Common Questions 2
Kristina I. Lizardy-Hajbi, Iliff School of Theology
Additional authors: Leigh Greening, Rebecca Makas, Carol B. Duncan, Haruka Umetsu Cho, Fred Glennon, Laura Carlson Hasler
Welcome to the Common Questions, an exciting initiative brought to you by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. In this series, we bring together some of the most esteemed scholars and educators in the field to engage with a central, thought-provoking question. The goal is to challenge and inspire. By exploring these questions, we hope to create a dynamic platform for scholarly dialogue, illuminate complexities in education, and enhance our understanding of the transformative power of teaching and learning in these vital disciplines. Featuring a diverse range of perspectives, this effort is a means of expanding the borders of academic rigor with profound spiritual and philosophical inquiry.
This time, we asked…
“We are all born with medicine inside of us: unique traits and attributes that contribute to healing humanity on this planet. How is your medicine utilized in your teaching?”
Gathered here are responses from:
Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, Iliff School of Theology
Rebecca Makas, Villanova University
Carol B. Duncan, Wilfrid Laurier University
Haruka Umetsu Cho, Santa Clara University
Leigh Greening, Loyola University Chicago
Laura Carlson Hasler, Indiana University
Fred Glennon, Le Moyne College
If you are interested in sharing you response to this prompt or future Common Questions, please reach out to our blogs editor, Donald E. Quist at quistd@wabash.edu.
About Kristina I. Lizardy-Hajbi
Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi is Associate Professor of Leadership and Formation and Director of the Vocational Formation Office at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado.
About Leigh Greening
Leigh Greening is an artist, activist, and academic living on the ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwe Nations in Skokie, Illinois. They are an instructor in the department of Theology and a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Racial Justice at Loyola University Chicago. Molly's upcoming publications address topics such as neurodiversity and intersectional coalition building, challenging the church industrial complex through decolonial historical critique, the globalization of "gender ideologies," and the viability of doing something called "queer ethics."
About Rebecca Makas
Rebecca Makas is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Augustine and Culture Seminar Program at Villanova University. Her research centers on medieval Islamic mystical philosophy and theory of mysticism. She has published articles in the Journal of Sufi Studies, Journal and Religion and Film, and currently is working on a book project on the intersection of domesticity and mysticism in early Sufi communities.
About Fred Glennon
Fred Glennon’s field of teaching and research is in the areas of Religion, Social Ethics, and Society, particularly their interrelationship with public policies on welfare, poverty, and labor markets. His most recent book is Christian Social Ethics: Models, Cases, Controversies (Orbis Books, 2021). Fred also engages in the scholarship of teaching and learning, in which the classroom setting becomes a locus of sustained scholarly focus. His most read essays include, "Promoting Freedom, Responsibility, and Learning in the Classroom: The Learning Covenant a Decade Later," and “Experiential Learning and Social Justice Action: An Experiment in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning,” both published in Teaching Theology and Religion (2008, 2004). He served as the Editor of Spotlight on Teaching (2013-2017). He received the AAR’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2008). At Le Moyne, he has been honored with the Kevin G. O’Connell, SJ Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Humanities (1999-2002), the Robert O’Brien, SJ Service Award (2014), and the Magis Award (2023).
About Laura Carlson Hasler
Laura Carlson Hasler is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies at Indiana University (Bloomington) and holds the Alvin H. Rosenfeld Chair in Hebrew Bible. She is the author of Archival Historiography in Jewish Antiquity (Oxford University Press).