Teaching and Learning > DISCOURSE
Volume 5, No. 2, Spring 2006
Volume
5, No. 2, Spring 2006 in .pdf 
Editorial
Diversity, openness and the moral necessity of dialogue
Content
Darlene Bird
This is the transcript of an interview with Ursula King.
pp. 13-28
Whither Theology and Religious Studies in Ireland and the UK?
Ann Loades
This is the Presidential Address given at the final event of the joint conference of the Society for the Study of Theology and the Irish Theological Association, held at Trinity College, Dublin, in 2005.
pp. 29-47
Theology and the Outcomes-Based Curriculum: the Value of 'Not Knowing'
Darlene Bird
This paper argues that such a materialist and utilitarian understanding of higher education is deeply impoverished, and asserts that theological education, when it is at its best, has less to do with the acquisition of 'useful knowledge', and more to do with exposing students to the uncertainties and the unknowns of our world.
pp. 49-56
Sacred Writings of East-Asian Religions in the Context of Comparative Cultural Studies
Alexander Dolin
Sacred writings played a crucial role in the formation of the Asian civilisations, which were based predominantly not on oral tradition but on carefully recorded texts. The problem is that this required minimum, even if represented by general descriptions, digest-like adaptations and short excerpts of the texts in English translation or in original, proves to be extremely difficult for the understanding of an average Japanese student, both in the respect of language and in the respect of philosophic discourse.
pp. 57-73
New Lines of Flight? Negotiating Religions and Cultures in Gendered Educational Spaces
John I'Anson and Alison Jasper
This paper is concerned with: (i) the kinds of firmaments that are constructed in religious studies: how certainty in regard to difference is produced and what the effects of this are; (ii) an ethical problematic of hospitality to difference: in which we inquire into what the implications of such hospitality might be as regards making sense of difference-whether this be characterised in cultural, religious or gender terms; and (iii) the effects of becoming open to difference: is it possible to characterise the performative dynamics of this openness? And, if so, what forms might these take?
pp. 75-98
Louise J. Lawrence
In recent years the methods and praxis of education within the UK have been variously scrutinised, assessed and transformed. The teaching profession is now familiar with understanding its role not primarily as a mediator of knowledge, but rather as a facilitator of active student-centred learning. We are trusted with the responsibility to educate people for 'engagement with the real world' (Kennedy 2005:3) and instil a belief in them of their power to effect change within their society. This article discusses these issues with particular reference to reading the bible.
pp. 99-122
Instilling Virtue: Weaving the One Thread of Confucius' Analects
Christopher J. Panza
Getting students enthusiastically engaged with ethics is a difficult and demanding task, especially when they view it as impractical and disconnected from their lives. This article argues that this problem can be overcome by applying Confucian 'wisdom'-by adapting one's pedagogical strategy to fit one's knowledge of the particular audience one must address.
pp. 123-151
Some Perplexities of Teaching Philosophy Online
Annamaria Carusi
This article outlines how online discussion can be used as a way of developing and enhancing students' higher order cognitive skills and argumentational skills.
pp. 153-172
This page was originally on the website of The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies. It was transfered here following the closure of the Subject Centre at the end of 2011.
