Dr. Wesley Williams
Teaching
Statement of Teaching Philosophy
During the six years I have had the pleasure of teaching undergraduate religious studies courses as both a graduate student instructor and lecturer, I have discovered that teaching about religion at a secular institution presents a number of challenges. What is the most effective way to communicate the fruits of critical research on religion and religious texts to students, most of whom are not used to thinking critically about religion? How does one facilitate critical discourse while being sensitive to the sensibilities of a religiously diverse student body? The post-911 academy presents additional challenges for those of us who specialize in Islam. In the current environment, how does one balance and/or pedagogically valuate political correctness, patriotism and academic integrity?
While the current public discourse on Islam tends to be either polemical or apologetic, I try to move beyond this discourse in my classes by creating a learning environment that fosters critical reflection on and inspires honest discussion about some difficult subjects related to race, religion and politics. I do this, for example, through assigned reading selections. I try to include texts that will allow students to imagine alternative readings to existing paradigms and interpretations. Also, I routinely devote the first class sessions to a general discussion about the difference between the teaching of religion and the teaching about religion. By identifying with the students the internal and external aspects of religion and specifying the latter (the ‘cumulative tradition’) as our main focus, I have found that students generally are better able to make the transition from a non-reflective or non-critical approach to religion to a historical-critical approach more successfully. I encourage students to reflect upon their own assumptions, critically engage the course content and strive to cultivate a way of thinking and speaking about the subject which allows for creative and inclusive discussion. In order to facilitate the development of a working familiarity with the relevant technical and conceptual language of our subject I ask students to maintain a running notebook of key topical terms which can be used as shared vocabulary in our class discussions.
Course assignments are designed to achieve three primary goals: (1) to facilitate comprehension of a given body of content; (2) to refine critical thinking skills; (3) and to improve written and verbal communication. To achieve the first goal, tests are not designed to necessarily ‘quiz’ students; they are often take-home exams that require students to put facts together in a meaningful way so as to demonstrate their command of a given subject. To facilitate the refinement of critical thinking I might assign reaction papers: 3-4 page critical reflections on a given reading or unit. Students are called upon to analyze and weigh the relative strengths and weaknesses of arguments, detect and deal effectively with perspective and bias, maintain rigor in inductive and deductive reasoning, and account for historical process. These reaction papers together with assigned research papers also facilitate the improvement of written communication skills. To facilitate the improvement of oral communication skills I might assign an oral project such as an in-class group debate – e.g. two groups of three or four debating such topics as the place of the veil (hijab) in contemporary Muslim and non-Muslim society.
Introduction to Islam
REL 2500/Fall 2008
This course will introduce students with little or no prior knowledge of Islam to the main religious, historical, and cultural contours of Islam as (1) a historical phenomenon, world religion, and transnational civilization and (2) a subject of critical study. We shall encounter Islam as a diverse and polyphonous tradition that developed in time and space. Beginning with its ancient Near Eastern context, we shall chart a trajectory of Islam from the 7th century to the present. While we shall employ in this course a historical-critical approach to the study of religion, emphasis will also be placed on modern developments and challenges. This course aims to guide students in thinking, speaking, and writing analytically about religion in general and the religion of Islam in particular.
The Other God:
Alternative Conceptions of the Divine in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Tradition
AAPTIS 291/Spring 2005
Characteristic of the Western monotheistic traditions has been their commitment to an uncompromisingly transcendent Godhead; a Godhead invisible, omnipotent, omnipresent, and utterly other, yet personal and personally involved in mundane affairs. This Western tradition of mono-psychotheism, that is to say belief in a lone, wholly spiritual deity, was a unique development in the history of religions, contrasting with both the iconic pantheons of the ancient Near East, on the one hand, as well as the remote Absolute of Eastern religions, on the other. While none will dispute the centrality of this tradition of mono-psychotheism to the monotheistic religions, critical scholarship has demonstrated that this tradition was but one of several traditions occupying the intellectual and theological landscape of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. With the eventual triumph of the mono-physchotheistic paradigm within all three religions, the alternative paradigms were marginalized and/or forgotten. It will be our intention in this course to explore some of those ‘alternative paradigms,’ shedding light on the theological world of some pre-modern, non-traditional ‘lost’ Judaisms, Christianities, and Islams, focusing on concepts of the Divine. In this course we will examine such concepts as Divine Embodiment, Divine Anthropology, the Divine Feminine, Divine Suffering, and more. Along with secondary readings, we will read and analyze primary texts witnessing to these alternative paradigms, and place them historically and conceptually within their respective religions. The course will begin with an introduction to the concepts of orthodoxy and heresy and a brief history of theological development within the larger religious traditions.
Islam’s Scriptures:
An Introduction to Qur’an and Hadith
This course will introduce students with little or no prior knowledge of Islam to the Qur’an and Hadith, Islam’s dual scriptures and the primary repositories of the beliefs, values, rituals, and religious symbols for over a billion people worldwide. If for Muslims the Qur’an is literally the ‘Word of God’ inimitably textualized, for non-Muslim Western scholars it is a genuine literary enigma. We shall in this course meet the Qur’an both as a sacred scripture and as a subject of historical-critical study. Students will be introduced to the main historical, thematic, and literary features of the Qur’an and Hadith – the record of the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad – as well as the Western critical approach to these religious sources. We will also discuss the Qur’an’s relation to prior scriptures, particularly the Hebrew Bible.
