Wikis: A Tool for Fostering Interest and Engagement in Biblical Studies (1 of 2) Posted on December 12, 2014 by Brad AndersonMany of us who teach the Bible, particularly in undergraduate liberal arts settings, experience something that resembles culture shock early in our careers. Coming from programs where we specialize in our subject areas alongside other highly motivated and interested friends and colleagues, first attempts at teaching biblical studies to those with little interest in or knowledge of the Bible is a daunting, sometimes disorienting, task. Like many others, I’ve had innumerable experiences of being overcome by dread with the recognition that what I’m teaching simply is not connecting….
Dynamic Online Teaching-Resistances & Conversions Posted on December 8, 2014 by Mindy McGarrah SharpI did not want to do online teaching. Like many theological educators, my education in divinity school and doctoral work was in traditional classroom formats. I attended residential institutions, spent hours in stacks with physical books and their distinct smells, and daily conversed with students and professors in hallways that connected one classroom to another….
A Safe Space for Self-Reflection Posted on December 1, 2014 by Jane S. WebsterWho am I and where am I going? And why am I in this classroom?! It took me about a week into my first course to realize that most of my students were not as passionately interested about religion and biblical studies as I was. I learned that most of them were in the room because they needed a required general education course and my course was the only one with space that fit their schedule. I tried to make the most of it by focusing on the skills they would need to develop—critical thinking and written communication, for example. It sounded good in theory but I was missing an amazing opportunity: engaging students in self-reflection….
AAR + SBL: Toward an Anthropological Study of Scriptures Posted on November 14, 2014 by Richard NewtonEach November, droves of Religious Studies educators leave their students to attend the jointly held meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature. Maybe it’s the nametags. Maybe it’s the S.W.A.G. Or maybe it’s just the mutual acknowledgement that in order to catch a pre-conference nap, we too lied to a seatmate about where we are going for the week. The camaraderie that exudes the meeting hall defies definition…
The Bible and Human Transformation—Part III: Miracles and Human Transformation Posted on November 10, 2014 by Yung Suk KimOften students of the New Testament do not find transformative lessons in miracle stories in the Bible. Usually, miracles are rendered God’s supernatural power that makes impossible things happen. But miracle stories also involve human issues or human responses. Therefore they can be read as a story of human transformation…