Return to Gathering Homepage 2021 NetVUE Regional Gathering - AAR/SBL Annual Meeting

​NetVUE Regional Gathering

Religion and Justice Issues in the Undergraduate Classroom:

An AAR/SBL Pre-Meeting

Thursday and Friday, November 18–19, 2021
American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas

Registration Fee: $25 per person for NetVUE members; $50 for non-members

Registration Deadline: November 12, 2021

This gathering provides an opportunity for teachers and scholars in the field of religious studies to explore the ways that their undergraduate classrooms can become sites for deeper conversations about issues of justice. Students are increasingly interested in issues of religion and justice, and in how these concerns will impact their own future endeavors (including, but not limited to, their work careers). Hence, religion and justice issues tend to intersect with the work of helping students to undertake the work of vocational reflection and discernment in their own lives and in the various communities of which they are a part. These issues involve a great many aspects of religion and higher education, including the theological and ethical approaches of various faith traditions; the increasingly important role of interreligious and interfaith studies in the undergraduate curriculum; and the relationships among general education, professional preparation, and the personal lifestances of undergraduate students. This gathering will address questions such as these: 

• How might the undergraduate classroom become a space in which the relationshps between religion and justice are more adequately articulated?
• How are these issues related to the work of reflection and discernment that undergraduate students are doing as they look toward their future directions in life?
• What resources (readings, discussion topics, and pedagogical approaches) are available to religious studies scholars who seek to emphasize the relationships among religion, justice, and personal reflection and discernment?
  
• What obstacles are classroom teachers likely to face in addressing these issues in the religious studies classroom, and how can these obstacles be addressed?

This gathering will be of interest to those who teach undergraduate courses in religious studies, theology, ethics, and related fields, including those that focus on interreligious and interfaith studies.

Tentative Schedule of Events

Thursday, November 18  (Grand hyatt, crockett ab)

Introduction: religion on display: love, fear, and justice

David S. Cunningham, Director of NetVUE

Opening address: neighbor love through fearful days

Jason A. Mahn, Augustana College (IL)

panel discussion: responses to jason mahn

Krista E. Hughes, Newberry College                                                                                                                                                                                            Mindy Makant, Lenoir-Rhyne University
Rajikumar Boaz Johnson, North Park University
Daniel A. Morris, Norwich University

break

discussion with panelists

Reception (grand hyatt, republic b)

Preparing to Facilitate Scriptural Reasoning at the 2022 NetVUE Conference 

Nick Adams, University of Birmingham  

NetVUE seeks volunteers who expect to attend the Conference and who are willing to facilitate small groups of eight to ten people each in the practice of Scriptural Reasoning. In this session, Nicholas Adams, Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Birmingham, will introduce the practice and provide initial training advice to future volunteer facilitators. Please join us if you plan to participate in the 2022 NetVUE Conference (March 24–26, 2022 in Dallas) and would be willing to serve in this capacity. 

NetVUE Reception for Members and Friends 

David S. Cunningham, Director of NetVUE, and Lynne Spoelhof, NetVUE Program Manager 

All SBL and AAR participants are invited to join us for this reception, whether or not their institutions are members of the network. Attendees can learn more about NetVUE (including faculty development and grant opportunities), connect with friends and colleagues with similar interests, and enjoy one another’s company.