Zingarelli-Sweet, Desirae

English

Loyola Marymount University

1 Research as Inquiry, Social Justice, and the Particularist Challenges of Religious Traditions in an Age of Terror and Hate ACRL IS Preconference | ALA Annual 2017, Chicago, IL Desirae Zingarelli-Sweet, Reference & Instruction Librarian for Theology Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA | dzingare@lmu.edu, @desiraesweet Religion & Information Literacy (Research as Inquiry) • Religion is potentially important for any critical cultural study. Deepens inquiry.• Religion maintains special place in American culture and politics, integral tounderstanding power structures and dynamics (Fowler 2014).• 2000’s – present: “Post-secular” erao Increasing recognition by philosopher Jürgen Habermas and others thatreligion has not made permanent retreat in wake of rationalism andmodernization (Bahram 2013).• Teaching “religious literacy” (basic facts) is not sufficient for understanding howreligion shapes people’s actions in the world (Lewis 2015).o Yet, many students’ notions of religion have never been subjected to criticalreflection (Medine, Penner, and Lehman 2015).Religion & Social Justice • Social justice concepts and imperatives are part of virtually all religions (Palmerand Burgess 2012).• Religion is uniquely situated. According to Habermas, it functions as:1) historical-social institution2) worldview or “comprehensive doctrine”3) common “language”4) instrument for social/cultural criticism (Bahram 2013).• Naming and deconstructing Christian privilege in U.S. can be a liberatorypedagogical act (Riswold 2015).• Can be key part of social analysis.Catholic Social Analysis• Late 1970’s – 1980’s on: Catholic thinkers build on work of Freire 1970 (circle ofpraxis) and Segundo 1976 (hermeneutic circle).• Social analysis = key component of pastoral circle/spiral “aimed at action onbehalf of justice” with/by the Church (Holland and Henriot 1983, p. 30).Attribution-NonCommercialCC BY-NC2 Social Analysis: Guiding Questions for Current Issues* *Adapted from Maria Cimperman, Social Analysis for the 21st Century, with foreward by Peter Henriot, SJ(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2015). Sociological•Who is involved locally, regionally,nationally, and globally?•Who are the actors, and what aretheir roles?•What organizations are involved,directly or indirectly?•How are the persons and groupsconnected (or not) in thissituation?•What are the importantrelationships in the history of thissituation?•Whose experience is necessary tohear? Whose perspective wouldadd information?•Whose expertise is needed tocreate positive change?•What is your invovlement? Whatrole(s) do you play?Economic•Who benefits? Who is burdened?Who is responsible?•What are the economic structuresand dynamics involved?•What economic systems are thevarious groups working with?•What resources do the majoractors have?•How are resources being used toinfluence or affect this issue?•What are the economicrelationships (or potentialrelationships) in this area?•What role has economics playedin the history of this issue?•What are your relationships in thisarea?Political•What is the role of politics in thisissue and its history?•How are politics being used toinfluence this issue, or how mightpolitics be used?•What political structures are activein this situation?•Who has political power? Whatkind of political influence do themajor actors have?•What regulations or legislation (ifany) concerns this issue?•What lobbying groups areinvolved? With whom and onbehalf of whom?•What power dynamics are at playhere?•How are those dynamics relatedto one another? How are theyrelated to you?Cultural•What is the role of culture in thisissue and its history?•Which cultures play a prominentrole?•What cultural "structures" areinvolved (traditions, rituals,practices, language, art, initiationrites, common beliefs or myths,etc.)?•What cultural dynamics are atwork?•What cultural values are thevarious groups working with orinfluenced by?•How does culture expressmeaning or values in thissituation?•How does culture frame theissues?•What cultural values andpracticess influence your thinkingand acting in relation to this issue?Environmental•How is the enviroment impacted?•How does the environment impactthis situation?•How is the health of the Earthcommunity (all living things)impacted?•Who or what is flourishing? Whatis languishing or dying? What isburdened?•What responsibility for theenvironment does each actor haveor claim? How is that responsibilitybeing fulfilled (or not)?•What is the geography of thisissue? (Where are the affected, orpotentialy affected areas?)•What group(s), if any, are attentiveto the environment's role or stakein this issue?•Are the environmentalconnections or implications local,regional, national, global, or acombination?•What is your involvement orrole(s)? How might you or yourgroup be impacted?Religious•What is the role of religion in thisissue and its history?•What religious beliefs or valuesare influential? Are thereconflicting beliefs or valuespertinent to this situation?•What religious institutions orgroups play a prominent role?•What religious structures ordynamics are involved or active inthis situation?•What role do governmentregulations, legislation, orlobbyists for faith-based groupsplay?•What religious or faith-basedgroups have power in thissituation? What kind of power?How are they related?•What are specific religious groupsor pundits saying? What is theirinvovlement?•Is there a particular religious lensyou bring to this issue (Christian,Buddhist, secular/humanist, etc.)?	 3 Example Exercises/Assignments See page 4 for primary text exercise. See Project CORA for primary text and social analysis assignments:  www.projectcora.org/users/dzingsweet.   Bibliography Bahram, Masoumeh. “Habermas, Religion, and Public Life.” Journal of Contemporary Religion 28, no. 3 (2013): 353-367. doi:10.1080/13537903.2013.831638   Cimperman, Maria. Social Analysis for the 21st Century. With foreward by Peter Henriot, SJ. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2015.   Fowler, Robert Booth, et al. Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture, and Strategic Choices. 5th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2014.  Freire, Paulo. The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder, 1970.  Holland, Joe, and Peter Henriot, SJ. Social Analysis: Linking Faith and Justice. Revised and enlarged edition. Originally published 1980. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books/Center for Concern, 1983.  Lewis, Thomas A. Why Philosophy Matters for the Study of Religion– and Vice Versa. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.  Medine, Carolyn M. Jones, Todd Penner, and Marjorie Lehman. “Forum: Teaching With, Against, and To Faith.” Teaching Theology and Religion 18, no. 4 (October 2015): 363–386. doi:10.1111/teth.12308  Palmer, Michael D., and Stanley M. Burgess. The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice. Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Religion. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.  Riswold, Caryn D. “Teaching the College ‘Nones’: Christian Privilege and the Religion Professor.” Teaching Theology and Religion 18, no. 2 (April 2015): 133-148.  Segundo, Juan Luis. The Liberation of Theology. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1976.      	 4 Primary Text Exercise  Instructions: Read the following excerpt from a primary source, then answer the questions below.  “Our religion is knowledge, work, and good intent.   So let us learn good knowledge and let us have wisdom:  Let’s mend our ways, and  Let’s set our intentions straight, and   May God bless us with success.  God keep our religion pure for us, for that’s what holds us together, and set our lives straight in this life we live, and mend our ways to be ready for heaven to which we will eventually return.”   Questions: Look carefully at the passage for any clues to the following questions:  1. How would you summarize the passage in your own words?     2. What religious tradition(s) do you think it references? Explain your reasoning.     3. When do you think this was written? What do you think its social and cultural setting is? Why?     4. What kind of person do you think wrote it (profession, clergyperson or layperson, education level, economic or social class, etc.)? Explain your reasoning.     5. What do you think the purpose of this text might be? Why do you think this? 

Research as Inquiry, Social Justice, and the Particularist Challenges of Religious Traditions in an Age of Terror and Hate

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Research as Inquiry, Social Justice, and the Particularist Challenges of Religious Traditions in an Age of Terror and Hate

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