What if the study of religion started with the African American experience? Instead of privileging a specific tradition, this course examines the history of a people who came to a new world compelled to quickly learn the significance of "religion" itself. We will follow along by plumbing the depths of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, listening to … Continue reading REL 101 (WCH): Signifying Religion: An African American Worldview
The Wabash Center is a premier space for professional development for educators in Religious Studies and Theology. Through workshops, consultations, a journal, and a number of social media projects, the center has played a substantial part in the development of best practices and best practitioners. At the 2015 Reception for New Teachers, I was invited … Continue reading Wabash Center for Teaching & Learning in Religion & Theology
Like all conferences of the elite, the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature are theater. There's a level of make-believe that goes into transitioning from our quotidian concerns to those befitting the sacred gathering. The #sblaar14 Twitter feed bears witness to participants changing in and out of … Continue reading Inside the Scholar’s Studio with #SBLAAR14 Bingo
On August 29, 2014, members of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion shared tweets on what they had been taught as students and what they are teaching now as professors. Thanks to everybody who was a part of it. And a special thanks to the Forum for Theological Exploration, Seminarium, and the … Continue reading Teaching Religion 101 –The Old School and the New School
This fall I joined Elizabethtown College as an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies. The department is situated in a comprehensive liberal arts college with historical roots in the Church of the Brethren. Students of all disciplines may take Religious Studies courses in fulfillment of an elective, core curriculum, or degree requirements. The varied intellectual interests … Continue reading Signifying on the World Religions Paradigm: My Introduction to Religion Course
