http://www.aarweb.org/Programs/Summer_Seminars/About/schedule.asp
Summer Seminars on Theologies of Religious Pluralism and Comparative Theology
Draft Schedule of Week One
We expect all seminar participants to arrive on the evening before our first full day of programming. Likewise, we expect departures to take place after Day Seven. It is the consensus of the planners that we must respect this time frame in order to accomplish the work that needs to be done.
| Day One | ||
| 8:00–9:00 am | Breakfast (opportunities for getting acquainted) | |
| 9:00–10:15 am | Introductions of participants and lecturers Who are we? What scholarly questions bring us to this Summer Seminar? What are our teaching obligations and responsibilities and how might our teaching work be enriched by the work of the seminar? Facilitated by John J. Thatamanil | |
| 10:15–10:30 am | Break | |
| 10:30 am–12:00 pm | Introductions continued; identifying the goals of the seminar Facilitated by John J. Thatamanil |
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| 12:00–1:00 pm | Lunch (opportunities for getting acquainted) | |
| 1:00–3:00 pm | Reading time (participants will be provided a course pack as well as a few crucial books in TRP and comparative theology to read through during their time at the Summer Seminar; some materials will be sent in advance of the Summer Seminar) | |
| 3:00–5:00 pm | Defining terms and approaches: What is theology of religious pluralism? Christian perspectives S. Mark Heim |
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| 5:00–6:00 pm | Dinner | |
| 6:00–700 pm | Free time | |
| 7:00–9:00 pm | Thinking about TRP from Hindu and Jewish perspectives: A conversation. Focal questions: How might the project of TRP, as presented by Mark Heim, be redescribed or reframed by Jewish and Hindu thinkers? How is the question of religious diversity framed and addressed within Jewish and Hindu traditions? What is continuous with Christian formulations of this question? What is discontinuous? Anantanand Rambachan and Peter Ochs | |
| Day Two | ||
| 8:00–9:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 9:00–10:30 am | Defining terms and approaches: What is comparative theology? What are its purposes? Why do comparative theology? Francis X. Clooney, S.J. |
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| 10:30–10:45 am | Break | |
| 10:45 am–12:00 pm | Small group discussion facilitated by core instructional staff | |
| 12:00–1:00 pm | Lunch | |
| 1:00–3:00 pm | Reading time | |
| 3:00–5:00 pm | Thinking critically about taken for granted terms: “Religion,” “Religions,” and “World Religions.” Focal questions: To what extent do persons in other cultures identify their traditions either as “religious” or as “religions”? Do they recognize the validity of the secular/religious distinction that western societies take for granted? Can questions about the relationship between “religions” take these categories for granted? John Thatamanil | |
| 5:00–6:00 pm | Dinner | |
| 6:00–7:30 pm | Lived religious diversity: Historical and contemporary perspectives. Focal themes: Hill Fletcher’s presentation will explore lived religious diversity with special attention to hybridity, multiple religious identity, interreligious contact and influence, and women’s experiences of lived religious diversity. Her approach will counterbalance dominantly textualist approaches to these questions with historical and ethnographic perspectives Jeannine Hill Fletcher | |
| 7:30–9:00 pm | Free Time and opportunities for socializing | |
| Day Three | ||
| 8:00–9:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 9:00–10:30 am | Islamic theologies of religious pluralism Marcia Hermansen |
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| 12:00–1:00 pm | Lunch | |
| 1:00–3:00 pm | Reading time | |
| 3:00–5:00 pm | The practice of comparative theology: Scriptural reasoning as a mode of comparative theology. Focal questions: What does it mean to read the scriptures of other traditions with persons from those traditions? What can we learn about religious traditions by understanding how those traditions read scripture? Peter Ochs | |
| 5:00–6:00 pm | Dinner | |
| 6:00–7:30 pm | Small group discussions | |
| 7:30–9:00 pm | Free time and opportunities for socializing | |
| Day Four | ||
| 8:00–9:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 9:00–10:30 am | Buddhist perspectives on religious pluralism John Makransky |
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| 10:30 am–12:00 pm | Small group discussions | |
| 12:00–1:00 pm | Lunch | |
| 1:00–3:00 pm | Reading time | |
| 3:00–5:00 pm | The practice of comparative theology: Scripture, reason, and intertextuality. Focal questions: What does it mean to read scriptures and the religious texts of other traditions together with those of one’s own traditions? How is new meaning generated by such juxtaposition and intertextuality? Might it be possible to employ reason to break down boundaries between traditions? Francis X. Clooney, S.J. |
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| 5:00–6:00 pm | Dinner | |
| 6:00–7:30 pm | Plenary discussion: Taking stock of where we are. Focal questions: What have we learned thus far? What questions still remain unaddressed? What more/what else would do you feel like you need? | |
| 7:30–9:00 pm | Free time | |
| Day Five | ||
| 8:00–9:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 9:00–10:30 am | What is the meaning of my neighbor’s faith for mine? Reflections based on my experiences in Hindu–Christian dialogue Anantanand Rambachan | |
| 10:30–10:45 am | Break | |
| 10:45 am–12:00 pm | Small group discussion | |
| 12:00–1:00 pm | Lunch | |
| 1:00–3:00 pm | Reading time | |
| 3:00–5:00 pm | The practice of comparative theology: The medical model as a comparative category. Focal questions: How do religious texts and traditions diagnose the human predicament? What etiologies do they offer? What prognoses? What therapies? Can the medical model serve as a framework or a central comparative category? What are the virtues of this metaphor/model as opposed to the more standard mountain climbing imagery (are the different religious traditions paths up the same mountain or paths up different mountains)? John J. Thatamanil | |
| 5:00–6:00 pm | Dinner | |
| 6:00–7:30 pm | What is the relationship between TRP and comparative theology? A Panel Discussion. Focal questions: Must one of these enterprises precede the other? Replace the other? Some comparative theologians have called for a moratorium on TRP? Why? Is such a moratorium possible or commendable? | |
| 7:30–9:00 pm | Free time | |
| Day Six | ||
| 8:00–9:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 9:00–10:30 am | Teaching theologies of religious pluralism: Syllabi presentation and course rationale Mark Heim and Jeannine Hill Fletcher | |
| 10:30–10:45 am | Break | |
| 10:45 am–12:00 pm | Teaching theologies of religious pluralism: Syllabi presentation and course rationale Francis X. Clooney, S.J. and John Thatamanil |
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| 12:00–1:00 pm | Lunch | |
| 1:00–3:00 pm | Reading time | |
| 3:00–5:00 pm | Teaching comparative theology: Syllabi presentation and course rationale Francis X. Clooney, S.J. |
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| 5:00–6:00 pm | Dinner | |
| 6:00–10:00 pm | An excursion to a local religious site (to be determined). Conversations with local religious leaders | |
| Day Seven | ||
| 8:00–9:00 am | Breakfast | |
| 9:00–10:30 am | Teaching comparative theology: Syllabi presentation and course rationale Francis X. Clooney, S.J. and Peter Ochs |
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| 10:30 am–12:00 pm | Brainstorming/planning session: Small group work with facilitators on faculty writing projects and early planning for Summer Two. Focal questions: How might faculty participants seek to incorporate learning from this Summer Seminar into the coming year’s teaching and scholarly writing? What sort of scholarly project might you want to take on? Note that a significant amount of our time next summer will be given to discussing your scholarly projects. Reflective scholarly writing on the pedagogy of teaching TRP and comparative theology is entirely welcome. If there is sufficient interest in this regard, we anticipate submitting several of our essays to an appropriate journal for a special thematic issue, perhaps Wabash’s Teaching Theology and Religion. | |
| 12:00–1:00 pm | Lunch | |