Transformative Learning in Ecclesial Borderlands: Imagining Pedagogical PossibilitesSusan Reynolds (Boston College)Research Interest Group. [
Paper] This paper draws on a theological understanding of borderlands as elaborated by U.S. Latino/a scholars to advance a notion of “borderland parishes” as imaginative spaces of intercultural contact, contestation, and transformation. Borderlands challenge Jack Mezirow’s understanding of dialogue in transformative learning by taking seriously power asymmetries. I argue that shared participation in ritual provides a more fruitful precondition to dialogue than Mezirow's idealized preconditions as it possesses a greater potential than dialogue alone for the cultivation of cross-cultural relationships.
Liturgy as Prophetic Imagination: A Form of Church CurriculumDonna Eschenauer (St. Joseph's Seminary and College)Research Interest Group. [
Paper] Liturgy, the ritual prayer of the community, is a centuries old way of giving thanks and praise; however, it is ultimately a way of engaging in symbolic acts of hope. Researched from a Roman Catholic point of view and drawing its educational insights from the work of Maria Harris and Gabriel Moran, this paper explores the practice of liturgy “as a component of the curriculum of educational ministry" (Harris 1989, 94-95) and, in turn, explores the profound elements of the prophetic imagination that are present in and through liturgy.
