Engaged Teaching in Theology and Religion

The goal of Engaged Teaching in Theology and Religion is to guide a process of self-reflection for scholars and teachers of theology and religion that leads to intentional, transformative teaching, dialogue, and reform in theological education and religious studies. Effective teaching approaches must address the selfhood of the teacher, as well as pedagogy, course content, and community engagement. This book sets itself apart from other works in the field because of this holistic approach. In addition to addressing these four areas, Harrison and Knight provide a variety of practices for teaching that take seriously students' cries for a more socially and personally relevant pedagogy and curriculum in a rapidly changing transnational world. The volume provides a well-reasoned and accessible re-thinking of teaching theology and religion so that schools of theology and departments of religion might better live out their stated goals of forming transformative, courageous, and thoughtful leaders and teachers in the twenty-first century.

Renee Harrison is Assistant Professor of African American and U.S. Religious History at Howard University, USA.

Jennie S. Knight is the Engaged Teaching and Learning Specialist at Guilford College, USA.

1. Introduction: Why Do We Teach?
PART I: SELF
2. The Teaching Self: Authority through Authenticity
3. The Teaching Self and the Name Game
4. The Practice of Self
PART II: PEDAGOGY
5. Teaching Matters
6. Open Pedagogy: The Bank is Closed
7. Practices of Engaged Pedagogy
PART III: CONTENT
8. Content that Connects
9. Content that Opens Us to Other Ways of Knowing
10. Practices for Integrating Content that Awakens
PART IV: COMMUNITY
11. Community Engaged Education
12. Community: Turning Theory Into Action
13. The Practice of Community
Notes