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A 1000 word essay on using media to teach theory.

A 1000 word essay on using media to teach theory.

A 1000 word essay on using media to teach theory.

A 1000 word essay on using media to teach theory.

In this article we argue for an introductory course in the study of religion that proceeds through interactive interpretation as a responsible form of comparison. Interactive interpretation proceeds provisionally, and encourages students to formulate new questions of the materials instead of making final categories about the materials. We use examples from a typical classroom to show how we work with three pedagogical principles: (1) critical reading; (2) pluralism within religious traditions as well as between religious traditions; and (3) the use of the working hypothesis as a tool in analyzing religious texts. We also make an argument for textual reading as a form of living intellectual practice, which can work alongside of, and not in opposition to, other approaches to the study of religion, such as ethnographic or historical approaches.

The first seven volumes of the American Academy of Religion's "Teaching Religious Studies" series provide informative glimpses of how teachers in very different contexts understand the intellectual decisions, strategies, and actions that constitute their craft. Although individual volumes have different formats, the dominant image of good teaching that emerges is that it is founded on deep and sophisticated knowledge of the particular subject matter. Beyond that, many essays provide instructive anatomies of particular syllabi, moments in the classroom, or other aspects of teaching. Much of the material in the essays comes from reflective practitioners and there is relatively little sustained engagement with the contemporary literature on teaching and learning. Nonetheless, virtually any teacher can find in these volumes stimulating reflections on the intersections of substantive research and pedagogy in a variety of classroom contexts.

This article contends that teaching more effectively for diversity requires a radical re-envisioning of pedagogical practice. Drawing on qualitative interviews with religion and theology professors of color throughout the United States, it explores how faculty can re-imagine their teaching by engaging students where they are, acknowledging the reality of oppression, and dealing with resistance. Stressing mindfulness of social location, it provides examples of liberating teaching activities and competences and shows how literary and visual "texts" from the margins and personal metaphors of embodiment can challenge captivities to hegemonic paradigms in the classroom. The article concludes with responses from colleagues who have worked closely with the author. Ethicist Melanie Harris brings Hill's method into dialogue with Womanist pedagogy, and historian of religion Hjamil Martínez-Vázquez reflects on the role of suffering in building a revolutionary/critical pedagogy.

I have been experimenting with using role-playing and games in my religion classes for several years and have found that students respond well to these pedagogical tools and methods. After reviewing my experiences, I explore the reasons for students' positive response. I argue that role-playing games capitalize on our students' educational expectations and fondness for game-play, by drawing them into exploring significant texts and ideas. Of particular interest for religion and theology professors, these sorts of games also encourage empathy towards other viewpoints.

The topic of murder fascinates and haunts undergraduates just as it does our culture. But even as murder violently closes doors on a human life, as a topic of discussion it can also open minds, provoking, extending, and refining students' questions about the moral life, theologically and religiously understood. The aim of this essay is to explain how the brief treatment of murder found in Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica offers an extraordinary introduction to the entire field of Christian ethics. "Of Murder" (Aquinas 1920, II-II 64) may be suited to courses in theological, religious, or comparative ethics as well.

Can one uphold a call from an ecclesiastical body while teaching in a college classroom? This paper will argue that the dual roles of pastor and professor can be integrated by the adoption of faith development as a learning goal. This goal seems to stand at odds with three important aspects of academic teaching: the demographic reality of religious pluralism, the ethical requirement to preserve student autonomy, and the overarching goal of a university education to promote critical thinking. My argument will be that, far from violating these three areas, faith development as a broad learning goal can actually provide a valuable deepening of pluralism, autonomy, and critical thought in the educational experience of students. The method of exploration will be autobiographical. I will show how it is that in my dual roles as an ELCA pastor called to a faculty post I articulate and use faith development as an overarching learning goal in the context of (1) a theological pedagogy based on an interfaith logos theology, (2) a value-laden pedagogy vis-à-vis consumerist self-formation, and (3) an adaptation of stages of faith development to the classroom.