The Mimetic-Poetic Imagination: How Recent Neuroscientific and Cognitive Psychological Research Suggests a Narratival-Developmental Approach to IdentityJoshua Lunde-Whitler (Boston College)Research Interest Group. [
Paper] This essay will explore imagination in light of select current works in neurological/psychological research that have yet to be adequately examined by religious educators. Their approaches to the brain and consciousness, all of which are centrally guided by the role of narrative, together offer a non-reductionist, dynamic, and lifelong perspective on identity and development, deemed here as "narratival-developmental." Imagination, in this view, is a function of the so-called "mimetic-poetic" process that defines the consciousness and drives identity development throughout the lifespan.
Imagining Complex Adaptive Religions: Science as Disruptive/Transformative RaconteurEileen Daily (Boston University School of Theology)Research Interest Group. [
Paper] Examples abound of the arts and humanities sparking religious imagination. Recent media-fueled friction between science and religion, however, means fewer cases jump to mind of science inspiring religious imagination. One aspect of contemporary science is offered here as a lens through which to see religions or religious education afresh. An overview of complex adaptive systems is followed by an argument for seeing religions as such. Three examples of specific aspects of the new science that offer wisdom for optimizing adaptability of religious education to a changing environment will follow.
