Are you teaching religious studies in the best way possible? Do you inadvertently offer simplistic understandings of religion to undergraduate students, only to then unpick them at advanced levels?
This book presents case studies of teaching methods that integrate student learning, classroom experiences, and disciplinary critiques. It shows how critiques of the scholarship of religious studies—including but not limited to the World Religions paradigm, Christian normativity, Orientalism, colonialism, race, gender, sexuality, and class—can be effectively integrated into all courses, especially at an introductory level.
Integrating advanced critiques from religious studies into actual pedagogical practices, this book offers ways for scholars to rethink their courses to be more reflective of the state of the field. This is essential reading for all scholars in religious studies.
"List of Figures List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction, Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand (Middle Tennessee State University, USA), Beverley McGuire (University of North Carolina, USA) and Hussein Rashid (Independent Scholar, USA) 1. Bringing the Introduction to Religious Studies Course to Its Senses, Katherine Zubko (University of North Carolina Asheville, USA) 2. Pre-bracketing: Embodied Questioning in the Introductory Religious Studies Classroom, Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand, (Middle Tennessee State University, USA) 3. Grief and joy in the religious studies classroom, M. Cooper Minister (Shenandoah College, USA) 4. Students’ Emotional Labor in Religious Studies Courses: Towards Greater Instructor Intentionality, Jeremy Posadas (Austin College, USA) 5. Reorientation: Teaching Theory and Method to Future Faculty, Jill DeTemple (Southern Methodist University, USA) 6. Mustafa: Teaching Beyond the Five Pillars, Hussein Rashid (Independent Scholar, USA) 7. Pedagogical Strategies for Critically Examining the Consumption of Asian Religions, Beverley McGuire (University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA) 8. Telling the Story of American Religions: Responding to Protestant and Pluralist Paradigms, Martha Smith Roberts, Fullerton College, USA 9. Teaching Critical Religious Studies in the World Religions Public Sphere, Henry Goldschmidt (The Interfaith Center of New York, USA) 10. Who and What’s Included?: Teaching Religion and Science, Benjamin Zeller (Lake Forest College, USA) 11. Using Sports to Tackle the Problem of Defining Religion, Annie Blazer (College of William and Mary, USA) 12. “I Want to Break Free"": Abolition and Full Participation in the Religious Studies Classroom, Joseph L. Tucker Edmonds (Indiana University, USA) Notes Bibliography Index"
Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Middle Tennessee State University, USA. Beverley McGuire is Professor of East Asian Religions at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA. Hussein Rashid is an independent scholar, USA.
Reviews for Teaching Critical Religious Studies: Pedagogy and Critique in the Classroom
Collected within this important and accessible volume is an interrelated array of pedagogical interventions aimed at elevating the communities of learning that many of us seek to foster in our classrooms. It will prove to be an indispensable companion for all those dedicated to the craft and care of teaching religion. * Martin Nguyen, Professor of Religious Studies, Fairfield University, USA * This book provides insights and techniques that will be of use to teachers at any level of experience. It is innovative, cutting edge, and radical, engaging beyond pedagogy to the politics of religious studies and higher education. Every teacher and library should get their hands on a copy. * Paul Hedges, Associate Professor in Interreligious Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore *
