Full Description
For more than thirty years, Jonathan Z. Smith has been perhaps the most important voice of critical reflection within the academic study of religion. His essays are cited constantly, his books used in undergraduate and graduate classes. Smith has also produced a significant corpus of essays and lectures on teaching and on the essential role of academic scholarship on religion in matters of education and public policy. Many of these articles appeared in education journals, which unfortunately most academic scholars do not read; others are collected in specialist volumes of conference proceedings on Judaic Studies, for example. Many were originally delivered as keynote speeches to the AAR and other major scholarly organizations, and although scholars reminisce about hearing Smith deliver them, the works themselves are not readily available. Education is not a side issue for Smith, and his essays continually shed light on fundamental questions. What differentiates college from high school? What are the proper functions of an introductory course? What functions should a department serve in undergraduate and graduate education? How should a major or concentration be conceived--if at all? What roles should the academic guilds play in public discourse on education and on religion? Most importantly, what does it mean to say that one is both a scholar and a teacher, and what responsibilities does this entail? On Teaching Religion collects the best of these essays and lectures into one volume, along with a new essay by Smith.
Contents
A Prefatory Note ; Introduction: Approaching the College Classroom ; Part One: RELIGION IN THE ACADEMY ; Chapter 1: The Introductory Course: Less Is Better ; Chapter 2: Basic Problems In the Study of Religion ; Chapter 3: Scriptures and Histories ; Chapter 4: Here and Now: Prospects for Graduate Education ; Chapter 5: Connections ; Chapter 6: Religious Studies: Whither (Wither) and Why? ; Chapter 7: Are Theological and Religious Studies Compatible? ; Chapter 8: 'Religion' and 'Religious Studies': No Difference at All ; Part Two: THE ACADEMIC PROFESSION ; Chapter 9: Re-Forming the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Retrospective ; Chapter 10: Why the College Major?: Questioning the Great Unexplained Aspect of Undergraduate Education ; Chapter 11: Puzzlement ; Chapter 12: Towards Imagining New Frontiers ; Chapter 13: To Double Business Bound ; Editorial Remarks - Christopher I. Lehrich ; Index
