Resources
Reformed Theological Seminary's Virtual Campus has successfully taught the biblical languages online since 1999. This article describes the theoretical principles that underlie the design and asynchronous delivery of online Greek and Hebrew to part-time adult distance students. The structure and administration of the courses is discussed, as well as how the students interact with their instructor and with the material. The fields of Adult Education, Learner Autonomy, and Distance Education suggest that online students must learn differently than traditional in-class students by being more responsible for their learning. Research also suggests that online instructors must teach differently, assuming a role more like a learning coach. Finally, the literature suggests that institutions must interact with distance students differently than traditional in-class students. The article concludes with a definition of "success" in these courses and description of the time commitment expected of faculty in these courses.
Because religions discipline and interpret bodies; create and define sacred spaces; generate, adore and study images in all media; regulate the intake of food; structure temporal experience; and in general interpenetrate and are permeated by the cultural landscapes in which they exist, religious studies must engage material religion and religious materiality. We encounter bodily realities of other religions and cultures through our own disciplined bodies, which are both necessary and problematic for those encounters. This article connects theoretical and practical resources needed to help students discover the stuff of religion – flesh and blood, bread and wine, songs and sound, knives and body parts, movement and music, human bodies, time, space, cosmograms composed of and composing the bodies of the religious – uncovering the materiality of religion, existing underneath, alongside, without, and amidst religious textuality and verbal ideation.
In a postcolonial environment, our students will encounter multiple representations and diverse followers of various religions outside the classroom. Students need to think critically about the representations of all religions and recognize the humanity of all people. Too often, students leave courses discussing one or more world religions with an idealized view of other religions that draws strict boundaries around the components of each religion. Bringing postcolonial thought into introductory and survey courses highlights the diversity within each lived religion and encourages students to critique those strict borders and all representation of religions. Based on continuing experiments with critical theory in undergraduate classes, the six strategies presented here use the diversity of lived religions to promote critical analysis of representations of religions. These strategies move beyond the rejection of common representations by introducing set theory as an alternative framework that students can use to theorize about the complexity within religions.
Secularization, the idea that religion would gradually diminish over time, was once widely assumed to be true by scholars of religion, but the unexpected resurgence of religious traditions has called it into question. Related debates on the distinction between religion and the secular have destabilized religious studies further. What does the crisis of secularization and secularism mean for the religious studies classroom? This essay proposes a model of religious criticism in the wake of secularism. No longer simply claiming a "view from nowhere," students and instructors can (by observing standards of evidence, reason, and self-disclosure) combine criticism with learning. Drawn from aesthetic and ethical traditions of criticism, religious criticism can be practiced by "teaching the conflicts" and through the pedagogical models of Freire and hooks.
Introductory courses in theology and religion are taught at most colleges and universities across the US and UK. From public to private, non-sectarian to faith-based institutions, theology courses fulfill humanities general education requirements, and provide a foundational education for students intending further theological study. This book describes the best and most effective ways of teaching these courses. Offering practical, realistic, research-based guidance, this volume explores the best and most recent methods in teaching-theory. This book addresses the questions and concerns frequently posed by the professors and graduate students who instruct these multifaceted courses. It covers issues such as a teacher's role in defining theology and religion, the teaching and learning process, course structure, and content. The volume also examines recent case studies of theology and religious studies courses at various institutions, including a private non-sectarian university, a public research university, a Catholic masters-level university, and at a Protestant baccalaureate college. (From the Publisher)
AAR Teaching Religious Studies Series (Oxford University Press) The study of medicine and healing traditions is well developed in the discipline of anthropology. Most religious studies scholars, however, continue to assume that "medicine" and "biomedicine" are one and the same and that when religion and medicine are mentioned together, the reference is necessarily either to faith healing or bioethics. Scholars of religion also have tended to assume that religious healing refers to the practices of only a few groups, such as Christian Scientists and pentecostals. Most are now aware of the work of physicians who attempt to demonstrate positive health outcomes in relation to religious practice, but few seem to realize the myriad ways in which healing pervades virtually all religious systems. This volume is designed to help instructors incorporate discussion of healing into their courses and to encourage the development of courses focused on religion and healing. It brings together essays by leading experts in a range of disciplines and addresses the role of healing in many different religious traditions and cultural communities. An invaluable resource for faculty in anthropology, religious studies, American studies, sociology, and ethnic studies, it also addresses the needs of educators training physicians, health care professionals, and chaplains, particularly in relation to what is referred to as "cultural competence" - the ability to work with multicultural and religiously diverse patient populations. (From the Publisher)
Growing numbers of church leaders are discovering that many films are able to impact viewers with gospel truths almost as well as a good sermon. Former pastor and longtime reviewer of films Ed McNulty offers this insightful guide to help church leaders enter into dialogue with contemporary films. McNulty carefully crafts a theology of movies and then provides practical suggestions for creating and leading movie discussions with groups. In addition, he provides people from all across the theological spectrum with a framework to understand whether the overall message of a film outweighs concerns over profanity, violence, or sex in the film. He concludes by introducing twenty-seven films and including provocative questions about each that will prepare leaders to assemble and facilitate a group. Popular films explored include The Color Purple; Crash; Hotel Rwanda; The Matrix; Million Dollar Baby, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Shawshank Redemption. Faith and Film accessibly and comprehensively helps readers and moviegoers develop "eyes that see and ears that hear" how God's messages of hope and love are revealed in contemporary films. (From the Publisher)
Journal Issue.
The author uses a contemporary functional document (a campus map) to design an imaginative exercise which teaches students the limits of map (or text) as a guide to reliable information. Through the exercise, students learn about gaps in information and the limits of what any text reveals, even one which is ostensibly designed as a reliable guide for navigating a campus.