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This is the fourth and last installment of a series of posts on the theme of “teaching theory without theory talk” in an introductory course on Islam. To review, I have explored ways in which one might present to students in an introductory course important theoretical arguments (e.g., complicating binaries like tradition/modernity or religion/secular; appreciating the intimacy of discourse, power, and material conditions; interrogating the legacy of colonial modernity in the formation of contemporary categories of life) that are by now commonplace in the study of religion. How might one advance such conceptual tasks without burying students in the often intimidating and prohibitive protocols and operations of theoretical discourse? In the last three posts, I shared my experience wrestling with this challenge at different moments in an introductory Islam course. In this post, I want to take a step back. Rather than reflecting on teaching theory through teaching Islam, I wish to think through some of the theoretical assumptions that often sustain the teaching of Islam within the study of religion. More specifically, I wish to ponder aloud a certain discomfort I have often experienced on the first day of a course, especially the introductory Islam course. On day one, as is common practice among religion scholars, I try explaining to students what the study of religion is and how it differs from theological studies. This usually involves making a list of contrastive attributes. The study of religion (and Islam) is historical, non-confessional, non-normative, and analytical as opposed to the normative confessional study of religion as an object of faith. This sentiment is usefully captured in the formula of drawing the contrast between studying religion and studying about religion. There is obviously much merit in these explanatory gestures. One would not want the academic classroom to become a space for resolving competing truth claims or of passing certificates of normativity and heresy. However, there is nonetheless an underlying secularity at work in this exercise that I find not only conceptually troubling but also a potential roadblock to teaching Islam. To begin with, the act of contrasting the historical, academic, and non-confessional study of religion with the allegedly confessional character of theological studies risks reducing the latter to a caricatured representation. Surely, despite their normative preoccupations, seminaries and madrasas also often engage in analytically sharp and historically informed scholarship, even if their logics of history and critical thinking might differ. Making a conscious and concerted effort to distinguish religion studies from theological studies might have the unintended effect of smugly suggesting the superiority of the former over the latter. “We are cooler than those people who are unable to separate personal faith from scholarly inquiry.” Even if not intended as such, it is hard to imagine this not being among the implicit messages communicated by the assertion of the religion/theological studies dichotomy. Making such a contrast also embraces and replicates the secular/religious binary, which as many scholars have argued, is a very problematic binary. “We the critical historians of religion will undertake for the next fourteen weeks the secular study and inquiry of this religion and these religious subjects.” That is the upshot of the eager disclaimer that the study of religion is not theological/seminary studies. There is an underlying nod to the virtues of secularity at the heart of the promise of historicizing religion. This secular gesture does bring the benefits of absolving a course on Islam from the sins of establishing orthodoxy, encouraging piety, or of promoting confessional bias. But, it also carries certain limitations that are important to acknowledge and engage if not resolve. Let me highlight just one such limitation. The positioning of an introductory course as a non-confessional (read secular) inquiry into Islam can hamper the effectiveness of discussions on the affective and phenomenological aspects of a religion. An important moment in the introductory Islam course that speaks to this point is that of the revelation of Islam to Muhammad. This is a powerful moment. It combines awe, terror, anticipation, physical pain, and marks a permanent cleavage in time and history. But the history of religion approach deflates the power of this moment. Having taken their position as detached (even if sympathetic) observers of a tradition, students are unburdened from the weight of entangling their beings with the experiential registers of the religion. They are absolved of feeling, perhaps even suffering, the mixture of perplexity and wonder that suffuses and accompanies moments like Muhammad's revelation. They might sympathize with such moments or be fascinated by them, but the thick crust of secular historicism makes even the attempt at inhabiting the experience of such moments almost impossible. My point, or perhaps more accurately, my attempt at articulating a less than fully formulated doubt and discomfort, is not a rehearsal of predictable musings on the insider/outsider problem. Rather, I am after the implications and effects of a pedagogical orientation towards Islam that renders it a foreign object of secular historicist inquiry and consumption. Such an orientation, animated by the assumptions and logics of secularity, captured most prominently by the secular imperative of historicizing and desacralizing life, can produce rather deleterious effects. Most notably, it relies on and perpetuates a binary between the enlightened critical investigator and the tradition bound uncritical religious subject who is the former’s object of investigation. In other words, the history of religion approach to teaching Islam is a decisively secular approach that replicates and advances the religion-secular binary. Obviously, recourse to a confessional approach is hardly the solution; that is both untenable and undesirable. Perhaps what is needed is a pedagogical orientation that is thoroughly unaccepting of the religion-secular binary in all its manifestations. Being more critical of the critical historical study of religion, especially when set in contrast to traditionalist theological studies, might be a useful step towards the cultivation of such an orientation.
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies raises fundamental questions about the purpose of schooling in changing societies. Bringing together an intergenerational group of prominent educators and researchers, this volume engages and extends the concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP)—teaching that perpetuates and fosters linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of schooling for positive social transformation. The authors propose that schooling should be a site for sustaining the cultural practices of communities of color, rather than eradicating them. Chapters present theoretically grounded examples of how educators and scholars can support Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, South African, and immigrant students as part of a collective movement towards educational justice in a changing world. (From the Publisher)
Travel Information for Participants Already Accepted into the WorkshopGround Transportation: About a week prior to your travel you will receive an email from Beth Reffett (reffettb@wabash.edu) with airport shuttle information. This email includes the cell phone number of your driver, where to meet, and fellow participants with arrival times. Please print off these instructions and carry them with you.
Click Here for Book Review When religious diversity is our reality, radical hospitality to people of other faiths is not a luxury but a necessity. More than necessary for our survival, radical hospitality to religious diversity is necessary if we are to thrive as a global society. By no means does the practice of hospitality in a multifaith world require that we be oblivious of our differences. On the contrary, it demands a respectful embrace of our differences because that's who we are. Neither does radical hospitality require that we water down our commitment, because faithfulness and openness are not contradictory. We must be able to say with burning passion that we are open to the claims of other faiths because we are faithful to our religious heritage. The essays in this book do not offer simply theological exhortations; they offer specific ways of how we can become religiously competent citizens in a multifaith world. Let's take the bold steps of radical openness with this book on our side! (From the Publisher)
Workshop for Theological School Faculty Teaching Online In this workshop, theological school faculty will design, build, implement, assess, and redesign an online or hybrid course to be taught in the 2018-19 academic year. The workshop will be offered as a hybrid experience, blending elements of individual work, three face-to-face sessions, and collaborative work as part of a virtual learning community. During the first summer, participants will engage in an intensive program that includes online content (developed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin - Madison), bookended by two of the face-to-face gatherings with peers on the Wabash College campus. During the 2018-19 academic year, participants will teach and assess the course they designed. In the final face-to-face session during the summer of 2019, each participant will review their assessment information, share best practices, wrestle with deeper issues of pedagogy and sociology of learning, and complete a plan for revising their course. Goals Participants will be able to: Design, construct, implement, assess, and revise a well-conceived and pedagogically sound course for delivery in an online or hybrid format Assess the unique opportunities and challenges for effective teaching and learning posed by traditional, hybrid, and online teaching environments Apply sound principles of pedagogy and the sociology of learning communities to the design of an online or hybrid course Make informed decisions about how to shape effective pedagogical and sociological strategies for the venue in which they will be used, in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes Design and facilitate learning activities and processes in order to achieve effective, relational, and formational learning outcomes Contribute in positive ways to institutional exploration of online and hybrid learning environments Honorarium Participants will receive an honorarium of $3400 for full participation in the three f2f and online course sessions. In addition, all participants will be reimbursed for local expenses and travel. Read More aboutPayment of Participants Participants Front Row: *Steve Delamarter (Portland Seminary), Valentin Ekiaka Nzai (Mexican American Catholic College), Jeffery Tribble (Columbia Theological Seminary), Tim Westbrook (Harding University). Second Row: Rachel Miller Jacobs (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary), *Stacy Williams-Duncan (Virginia Theological Seminary), Catherine Williams (Lancaster Theological Seminary), Carmichael Crutchfield (Memphis Theological Seminary), *Bridget Powell (University of Wisconsin – Madison), S. Tamar Kamionkowski (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College), Kent Kersey (Corban University). Third Row: Kristel Clayville (Lexington Theological Seminary), Elias Ortega-Aponte (Drew Theological School), Lee Beach (McMaster Divinity College), Mariano Avila (Calvin Theological Seminary), Max Lee (North Park Theological Seminary), G. Alan Overstreet (Anderson University). Back Row: Zachary Tackett (Southeastern University), *Tom Pearson (Wabash Center). *leadership/staff position. Dates Online Start-up: May 8-21, 2018 (5-8 total hours of work) F2f session #1: May 29-June 1, 2018, Wabash College Online course: June 5-July 31, 2018 (15-20 hours/week) F2f session #2: August 1-4, 2018, Wabash College F2f session #3: May 28-31, 2019, Wabash College Leadership Team Steve Delamarter, Director,Portland Seminary Stacy Williams-Duncan, Virginia Theological Seminary Bridget Powell, University of Wisconsin-Madison Thomas Pearson, Associate Director, Wabash Center Important Information Travel and Accommodations for Summer Sessions at the Wabash Center Philosophy of Workshops Policy on Participation Map of Wabash College Campus Travel Reimbursement Form Foreign National Information Form Payment of Honorarium For More Information, Please Contact: Thomas Pearson, Associate Director Wabash Center 301 West Wabash Ave. Crawfordsville, IN 47933 800-655-7117 pearsont@wabash.edu
Workshop for Early Career Theological School Faculty This workshop invites those in their first years of teaching in theological schools to join a community of generosity and hospitality that responds to early career professional and vocational development. Together they will: Wrestle with generative questions about teaching and learning Learn how to live a life of the mind without losing one’s mind Discover ways to engage institutional and cultural realities that are liberative and life-giving Imagine teaching that constructively engages and transforms the larger world through creative thinking and risk-taking The workshop will gather 14 faculty members for a week in two successive summers at Wabash College, and a weekend winter retreat in a warm location. There will be a balance of plenaries, small group discussions, workshops, social time, and opportunities for relaxation, exercise, laughter, and lots of good food and drink. Goals Participants will join a collaborative cohort in which they will: Reflect critically on processes of learning that foster intellectual curiosity Discover ways to sustain practices of teaching and learning with passion Understand and navigate institutional cultures Explore deepest convictions about teaching and learning in theological schools Honorarium and Fellowship Participants will receive an honorarium of $3400 for full participation in the three workshop sessions, plus local expenses and travel. In addition, participants are eligible to apply for a $5000 workshopfellowship for work on a teaching project during the following academic year (2019-20). Read More aboutPayment of Participants Read More about the Workshop Fellowship Program Participants Front Row: Paul Monson (Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology), Rebecca Esterson (Graduate Theological Union), *Rolf A. Jacobson (Luther Seminary), *Bar J. McClure (Brite Divinity School at TCU), Daniel Orlando Álvarez (Pentecostal Theological Seminary). Second Row: Joseph Gordon (Johnson University), Sunggu Yang (George Fox University), Emily Peck-McClain (Wesley Theological Seminary), Ashley Hicks White (Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary), Timone Davis (Loyola University Chicago), Christine J. Hong (Columbia Theological Seminary), Helen Kim (Candler School of Theology – Emory University). Back Row: *Paul O. Myhre (Wabash Center), Scott Hagley (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), Jennifer Awes-Freeman (United Theological Seminary of Twin Cities), *Andrea C. White (Union Theological Seminary, NY), *Eduardo C. Fernández (Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University), Jeney Park-Hearn (Seattle University). *leadership/staff position. Dates First session: July 9-14, 2018, Wabash College Second session: January 24-27, 2019, Corpus Christi, Texas Third session: June 17-22, 2019, Wabash College Leadership Team Rolf A. Jacobson, Director,Luther Seminary Barbara J. McClure, Brite Divinity School Andrea C. White, Union Theological Seminary-NYC Eduardo C. Fernandez, Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University Paul O. Myhre, Associate Director, Wabash Center Important Information Travel and Accommodations for Summer Sessions at the Wabash Center Travel and Accommodations for Winter Sessions in Texas Philosophy of Workshops Policy on Participation Map of Wabash College Campus Travel Reimbursement Form Things To Do In Crawfordsville - Recreation Foreign National Information Form Payment of Honorarium Fellowship Program For More Information, Please Contact: Paul Myhre, Associate Director Wabash Center 301 West Wabash Ave. Crawfordsville, IN 47933 800-655-7117 myhrep@wabash.edu
This article focuses on Reflective Structured Dialogue as a set of practices developed in the context of conflict resolution that are well suited to handling quotidian uneasiness and extraordinary moments of disruption in religious studies classrooms. After introducing Reflective Structured Dialogue's history, goals, and general practices, the authors consider its uses in classroom settings. They argue that a classroom in which teachers understand themselves as facilitators, and in which students are experienced in structured dialogue practices – including being comfortable in a state of intellectual “wobble” – is one more apt to be able to engage with, and more likely to benefit from, disruptive events.
A panel at the 2016 American Academy of Religion conference staged, taped, transcribed, and edited this conversation about the challenges and opportunities of teaching in a “nano department” – an undergraduate religion or religious studies department (or combined religion and philosophy department) with only one, two, or three faculty members. Two things quickly become evident: one is the impossibility of coverage of the full religious studies curriculum, and the other is the necessity for collaboration with other departments. Neither of these is unique to nano departments, but there exists an intimacy between students and faculty in small departments, a necessary freedom to rethink the place of the study of religion in the liberal arts curriculum, and a disruptive value in what can be critiqued and contributed from a marginalized position. Arguably, nano departments are the canaries in the academic coal mine, charting the future of the humanities that cannot be discerned from the vantage point of Research-1 contexts.
One page Teaching Tactic: a discussion exercise on the first day of class fools students in order to disrupt their prior assumptions of what constitutes a “real religion."
One page Teaching Tactic: discussion of a classical text that moves students from description to analysis and evaluation.
Wabash Center Staff Contact
Rachelle Green, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Wabash Center
greenr@wabash.edu