider the facts of what “actually happened” and to delve into the nuance of context. In those cases, I have taken on the role of a guide, helping them articulate and expand their understanding. Here we don’t completely understand because we don’t yet know what will happen. There’s an ambiguity in addressing something that is uncertain and has yet to occur, especially amid the elevated risks that accompany a situation like this. In this case, I made them play the role of the guide, instructing me on how to understand and articulate my own perspective. As I write in a moment that feels like a calm before the storm, this ambiguity and liminality feels important – which is why I wanted to write this post before the event itself occurred. As faculty we’re good at having answers. Assessment and evaluation are second nature. But both with my students and on the Wabash Teaching Religion and Politics blog, I see value in capturing the uncertainty, inviting my students and you into the process of considering the question what will, as opposed to what would, you do. [1]For obvious reasons, I was unable to find anything on public social media forums making specific plans related to Antifa or similar groups so we read an article describing their perspective and activities.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to receive announcements of new postings. Subscribe using an RSS reader such as Feedly or Inoreader October 23, 2017 New Books Added to Our Collection Meet Paul Myhre a Member of Our Team Sign up for Events at AAR & SBL meeting Sign up for Doctoral Seminars Books Available for Review Free download: Disruption, Dialogue, and Swerve: Reflective Structured Dialogue in Religious Studies Classrooms Journal Call for Papers: "What Metaphor Describes You As A Teacher?" New Blog Post in Teaching, Religion, Politics Dean J. Johnson, "Teaching Students About Finding Their Religious Justice Roots" "Teaching Theology and Religion" (July 2017) Latest Book Reviews Journal Articles without Subscription Wabash Center Video Collection
Sessions on Teaching at the AAR-SBL Conference A17-204 Friday - 1:00 PM-5:00 PM Hynes Convention Center-102 (Plaza Level) Teaching Religion and Disability Studies Workshop: Engaging Curriculum and Pedagogy with Intersectionality and Communities Panelists: Mary Jo Iozzio, Boston College S17-209 Friday 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM Room: 310 (Third Level) - Hynes Convention Center (HCC) Using Performance to Teach the Bible/Orality, Memory, Performance Criticism, and Related Disciplines Registration for this workshop is available through Annual Meetings registration. The sixth annual workshop sponsored by the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media offers sessions on using performance to engage students with biblical text, led by experienced teaching scholars. The participants will be involved in active learning throughout the afternoon. Cost of registration is $50 and can be submitted through SBL Annual Meetings registration. Additional information is available from Phil Ruge-Jones at rugejones@gmail.com. A17-209 Friday - 3:30 PM-6:00 PM Hynes Convention Center-207 (Second Level) Teaching Hinduism Workshop: Teaching Tales: Narrative and Pedagogy in the Hindu Studies Classroom “Teaching Stories about Teaching Self: Upaniṣadic Narrative in the Classroom,” Steven Lindquist, Southern Methodist University “Teaching Hinduism with Mahābhārata Dialogues: Intertextuality and Thematic Continuity in Divine/Human Encounters,” Bruce M. Sullivan, Northern Arizona University “Re-Imagining the Mahābhārata: A Report from the Kochi-Muziris Biennale,” Vishwa Adluri, City University of New York “Myth and History: Teaching Hinduism Through Narratives,” Joydeep Bagchee, Free University of Berlin “The Dynamic Canon of the Puranas and the Ethnography of the Classroom,” Elizabeth Mary Rohlman, University of Calgary “How the Goddess Teaches Hinduism: Decoding Divergent Boons,” Raj Balkaran, University of Toronto “Translation, Transcreation, and Tukaram,” Jeffrey Brackett, Ball State University “Stories to Grow On: Shaping Hindu Subjects and Morals through Narrative Pedagogy in the Hindu Diaspora,” Shana Sippy, Carleton College A18-133 Teaching Religion Unit Saturday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Sheraton Boston-Liberty B (Second Level) Theme: Teaching about Religion as Anti-Racism Education Panelists: Richard Newton, Elizabethtown College Martha Roberts, University of the South Christine Hong, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Tiffany Puett, Institute for Diversity and Civic Life A18-139 Saturday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Hynes Convention Center-207 (Second Level) Promoting Religious Literacy College-Wide Seminar Presiding Eugene V. Gallagher, Connecticut College Diane L. Moore, Harvard University Steve Herrick, American Academy of Religion Panelists: Cherie Hughes, Tulsa Community College Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount University Eugene Y. Lowe, Northwestern University Margaret Lowe, Bridgewater State University Brian K. Pennington, Elon University Martha Reineke, University of Northern Iowa S18-109 Saturday 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Room: Republic B (Second Level) - Sheraton Boston Hotel (SB) Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies; Global Education and Research Technology Joint Session with Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies, Global Education and Research Technology Theme: Best Practices in Online Teaching “The Online Capstone: Collaborative Learning and Research in a Virtual Environment,” Sandie Gravett, Appalachian State University “ Using the Moodle Book module to create and deliver an interactive online Biblical Hebrew course and textbook,” Barry Bandstra, Hope College “ Wandering in the Online Wilderness - From Classroom to Online and Back Again - Some Observations,” Jonathan D. Lawrence, Canisius College “ The Corpus-driven Online Hebrew Classroom,” Nicolai Winther-Nielsen, Fjellhaug Internasjonale Høgskole “ Going Deep and Beyond the Expectations of a Term Paper: Student Contributions to the Website Bible in Its Traditions,” Jean-Francois Racine, Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University A18-300 S18-342a Saturday, 4:00 PM–5:30 PM HCC-303 (Third Level) Educational Entrepreneurship: Monetizing Your Expertise through Digital Teaching Online education is the way of the future. If you’re passionate about sharing your knowledge with others, you can pursue a rewarding career on your own terms as an online educational entrepreneur. You can do so in tandem with, or instead of, teaching at the academy. Most importantly, you will learn how to harness your doctorate in a fulfilling teaching career, irrespective of the state of the tenure-track job market. In this workshop, Raj Balkaran shares key insights on his journey founding the School of Applied Mythology, a digital academy for meaningful learning. This workshop lays the foundation for successful educational entrepreneurship, including (1) content creation; (2) curriculum design; (3) sales and marketing strategy; and (4) effective digital pedagogy. Raj Balkaran, University of Toronto, Panelist S18-301 Saturday 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: Grand Ballroom A (Fourth Level) - Marriott Copley Place Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies Theme: Gaming, Interactive Fiction, and Simulation in the Classroom “ Mock Dig as the Culminating Project for a Hebrew Bible Course,” David Bernat, University of Massachusetts Amherst “Avatars of Antiquity: Helping Students Think About Early Christian Beginnings,” Laura Dingeldein, University of Illinois at Chicago and Jeffrey Wheatley, Northwestern University “ Remembering Dismembering or Where Did That Toe Go?” Susan E. Haddox, University of Mount Union “Yesh Li Malkeka: Using Chess to Teach Biblical Hebrew,” Christopher Heard, Pepperdine University “ Role-Playing Games as Pedagogical Tools in Teaching the New Testament to Undergraduate Students,” Melanie A. Howard, Fresno Pacific University “ Ancient Language Acquisition through Interactive Role-Play and Story Telling,” Jordash Kiffiak, Universität Zürich S18-338 Saturday 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: Hampton (Third Level) - Sheraton Boston Hotel (SB) Racism, Pedagogy and Biblical Studies Theme: Exegeting Racism Panelists: Randall Bailey, Interdenominational Theological Center, Panelist Wil Gafney, Brite Divinity School (TCU) Jean-Pierre Ruiz, Saint John's University Erin Runions, Pomona College S18-343 Saturday 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: Regis (Third Level) - Boston Marriott Copley Place (MCP) Teaching Biblical Studies in an Undergraduate Liberal Arts Context Theme: Pedagogical Objectives, Strategies, and Assessment “ Food, Hunger, and the Bible: Teaching Core Students through Experience,” Lesley DiFransico, Loyola University Maryland “ Incorporating the Liberal Arts Mission into an Undergraduate Introductory Biblical Studies Course,” John W. Fadden, Saint John Fisher College “ Practical Information Literacy Assignments for Biblical and Religious Studies,” Steve Jung, Azusa Pacific University “ Changing the Rules of the Game: Social Hierarchies in Philemon, Sabinianus, and College Campuses,” Michael Kibbe, Moody – Spokane A18-300 Saturday - 4:00 PM-5:30 PM Student Lounge Roundtable Theme: Educational Entrepreneurship: Monetizing Your Expertise through Digital Teaching Panelists: Raj Balkaran, University of Toronto A18-301 Saturday - 4:00 PM-6:30 PM Sheraton Boston-Grand & Independence (Second Level) Academic Labor and Contingent Faculty Committee and Graduate Student Committee and Status of LGBTIQ Persons in the Profession Committee Theme: Protecting the Vulnerable on Campus “’Although the Doors Were Shut’: Cultivating Courageous Community at the Borders of the Academy,” Cameron Partridge, Harvard University “It Doesn't Always Feel Good: Redefining Notions of Inclusion and Moving Beyond ‘Diversity,’” Prea Persaud, University of Florida “Solidarity within the Faculty,” James Keenan, Boston College “Ad Junk: Accounting for Different Vulnerabilities in Vulnerable Professional Positions,” Hussein Rashid, Islamicate, LLC “Just Employment: Solidarity among Campus Workers,” Kerry Danner, Georgetown University A18-322 Saturday - 4:00 PM-6:00 PM Sheraton Boston-Beacon E (Third Level) Religion and Politics Unit Theme: International Relations and Religious Studies: Pedagogy and Interdisciplinary Exchange Panelists: David Buckley, University of Louisville Jeremy Menchik, Boston University James Miller, Queen's University, Kingston Anna Bigelow, North Carolina State University Qamar-ul Huda, Georgetown University Nukhet Sandal, University of Ohio S19-110 Sunday 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM Room: 309 (Third Level) - Hynes Convention Center (HCC) Bible and Popular Culture Theme: Pedagogical approaches and Literary themes “’Lost and Found’: The Bible as Artefact and Metanarrative in Crime Fiction, with Special Reference to Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy,” Alison Jack, University of Edinburgh “The Problem of Silence: Psalm 109, and "Silence" (Endo, 1969; Scorsese, 2017),” Karl Jacobson, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd “’'Here we are now; entertain us’: Making Text-Criticism Interesting to an Uninterested Generation Y,” Adam Tune, Catholic University of America “Engaging Undergraduate Students with Jesus Memes,” Lesley DiFransico, Loyola University Maryland “The ‘Netflix Bible’ and Other Pop-culture Means of Teaching Bible to Reticent Students,” Lisa M. Wolfe, Oklahoma City University A19-123 Sunday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Hynes Convention Center-310 (Third Level) Practical Theology Unit and Transformative Scholarship and Pedagogy Unit Theme: Theological Education in Spaces of Social Marginality “Interpreting Injustice: narrating experiences of marginalisation in Scotland as constructing theological praxis,” Clare Radford, University of Glasgow “Programs in Prisons: Transforming the Who, Where, How, and What of Theological Education,” Sarah Jobe, Duke Divinity School “Pedagogical Justice: Toward a Theologically Responsible Pedagogy for Teaching Religion to Women in Prison,” Rachelle Green, Emory University “The pedagogical challenges of teaching theology to first generation students from non-traditional churches,” Richard Burgess, University of Roehampton Responding: Daniel Franklin Pilario, Adamson University A19-200 Sunday - 1:00 PM-2:30 PM Hynes Convention Center-208 (Second Level) Academic Labor and Contingent Faculty Committee Theme: The Rapid Erosion of Tenure: 2008-2018 “The Tenure Myth,” Frank Donoghue, Ohio State University Responding: Theresa A. Yugar, California State University, Los Angeles A19-203 S19-241a Sunday - 1:00 PM-2:30 PM Hynes Convention Center-303 (Third Level) Student Lounge Roundtable Theme: Using Teaching Opportunities to Expand Your Skill Set Discussions of “teaching and professional development” often focus on how to improve your teaching. However, teaching opportunities can also be used to expand your skills for beyond the classroom. In an academic world where promising graduate students cannot count on landing professor positions, future teaching careers may not be in the cards for everyone, so we need to find creative ways to translate graduate teaching experience into other professional realms. In this workshop, we will discuss a variety of basic and innovative teaching techniques that can be used to develop transferable skills for the non-teaching aspects of your academic or alt-ac career. In addition to making yourself a more well-rounded teacher, learning to think in this way should also help you to be more maneuverable in the job market. Kristy Slominski, University of Mississippi, Panelist A19-204 Sunday - 1:00 PM-2:30 PM Sheraton Boston-Beacon F (Third Level) Teaching and Learning Committee Theme: Conversation with Excellence in Teaching Award Winner Lynn Neal Panelists: Lynn S. Neal, Wake Forest University A19-236 S19-251a Hynes Convention Center-303 (Third Level) Sunday 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM Room: 303 (Third Level) - Hynes Convention Center (HCC) Student Lounge Roundtable Theme: Student-Centered Learning: A Practical Guide Many of us have heard about the wonders of “student-centered learning”: higher engagement, better critical thinking skills, student empowerment. But how exactly can we implement these methods in college and university Religious Studies classrooms? This Roundtable session will go over simple but effective strategies for both instructors and teaching assistants to create a student-centered learning environment. These strategies are derived from both the educational literature and personal experience in both capacities. Attendees will leave with concrete examples of how to implement student-centered learning in addition to a resource list to aid in additional investigation into student-centered learning activities and principles. In order to see student-centered learning in practice, this session will leave time for a discussion and brainstorming session at the end to workshop some ideas and/or problems particular to instituting student-centered learning in the study of religion. Gwendolyn Gillson, University of Iowa, Panelist A19-236 Sunday - 2:30 PM-4:00 PM Hynes Convention Center-303 (Third Level) Student Lounge Roundtable Theme: Student-Centered Learning: A Practical Guide Panelists: Gwendolyn Gillson, University of Iowa A19-250 Sunday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM Marriott Copley Place-Berkeley (Third Level) Applied Religious Studies Committee Theme: Preparing Scholars of Religion for Non-academic Careers: What's a Faculty Member to Do? Panelists: Molly Bassett, Georgia State University Jason C. Bivins, North Carolina State University Kathleen Moore, UC Santa Barbara A19-252 Sunday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM Hynes Convention Center-310 (Third Level) Publications Committee and Teaching and Learning Committee Theme: Teaching Interreligious Encounters (Oxford University Press, 2017) Panelists: Francis X. Clooney, Harvard University Zayn Kassam, Pomona College Martha Reineke, University of Northern Iowa John Thatamanil, Union Theological Seminary Responding: Marc Pugliese, Saint Leo University Alexander Y. Hwang, Xavier University A19-261 Sunday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM Marriott Copley Place-Boylston (First Level) Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit and Religion in Southeast Asia Unit Theme: The Interreligious Classroom in Indonesia, Canada, and the US “Expecting the Common Good: On the Cooperation of Persons in the Interfaith Studies Classroom,” Colleen Windham-Hughes, California Lutheran University “Indonesian Interreligious Learning,” Nicholas Adams, University of Birmingham “Re-imagining Pedagogy in Canadian Religious Studies Departments: Connecting Theory with Practice,” Adriana Tulissi, Paul Verhoef, Syd Erais, University of Calgary “Threading a Needle to Weave a Fabric: Introducing Religion as Interreligion,” Aaron Hollander, University of Chicago A19-303 Sunday - 5:00 PM-6:30 PM Sheraton Boston-Back Bay B (Second Level) Regional Coordinators Theme: Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Teaching and Scholarship in the Age of Austerity Panelists: Marc DiPaolo, Southwestern Oklahoma State University S19-337 Sunday 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: Beacon H (Third Level) - Sheraton Boston Hotel (SB) Teaching Biblical Studies in an Undergraduate Liberal Arts Context Theme: Biblical Studies and the Liberal Arts Mission ”Bring back the Trivium! Rhetoric and the “Trump syllabus” for biblical studies courses,” Christopher M. Jones, Washburn University “ Why Bother with the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible? Persuading Students to Open the Bible by Helping Them to Enjoy Reading It,” Eric A. Seibert, Messiah College ” Thinking Critically about Gender and Biblical Interpretation,” Jocelyn McWhirter, Albion College “ How to Dismantle Christian Nationalism, Or Teaching the Bible in a Trump Presidency,” Mike Whitenton, Baylor University A19-322 Sunday - 5:00 PM-6:30 PM Religion, Holocaust, and Genocide Unit and Transformative Scholarship and Pedagogy Unit Sheraton Boston-Republic B (Second Level) Theme: Teaching Holocaust and Genocide in This Time: Strategies of Engagement “Teaching about the Holocaust through Geo-science and Archaeology,” Richard A. Freund, University of Hartford “Teaching Genocide in a “Post-Truth” Age: Strategies for Activism, Engagement, and Scholarship,” Will Livingston, Florida State University “Holocaust Education, ‘British Values’, and Religious Diversity in the United Kingdom,” David Tollerton, University of Exeter A20-100 Monday - 9:00 AM-10:30 AM Hynes Convention Center-303 (Third Level) Student Lounge Roundtable Theme: The Potential Value of Genre-based Pedagogy in Religious Studies Monday - 9:00 AM-10:30 AM This roundtable is intended to make a case to religious studies instructors for the value of adopting the genre-based method of instruction developed primarily in the discipline of writing studies, explaining its merits and challenges. The syllabus handouts that will be provided model this method for a range of religious studies courses. In addition to genre-based instruction, some of the courses also attempt to integrate two other valuable pedagogical techniques in the context of religious studies: critical pedagogy and technology-supplemented pedagogy. Although the roundtable focuses primarily on the value of genre-based pedagogy as an innovative intervention in religious studies pedagogy, we will also discuss the importance of instructors’ cultivation of critical literacy and use of a variety of media and methods. Genre-based instruction helps cultivate a number of discipline-specific and domain-general skills valued by students and instructional institutions. Panelists: Nathan Fredrickson, University of California, Santa Barbara A20-132 Monday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Marriott Copley Place-Arlington (Third Level) Religion, Media, and Culture Unit and Teaching Religion Unit and Theology and Religious Reflection Unit Theme: Teaching and Scholarship as Resistance in the Post-Truth Era In recent years, facts and truth have been undercut to such an extent that our society’s sense of shared reality has eroded. This problem has been highlighted by the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and its aftermath. What is our vocation as teachers, faculty members, and intellectuals in the post-truth age? The difficulties we face are myriad: the deluge of “alt-facts,” the corrosion of democratic institutions, the corporatization of the university, and what Jameson called “the totally-mediatized present.” What practices, institutions, and formations are necessary for us as faculty members to survive, counter, or resist this emerging (non-) epistemology? Bringing together junior and senior scholars from many sub-disciplines and methodological approaches within religious studies and theology and from different kinds of academic institutions, this will be an engaged, ad hoc conversation from which everyone gains new ideas about both classroom strategies and the role of the university in our historical moment. Panelists: Charles Mathewes, University of Virginia Emilie M. Townes, Vanderbilt University Laura S. Levitt, Temple University Annika Thiem, Villanova University Janine Giordano Drake, University of Great Falls Melissa Borja, City University of New York Sarah Eltantawi, Evergreen State College Todd Green, Luther College A20-246 Monday - 3:00 PM-4:30 PM Hynes Convention Center-303 (Third Level) Student Lounge Roundtable Theme: Tips for Integrating Guest Faith Practitioners in the Classroom As graduate student instructors of religion, we might face challenges of expertise or authority with our students, or teach students who have never encountered individuals of a particular religious tradition. Bringing faith practitioners to speak in our classes might be a useful strategy to expose students to insider views, hear from more authoritative sources, and encounter faith practitioners perhaps for the first time. In spite of the potential benefits of inviting faith practitioners to our classes, there are also potential challenges. How do we ensure that these experiences are appropriately bracketed to maintain academic rigor? Do certain institutional contexts or programs support this more than others? How does our status as graduate students affect these concerns, especially as graduate students take on such a large role of undergraduate instruction? This roundtable session will discuss these issues and discuss ways of effectively bringing guest faith practitioners into the classroom. Panelists: Joshua Patterson, University of Georgia S20-251 Monday 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM Room: 303 (Third Level) - Hynes Convention Center (HCC) Student Lounge Roundtable Theme: Tips for Integrating Guest Faith Practitioners in the Classroom As graduate student instructors of religion, we might face challenges of expertise or authority with our students, or teach students who have never encountered individuals of a particular religious tradition. Bringing faith practitioners to speak in our classes might be a useful strategy to expose students to insider views, hear from more authoritative sources, and encounter faith practitioners perhaps for the first time. In spite of the potential benefits of inviting faith practitioners to our classes, there are also potential challenges. How do we ensure that these experiences are appropriately bracketed to maintain academic rigor? Do certain institutional contexts or programs support this more than others? How does our status as graduate students affect these concerns, especially as graduate students take on such a large role of undergraduate instruction? This roundtable session will discuss these issues and discuss ways of effectively bringing guest faith practitioners into the classroom P20-333 Monday 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: Provincetown (Fourth Level) - Boston Marriott Copley Place (MCP) National Association of Professors of Hebrew Theme: Communicative Methods for Teaching and Learning Biblical Hebrew Panelists Paul Overland, Ashland Theological Seminary Robert Stallman, Northwest University (Washington) Benjamin Noonan, Columbia International University Jennifer Noonan, Liberty University Steve Cook, Johnson University David Levenson, Florida State University S20-340 Monday 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: 201 (Second Level) - Hynes Convention Center (HCC) Racism, Pedagogy and Biblical Studies Theme: Manifestations of Racism in the Biblical Studies Classroom Panelists: Bernadette Brooten, Brandeis University Lai Ling Elizabeth Ngan, Baylor University Eric Barreto, Princeton Theological Seminary J. Ross Wagner, Duke University Margaret Aymer, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Respondent A20-326 Monday - 4:00 PM-6:30 PM Marriott Copley Place-New Hampshire (Fifth Level) Religion and Public Schools: International Perspectives Unit Theme: Nationalism and Religion Education in Public Schools Norman Richardson, Stranmillis University College, Belfast Religion, Schooling and Conflicting Nationalisms: Educational Perspectives from Northern Ireland Erica Larson, Boston University Building Pious Citizens for a Plural Society: Religious and Civic Education in Indonesia Kate Soules, Boston College When Religion Isn’t a Part of Culture: Reviewing the Relationship between Religion and Multicultural Education Responding: Jenny Berglund, Södertörn University Business Meeting: Jenny Berglund, Södertörn University Michael Waggoner, University of Northern Iowa S20-301 Monday 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Room: Beacon E (Third Level) - Sheraton Boston Hotel (SB) Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies Theme: Texts That Trigger Responses “ Inside Out: Seasons of Life, Seasons of Faith in the Psalms,” Ma. Maricel S. Ibita, Ateneo de Manila University “ Reading Biblical Literature With the Heavyhearted,” Renate Hood, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor “’Can This Text Be Saved?’: Applying Mediation Skills to Teaching Troubling Texts,” Tim Koch, Excelsior College and Pacific School of Religion “ Creative Assignments for Creative Reading,” Sylvie Raquel, Trinity International University A20-333 Monday - 4:00 PM-6:30 PM Sheraton Boston-Jamaica Pond (Fifth Level) Teaching Religion Unit Theme: Teaching the Introductory Course “Ways and Means (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Introduction to the Study of Religion),” William Robert, Syracuse University “The Use and Misuse of Cults and New Religious Movements in an Introduction to World Religions Classroom,” Andrew McKee, Florida State University “The Impact of Experiential Learning in an Introduction to Asian Religions Course,” Beverley Foulks McGuire, University of North Carolina, Wilmington “Teaching Common Figures in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Scriptures,” Gregory Robbins, Andrea Stanton, University of Denver “Emerging Frontiers for Interreligious and Interfaith Studies: Interreligious Pedagogy for Pre-Professional Education,” Esther Boyd, Interfaith Youth Core A21-122 Tuesday - 9:00 AM-11:30 AM Sheraton Boston-Beacon F (Third Level) Teaching Religion Unit Theme: Evidence Based Teaching in Religion Kate DeConinck, University of San Diego Engaging Contentious Issues Using Team-Based Learning Strategies John Lyden, Grand View University Teaching Islam and Current Events through Experiential Learning Nathaniel Samuel, St. Thomas University Teaching Introduction to Religious Studies through a Partial Community Engagement Model. Jeannine Hill Fletcher, Fordham University “History Repeats: The Critical Theorist’s/Theologian’s Study of Religious History in Real Time” Calvin Mercer, East Carolina University Somatic Learning: An Exercise in “Reading” Religious Texts List of Wabash Center Activities at AAR-SBL 2017
Every semester I stand in front of my classes at my predominantly white state university and argue, “whiteness came into being through more than five hundred years of dominant cultural narratives undergirded by [white] Christianity, laws, and sciences which have proclaimed the innate inferiority of those outside dominant white culture.” Historically my students have had three different responses to the argument: revelation, no surprise, and disdain. For the first group of students, the idea that white Christianity has anything to do with race and racism in the United States is new and revelatory. It helps them better understand how systemic violence came in to being and continues to function. For the second group of students, the idea that white Christianity is in part responsible for the state of race relations comes as no surprise and connects to their understanding of reality. Many of these students have a long view of history and many face the direct consequences of the systemic violence created by white supremacy, hetero-normativity, patriarchy, and ableism all of which have been justified by white Christianity. The third group of students respond with disbelief, anger, and disdain. This third group of students is more visible now than in previous years. As I look around the room there are clearly more eye rolls and head shakes, whispers, and general displays of dis-ease. The arguments about the politics of white Christianity are a direct affront to this group’s worldview and in some cases, the ideas are exactly what their families, community leaders, and political pundits warned them about. What has become more evident in the last year is an increased level of anxiety in classroom spaces when talking about systemic violence and oppression. Part of the anxiety is about trauma and trust, while another part of the anxiety is about anger. The trauma was created by the presence of a presidential candidate on campus. It was an event that left students and faculty feeling wounded and vulnerable. Students stood on the opposite sides of the street with a police line between them. The experience has left people questioning who they can trust. It also exposed a lot of anger, much of which is fueled by hate. We are living in a time when overt verbal and physical attacks against black and brown bodies, against women’s bodies, against queer and trans bodies, and against non-Christian bodies are more overtly public, calculated, and politically normalized. The pushback against anything that has been labeled progressive is palpable and real. I now find myself thinking about how I will deal with disrupters who take over class conversations. I find a ready group of colleagues who want to discuss and strategize about classroom engagements and the campus climate. It is easy to get distracted by fear of what could happen and in all likelihood will happen. For some colleagues and students classrooms no longer feel safe. The classroom has become a very heavy space. And yet, I go back to the words of bell hooks, “[E]ngaged pedagogy recognize[s] each classroom as different, that strategies must constantly be changed, invented, reconceptualized to address each new teaching experience.” What does an engaged pedagogy look like in the face of our current social-political climate? How does an engaged pedagogy help foster radical democracy, social responsibility, resistance, and critical citizenship? I have started to reconceptualize how I teach about the politics of white Christianity, or any other contentious topic, in an anxious classroom. First, I work very hard at creating the classroom as a community. While this is not new to my teaching, I am very careful to build relationships among the students and myself with a series of exercises at the beginning of the semester before launching into divisive issues. Next, I have reconceptualized how I create a context for students to understand their place in history by using Elise Boulding’s “200-year present.” According to Boulding, “[The 200-year present] is a continuously moving moment, always reaching out 100 years in either direction from the day we are in.” This idea allows students to engage the ebbs and flows of history and place themselves in it. The 200-year present also allows students to see how systemic violence and oppression have developed over time. Finally, I continue to call out and name domination systems. However, I spend more time considering how conversations serve to nurture radical democracy and critical citizenship rather than further entrench students in dogmatic positions. It is an anxious time and the fears of the worst are made real almost daily. There is much at stake. There is much to gain. Teaching is a constant process of reimagining how we reach students and bring in to being engaged citizens. [1] Dean J. Johnson, “Weaving Narratives: The Construction of Whiteness” in We Have Not Been Moved: Resisting Racism and Militarism in 21st Century America, eds. Elizabeth “Betita” Martínez, Mandy Carter & Matt Meyer (PM Press 2012), 131. [1] bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Educationas the Practice of Freedom (Routledge, 1994), 10-11. [1] Elise Boulding, Building a Global Civic Culture: Education for an Interdependent World (Syracuse University Press 1990), 4.
This book answers the question “Why not?” to Robert Smith’s (professor of adult education in the doctoral program at Northern Illinois University) statement, “Higher education is not adult education” (1). There are nine chapters by contributors who place importance on adult education as a collaborative methodology within a doctoral program. Each contributor reflects on their own principles and practices for reimagining doctoral study for adult educators, faculty, and administrators within higher education. Many of the contributors give real life experiences either as faculty or students of a doctoral program at National Louis University. Tom Heaney (Chapter 1) shares how the cohort-based program provides a space for doctoral students to critically reflect as a group, take control of their own learning, and assume ownership of the curriculum for which they can negotiate with faculty. He views democracy within a doctoral program as “unleashing the power of we” which allows the students see themselves as agents of change through the collective voice of intellectual discourse. Building a democratic forum is not an easy task, but it requires trust, discipline, and confidence among doctoral students and faculty (11). Stephen Brookfield (Chapter 2) notes that there are four lenses through which practitioners within education view their thinking and actions: student’s eyes, colleagues’ perceptions, theory, and autobiographical experiences. He emphasizes that professors and instructors need to get into the habit of stating out loud the reasons why they are doing what they do: readings, participation in class, order of curriculum, and the evaluative process (17-18). Nadira K. Charaniya and Jane West Walsh (Chapter 5) reflect on their experience as doctoral students and how collaborative learning partnerships were central to their peer relationships. They recall five outcomes: (1) deep trust and respect, (2) the conscious selection of one another as learning partners, (3) mutual striving toward common goals, (4) different but complementary personality traits, and (5) the development of synergy (49). They include a detailed case of their own journey as collaborative research partners where they created the Collaborative Inquiry Metaphor Creation and Analysis Method (CIMCAM) which involves the use of metaphor analysis as a research analysis. They share through a graphic representation the five steps to their research methodology (53) as well as focused group dialogue of the visual metaphor process. The outcome is the shift of power between research facilitators and participants as a means of collaborative co-construction of knowledge (56). The volume is an easy read. Each chapter could provide insight for doctoral programs in any discipline. It could also be a useful resource within a school of theology even though the focus of the book is a doctoral program at a private non-profit higher education institution. The authors explore the question of why it is important to reimagine doctoral education as adult education. In the introduction the editor claims, “An obvious goal of adult learners is to find their own voice, to be heard in rational discourse with their peers, and to gain control over the day-to-day decisions that affect their lives” (5). The book underscores the point that collaborative learning within a doctoral program is central to adult education.
Studies in higher education seem to have given limited attention to the emotional aspect of the teaching-learning experience. Emotion has, nearly for the greatest part, been isolated from cognition. Underlining this distrust of emotion in academia, How Higher Education Feels, explores the less charted trails of emotional dimensions of teaching and learning. Holding to the hypothesis that emotions cannot be separated from rational engagements, the book attempts to demonstrate how emotion is deeply intertwined with thinking and reasoning in higher education. This book is thus about journeying with, and reflecting upon, the emotional landscapes of courses we teach and students we impact. The first two chapters set the stage and agenda of the book by outlining the need for study of emotions in higher learning, the methodology with which to explore emotional experiences, the significance of poetry in relation to emotions, and the conceptual tools used to examine the role of emotions. A teacher’s regulation of his or her own emotions in the context of student-centered teaching is a key element in the discussion. The next nine chapters each include ten to fifteen poems that address specific themes of experience in university education. Some of the key themes include: transition to higher education, taking care of students and ourselves (teachers), love of people and culture, love of arts and or science, success and failure, and introspection and retrospection. The poems were compiled to serve as case studies expressing and illustrating various feelings in relation to significant aspects of learning, teaching, and development. They are rich in content and language, duly accompanied by brief commentaries as well as a well-researched expert commentary that places the poems in their specific contexts. They are simple and complex, metered and irregular compositions just like the life and moods of many academics. Poems are personal and touching, deep and sensitive, and quite successfully serve the purpose of the book. While the poetry is meant to serve as case studies in emotion and feelings, the book seems to become a compilation of poems rather than a pedagogical discourse. Thankfully the commentaries, especially the expert commentaries, rescue the reader from being lost in the anthology of poems. The theoretical framework is also well conceptualized and the final chapter recaptures the mission of the monograph. It successfully shows the importance of emotion in experiences of higher learning from enrollment to graduation and beyond. It further shows the centrality of emotion and feelings of a student in relationship with subject, with teachers, with peers, and with self – all summed up, in this study, in poetic expressions. As the compiler of this groundbreaking work, Kathleen Quinlan of Oxford Learning Institute, deserves appreciation for pointing attention to an important direction in higher education – the centrality of emotion and its powerful expression in poetry. She has liberated emotion in education from being the sole property of psychology and opened it up, with the help of poetry, for reflection on its socio-cultural contexts. How higher education feels? It feels terrifically poetic!
Wabash Center Staff Contact
Sarah Farmer, Ph.D
Associate Director
Wabash Center
farmers@wabash.edu