09/08/2008

Democratic Dialogue Skills Presented at Institute on Religion on Curriculum and Culture in Higher Education

(The following report is from Miriam Rosalyn Diamond)

Faculty developers at an urban public community college in the northeast are creating workshops to provide instructors with skills on facilitating educational in-class dialogues on religion. A large mid-western state university is introducing an on-line course to train professionals on dealing with matters related to religious belief and practice. And Student Affairs staff at a west-coast private university are creating an undergraduate interfaith and social justice living-learning community.  

What do these ventures have in common?  They are among the projects that campus teams from across the country developed at last June’s Institute on Religion on Curriculum and Culture in Higher Education. From June 15 – 20, representatives from ten campuses across the United States gathered in Connecticut to create programs aimed to increase religious literacy among America’s college students.  This exciting initiative has been sponsored by the Society for Values in Higher Education through a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.

Academic and  student life deans, academic administrators, campus ministers, student life personnel, department chairs and faculty in a variety of disciplines (from anthropology, and science to English as a second language and journalism) participated in the Institute. Undergraduate and graduate students were also present and offered much through their full participation.  Many types of campuses were in evidence, including state colleges and universities, a public community college, private non-sectarian colleges and universities, and religiously-affiliated institutions.  Nearly every region of the U.S. was represented.  This diversity allowed for enthusiastic inter-institutional connection, dialogue and exchange. 

The types of projects under development varied greatly, including the introduction of courses and course modules addressing the role of religion in society, university-wide assessment of learning objectives related to religious literacy, and the development of an undergraduate minor related to religious studies and urban life.

At the end of the week, participants reported that they found the Institute valuable for conceptualizing and developing their campus projects while learning from peers at other institutions.   They appreciated hearing a variety of ways for approaching the study of religion, skills for conducting democratic dialogue, as well as means of fostering student cognitive development. In the words of one participant:

“What I valued most about the conference was the opportunity to share ideas and experiences with many thoughtful people, most of whom I wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet if it hadn't been for the conference.  I came away…with an increased awareness of the diversity of perspectives on different issues as well as the shared concerns of people from different walks of life…. The opportunity to work on our own projects, and then receive feedback from the other participants proved to be an invaluable learning experience.  For these and other experiences, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the conference.”

Presentations at national conferences are in the works to disseminate ideas and promote broader exploration of this venture.  On Saturday, November 1, at 11:45 am, Institute participants and faculty will conduct a session on “Religious Literacy: Models for Curriculum and Culture in Colleges and Universities” at the American Academy of Religion conference in Chicago.  On Saturday, November 22 at 1:30 pm, a discussion on “Teaching Scriptures and Religion in Secondary Public Education” will be held at the Society for Biblical Literature meeting in Boston.  These will be valuable opportunities to engage in dialogue about the Institute, campus projects, and the Religion and Public Life initiative – a dialogue that should continue over years to come.