Teaching Religion and Literature

211 Pages·2018·4.932 MB·English

by  Daniel Boscaljon, Alan Levinovitz

“A timely collection of essays reckoning the historical spirit and future relevance of religion and
literature, considerations offered with perspectives both limber in style and widely ranging in
reach.”
David Scott Arnold, Oregon State University
This page intentionally left blank
TEACHING RELIGION AND LITERATURE
Teaching Religion and Literature provides a practical engagement with the pedagogical possibilities
of teaching religion courses using literature, teaching literature classes using religion, and
teaching Religion and Literature as a discipline. Featuring chapters written by award winning
teachers from a variety of institutional settings, the book gives anyone interested in providing
interdisciplinary education a set of questions, resources, and tools that will deepen a classroom’s
engagement with the field. Chapters are grounded in specific texts and religious questions but
are oriented toward engaging general pedagogical issues that allow each chapter to improve
any instructor’s engagement with interdisciplinary education. The book offers resources to
instructors new to teaching Religion and Literature and provides definitions of what the field
means from senior scholars in the field. Featuring a wide range of religious traditions, genres,
and approaches, the book also provides an innovative glimpse at emerging possibilities for the
sub-discipline.
Daniel Boscaljon is the author of Vigilant Faith, editor of Resisting the Place of Belonging and
Hope and the Longing for Utopia, and author of several articles. He has taught several courses in
theology, literature, philosophy, and interdisciplinary humanities as contingent faculty in the
Midwest.
Alan Levinovitz is associate professor of religious studies at James Madison University. He
focuses on classical Chinese philosophy, religion and literature, and religion and medicine. He
authoredTheLimitsofReligiousToleranceandseveraljournalarticles.Hisjournalismhasappeared
in Wired, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Vox, Slate, and elsewhere.
This page intentionally left blank
TEACHING RELIGION AND
LITERATURE
Edited by Daniel Boscaljon and Alan Levinovitz
Firstpublished2019
byRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
andbyRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2019Taylor&Francis
TherightofDanielBoscaljonandAlanLevinovitztobeidentifiedastheauthorsofthe
editorialmaterial,andoftheauthorsfortheirindividualchapters,hasbeenassertedin
accordancewithsections77and78oftheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedinany
formorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,
includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,
withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksorregisteredtrademarks,
andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintenttoinfringe.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Acatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenrequested
ISBN:978-1-138-58790-8(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-138-61270-9(pbk)
ISBN:978-0-429-46495-9(ebk)
TypesetinBembo
byIntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd.
Daniel dedicates this book, with deep gratitude, to his mentor and friend
Brooks Landon, who let him discover how to teach (and live) with
confidence, excellence, humor, integrity, and kindness—as well as the
importance of an artful sentence.
Alan dedicates this to his Religion and Literature cohort at the University
of Chicago.
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
ListofContributors xii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction:TeachingReligionandLiterature 1
DanielBoscaljonandAlanLevinovitz
PARTI
FoundationalApproachestoReligionandLiterature 11
1 Teaching“ReligionandLiterature”Contextually 13
WesleyA.Kort
2 TeachingtheBibleandLiterature 24
DavidJasper
3 PedagogiesofReligionandLiterature,OrWritingthe“And”:
NathanScott,PaulRicoeur,JacquesDerrida 34
RichardA.Rosengarten
4 OpeningsandClosuresinReligionandLiterature:HeartofDarkness
orDemian,LifeofPiorSomethingNew 46
LarryD.Bouchard