Events

Wabash Center Virtual Session #2 at 2020 AAR & SBL Annual Meetings A 90-minute session for early career faculty teaching in a range of higher educational contexts. Early career faculty courses are often expected to adhere stringently to disciplinary canons and institutional ethos norms regardless of world events, national happenings, or social movements.  At the same time, early career faculty are often expected to be the nimblest, most adept, most technologically savvy, and most able to adjust to complicated teaching tasks, yet they rarely have more than a little experience with teaching in higher education. In addition, they often find an abundance of expectations related to peer responsibilities like advising, mentoring, teaching, service to the institution through committees, and scholarship. Teaching during uncertain times can make teaching more difficult, even overwhelming. Justice and care for students and faculty in liminal times is often in short supply and finding practices and strategies of incorporating real time goings-on can be daunting. This session will attend to a range of topics and questions related to pedagogies of justice and care for the early career colleague.     Presider: Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield, The Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion Panelists: Shehnaz Haqqani, Mercer University – Macon Christine Hong, Columbia Theological Seminary Sara Ronis, St. Mary’s University, Texas Ben Sanders, Eden Theological Seminary Lisa Thompson, Vanderbilt University Divinity School Panelists will respond to such questions and topics as: What’s the alternative in social upheaval to pretending all is the same?  What pedagogies of care might be employed in contested spaces and liminal times? How does one attend to student resistance and fear when engaging justice concerns and topics? What strategies of listening can support teaching during upheaval within or beyond the institutional context? How does one prepare one’s self to teach while the world is shifting? What does it mean for an early career scholar to read the institutional politics when the institution is, itself, in crisis? What is the role of educational imagination and design when creating syllabi in uncertain times?

Wabash Center Virtual Session #1 at 2020 AAR & SBL Annual Meetings A 90 minute online conversation with Dr. Willie James Jennings, moderated by Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield, with Dr. Craig Barnes, Dr. Kwok Pui Lan, and Dr. Shawn Copeland.   The conversation will consider the implications of Dr. Jennings’ book After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging for teaching and learning in North American college, university, and theological school contexts. The session will begin and end with comments by the author, Dr. Jennings, about his book and its implications for pedagogy in the 21st century. The bulk of the session will involve a conversation among peers, moderated by Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield, about how the book raises specific questions about contemporary higher education practice and the implications of these questions for the future of higher education, particularly as it relates to theological education. In the book, Dr. Jennings asserts, “Theological education has always been about formation: first of people, then of communities, then of the world. If we continue to promote whiteness and its related ideas of masculinity and individualism in our educational work, it will remain diseased and thwart our efforts to heal the church and the world. But if theological education aims to form people who can gather others together through border-crossing pluralism and God-drenched communion, we can begin to cultivate the radical belonging that is at the heart of God’s transformative work.” (Eerdmans.com)

White America must challenge its high capacity to tolerate racism, to overlook racist acts, and to look past racist behaviors. Personal agency is required to become anti-racist. Disrupting systemic racism requires a shift in public policies as well as a rethinking of institutional norms, traditions, and procedures. These shifts require the work of dedicated people. Equally, personal agency is required to genuinely welcome persons targeted by racism. To shift personal and familial attitudes, beliefs and behaviors persons must speak out for justice. This requires education and action. Our questions for this webinar: If racism is so pervasive as to be like “smog in the air” (Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum) – how do we identify acts of racism? What does it mean to be complicit with racism? What kind of listening is needed to become anti-racist? Is there such-a-thing as “microaggression?”

Applications closed January 15, 2016 Workshop Information Dates First Session: May 31-June 3, 2016 Wabash College Online Sessions: June 6-July 31, 2016 Second Session: August 4-6, 2016 Wabash College Third Session: May 23-26, 2017 Wabash College Leadership Team Steve Delamarter,George Fox Evangelical Seminary, Director Stacy Williams-Duncan, Curry School of Education, UVa Bridget Powell, University of Wisconsin-Madison Paul O. Myhre, Wabash Center Eligibility At least 5 years of teaching experience Teaching at the master’s level in an accredited seminary or theological school in the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada Scheduled to teach a master’s level or doctor of ministry course in the 2016-17 academic year that is a hybrid or fully online format Institutional release time to participate fully in all sessions (f2f and online) For More Information, Please Contact: Paul O. Myhre, Associate Director Wabash Center 301 West Wabash Ave. Crawfordsville, IN 47933 800-655-7117 myhrep@wabash.edu Travel and Accommodations Philosophy of Workshops Policy on Participation Travel Reimbursement Form Procedures for Payment of Stipends Description The workshop is designed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for full-time theological school faculty to conceive, build, implement, assess, and redesign an online or hybrid course to be taught in the 2016-17 academic year. The primary focus is on developing and implementing a successful free-standing course, through an exploration of sound pedagogical practice within the hybrid or online venue. The workshop will be offered in a hybrid design, blending elements of individual work, three face-to-face sessions with peers on the Wabash College campus, and collaborative work in a virtual learning community. During the first summer participants will engage in an intensive program that includes an online course bookended by meetings on the Wabash College campus. In two face-to-face sessions and an online experience, participants will design and build their own online or hybrid course. It is necessary for participants to teach the course they designed during the 2016-17 year and to gather assessment information from their students. Concluding with a session in the summer of 2017, participants will review their assessment information, share best practices, wrestle with deeper issues of pedagogy and sociology of learning, and revise their courses accordingly Goals Participants will be able to: Identify the unique opportunities and challenges for effective teaching and learning posed by each of the traditional, hybrid, and online teaching venues Explore issues of pedagogy and the sociology of learning communities as applied in the online and hybrid venues 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, construct, implement, assess, and revise a well-conceived and pedagogically sound course for delivery in an online or hybrid format Experience how to design and execute activities and processes in the various venues in order to achieve learning outcomes aimed at affective, relational, and formational outcomes. Application Materials Applications are closed. Application contact information form One-page cover letter answering the following questions: What do you believe is the potential for offering theological education in online or hybrid venues? What are the limitations and concerns you have to offering online or hybrid theological education? What is your motivation for participating in this workshop? What experience have you already had in using educational technology as part of your teaching practice, whether to enhance a face-to-face course, or to deliver a fully online or hybrid course? Keep in mind that you do not need to have had a great deal of experience with technology or online teaching, nor do you need to be without reservation about its potential. Academic CV (4-page limit) Letter from your dean, rector, or principal: confirming that you will teach this hybrid or online course during the 2016-17 academic year; identifying the learning management system support person at the institution who will provide IT infrastructure and support for the course; certifying that you will be ready to enter the first summer sessions with a course shell ready in your institution’s course management system. Please have this signed letter sent directly to you on institutional letterhead and include it with your application materials. Stipend The Wabash Center will cover all local expenses and travel to Crawfordsville, Indiana for the three face-to-face sessions. In addition, participants will receive a stipend of $3,400 for full participation in the online course and all face-to-face sessions. Read More about Stipend Payments Read our Policy on Participation