Scholarship on Teaching

This article uses womanist ethics and theories of writing instruction to illuminate the experiences of black women seminarians with theological writing at a predominantly white institution. The three cases presented here highlight two ethics for teaching and evaluating theological writing: clarity and creativity. Already triply marginalized by race, sex, and class, black women are often greeted with unwritten norms around academic theological writing that threaten their self‐concept and their development as producers of theological knowledge. This work centers reflections of student‐learning on the voices of black women who found their own ways of negotiating these demands. Their responses to the problems of writing for and in white, male‐dominated theological discourses provide moral strategies that all writers can employ and that all theology professors can make a regular part of their ethical pedagogical practice.

One of four short essays published in this issue of the journal to celebrate the 25th anniversary of bell hooks's classic book, Teaching to Transgress (1994). The authors reflect on the importance of this text for their teaching, when they discovered it, and how it has shaped their approach to the classroom, as illustrated in a particular teaching strategy or assignment that they have used that is inspired by the book.

One of four short essays published in this issue of the journal to celebrate the 25th anniversary of bell hooks's classic book, Teaching to Transgress (1994). The authors reflect on the importance of this text for their teaching, when they discovered it, and how it has shaped their approach to the classroom, as illustrated in a particular teaching strategy or assignment that they have used that is inspired by the book.

In this essay I review the advantages and challenges of contingent faculty service from a perspective which crosses programs, but chiefly from within one academic institution, a church‐related but independent theological seminary. I anecdotally relate certain “value‐added” potentialities which accrue for students and instruction when an adjunct faculty's primary institutional connections are outside the academic environment. I cite benefits to the student, school, and instructor. See companion essays published in this issue of the journal by Hoon J. Lee, Adam Wirrig, Bradley Burroughs, and Kyle A. Schenkewitz.

Many colleges and universities employ contingent faculty to meet various needs. Utilizing contingent teachers as single‐course adjuncts or full‐time faculty members can be beneficial to institutions and teachers alike. While acknowledging the positive, long‐term impact on current students, short‐term teaching faculty face challenges that warrant further consideration by institutions relying on contingent faculty labor. This essay centers upon the experience of one faculty member and some of the ways being contingent affects building relationships with students, mentoring and teaching effectively, and developing courses and programs. I argue that, even when contingent faculty strive to do their best, the limited nature of their employment creates a barrier to their own flourishing and the contributions they can make to the students and institutions they serve. See companion essays published in this issue of the journal by Hoon J. Lee, Adam Wirrig, Bradley Burroughs, and Charles Harrell.

Reflecting upon the author's experiences as an assistant professor and an adjunct instructor, this essay considers two characteristics of adjunct teaching that threaten adjuncts themselves and the educational effectiveness of the institutions at which they teach. First, adjuncts routinely experience a sense of disenfranchisement in determining the direction of those institutions. Second, adjuncts' contingent status makes them peculiarly vulnerable to perverse incentives that tempt them to reduce the rigor of their courses. While acknowledging that adjuncts can take measures to combat these threats, this essay highlights ways in which deans, department chairs, and senior faculty can engage with adjunct instructors in ways that convey appreciation, lend support, and help them to grow as teachers. Not only do such measures foster adjuncts' sense of connection to the institution, but they are crucial to preventing the unjust exploitation of adjunct labor. See companion essays published in this issue of the journal by Hoon J. Lee, Adam Wirrig, Kyle Schenkewitz, and Charles Harrell.

The world of the modern academy relies heavily upon contingent faculty in the teaching and training of students. Theological studies readily evidences this practice in innumerable ways. While the contingent faculty member is intrinsic to the mission of many modern schools, this piece ponders whether or not a trade‐off exists in the quality of learning contingent faculty can offer in comparison to residential or tenure track faculty members? The piece explores the constraints that many contingent faculty face in the world of theological education and asks the academy at large if such limits are something it really feels comfortable with. Ultimately, the piece voices a view that the modern academy must come to grips with its utilization of contingent faculty both for the sake of those faculty members, but more‐so for the sake of its students. See companion essays published in this issue of the journal by Hoon J. Lee, Bradley Burroughs, Kyle Schenkewitz, and Charles Harrell.

Contingent teaching has become the norm in most institutions. While the use of adjuncts and other non‐tenure track professors shows no sign of slowing down, the nature of contingent teaching is less known. This article examines how contingent teaching directly impacts the professor's teaching. My experience teaching religious studies courses from 2014 to the present has shown how contingent status affects significant issues such as the time and structure of teaching. Time is an essential component in teaching well. How the course is structured is equally important, or perhaps even more so, and has significant ramifications for a course. However, the nature of contingent labor impacts how time and structure is implemented in a course. This influences how I interact with the course material, the students, the department, and my ability to teach. See companion essays published in this issue of the journal by Adam Wirrig, Bradley Burroughs, Kyle Schenkewitz, and Charles Harrell.

One of three short companion essays to Terry Shoemaker's “World Religion and Fake News: A Pedagogical Response in an Age of Post‐Truth,” published in this issue of the journal.

One of three short companion essays to Terry Shoemaker's “World Religion and Fake News: A Pedagogical Response in an Age of Post‐Truth,” published in this issue of the journal.