Working with the Other: interdisciplinarity and the role of philosophical and religious studies in 21 st century high

1. Working with the Other: interdisciplinarity and the role of philosophical and religious studies in 21st century higher education Rebecca O’Loughlin & Clare Saunders ISRLC Conference, 22-26 September 2010, Oxford

2. Outline of this session • ‘Seminar’ rather than ‘paper’ – more questions than answers • Introduction, context and rationale • Much of philosophical and religious studies (PRS) is taught ‘beyond boundaries’ • Particular pressures on PRS in contemporary HE • How to make the most of the benefits of PRS teaching • An overview of some relevant SC work • ‘Beyond boundaries’ scoping study and workshops • Funded research and development projects • HE priority areas – e.g. sustainability, citizenship… • Key findings and questions for discussion

3. Introduction to the Subject Centre • Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies (PRS) • “Supporting teachers and learners in Philosophical and Religious Studies in higher education across the UK” • ‘Philosophical and Religious Studies’ (PRS) includes: • Philosophy • Theology • Religious Studies • History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine • Biblical Studies • Part of the Higher Education Academy

4. Subject Centre for PRS: what we do • Subject Centre work includes: • Providing a forum for sharing expertise, via: • Events • Publications • Our website: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk • Supporting new developments via: • Project funding • Development work on new initiatives • Providing a ‘voice’ for PRS in UK HE policy issues

5. Context and Rationale • Much PRS learning and teaching takes place outwith ‘core’ PRS departments (‘PRS beyond boundaries’) • Component of interdisciplinary degrees, e.g. area studies • ‘Service teaching’, e.g. medical humanities • ‘Beyond boundaries’ teaching on the increase? • By necessity, e.g. in response to department/programme mergers • Out of conviction, cf. trend for interdisciplinary research (e.g. AHRC programmes such as ‘Religion in Society’, ‘Beyond Text’…) • Increasing pressures on HE • Focus on STEM subjects, meeting employers’ demands • Addressing policy agendas, e.g. sustainability, citizenship… • How can we best support, develop and promote PRS learning and teaching in this context?

6. The Poppletonian, 13 May 2010 A nasty smell of logic A major clean-up operation has begun in our university after the unexpected discovery of some remaining fragments of Philosophy. Although the high research-rated Poppleton Philosophy Department was closed down last year in accord with Hefce'sSmash the Humanities policy document, it appears that small deposits of logic and reason have remained lodged in the crevices of a number of other degree courses. Announcing the clean-up, our Director of Curriculum Development, Janet Fluellen, pointed out that such elements had no place in a modern business-facing university. “Quite frankly”, she told The Poppletonian, “whenever I hear the word 'philosophy', I reach for my gun”. Laurie Taylor column, Times Higher Education

7. ‘PRS beyond boundaries’: background • Previous (and other current) Subject Centre work includes: • Interdisciplinary projects: • ETHICS: EthicsTeaching HighlightedinContextualised Scenarios (or Case Studies) • Education for sustainable development • ‘Faith literacy’ • Workshops on teaching PRS subjects in interdisciplinary contexts: • Critical thinking • Cognitive science • Spirituality

8. ‘PRS beyond boundaries’ programme • Aim: to provide support for academics teaching PRS subjects in non-PRS contexts • A point of contact with other PRS academics • Tailored resources • 2008/9 scoping study – findings include: • PRS subjects are taught in a very wide range of contexts • Much diversity, but some common themes: • Ethics • Cultural / area studies • Spirituality and faith • Report and case studies available from website:http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/beyond_boundaries

9. ‘Beyond Boundaries’: benefits and challenges Benefits Challenges • Commitment to the ‘beyond boundaries’ approach • “optimistic about being trans-disciplinary” • Fostering a critical / contextualised approach • Students’ enthusiasm for PRS topics… • Developing PRS teaching without a ‘core’ department • “it can be a lonely task” • “a lot of work… to keep on top of the relevant issues” • Lack of shared knowledge and/or disciplinary methods • … ensuring perceived relevance

10. Benefits and Challenges II: Teaching Spirituality Benefits Challenges • Encourages pedagogical innovation and collaboration • Lends itself to ‘active learning’ methods (e.g. PBL): • students empowered and engaged: ‘deep learning’ • students see themselves as part of a research community • variation on traditional assessment methods • students develop a portfolio of skills • produces a more rounded / employable graduate? • Disciplinary traditions and suspicions • Learners’ scepticism and prejudices • Teachers’ reluctance to teach sensitive topics • Are we teaching spirituality or teaching about spirituality?...

11. Benefits and Challenges III: Developing creativity in the curriculum • Noake and Yore project (2008) exploring the effective use of ‘creative writing’ and creativity in the teaching and assessment of Theology and Religious Studies: • Development of creative writing and art modules for TRS • Religion, Writing and the Creative Imagination • Religion and the Visual Arts • Devising ‘creative assessments’ – utilising creative writing and the production of visual artefacts as the means of assessment

12. Benefits and Challenges III: Developing creativity in the curriculum Benefits Challenges • Student engagement • Benefits beyond the classroom: • Employability • More holistic learning experience • “We know that many will not return to the subject of their undergraduate degree …we believe that this …will fit them well to be more creative, imaginative, and innovative human beings” • Assessment : • Difficulties in designing • Students concerned that they will not do as well – potential/perceived conflict between academic and creative elements • How to ensure module learning outcomes are not too prescriptive, are process driven and address generic outcomes • Subjectivity / confessionalism • Student: ‘a feeling of being outside my comfort zone’

13. Benefits and Challenges… is it worth it? • Practical advantages • A survival strategy • Wider pool of methods and resources – disciplines learning from each other • Distinctive features • Shows wider/public relevance and value of PRS so makes a case for the vital role and contribution of our disciplines in 21st century HE – fewer accusations of ‘ivory tower’ • A more rounded student experience – use of variety of methods used in different disciplines engages students

14. Making the case for PRS I: Philosophy and the liberal arts tradition • Hanscomb and Franks (2006/7) project exploring the distinctive features of the liberal arts degree; findings include: • Philosophy is key to providing a coherent framework for an ‘integrated interdisciplinarity’ • Its contribution to students’ personal development planning and reflective learning (cf. Barnett’s ‘critical being’) • Developing ‘democratic intellect’ as per the liberal arts tradition • Meeting the Dearing requirements for lifelong learners and employable graduates

15. Making the case for PRS II: Theology and the Sustainability agenda • Four key pedagogical considerations in teaching sustainability-related curriculum (Dawe et al. 2005): • critical thinking about the nature of, production and validation of knowledge • the empowerment of the learner • experiential learning • learning for action • These are reflected in pedagogical approaches and methodologies which are widely used in teaching and learning in theology. • Theology has a strong tradition of delivering sustainability-related curriculum through preparing students for critical engagement with contemporary social and ethical issues • Theology has the potential to contribute to ESD a critical understanding of the role of humanity in relation to creation

16. Some questions for discussion • What are the features of an effective interdisciplinary education? • Distinctive benefits and challenges • Learning and teaching approaches • Should we be seeking to develop further this approach to the learning and teaching of our subjects? • Does this help to demonstrate the value of a PRS education? • How?

17. Thank you for participating! • Feedback / suggestions welcome - contact us: • Rebecca O’Loughlin (Theology and Religious Studies) •  rebecca@prs.heacademy.ac.uk • Clare Saunders (Philosophy) •  clare@prs.heacademy.ac.uk • Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies • School of Humanities, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT •  0113 343 1166 (direct); 0113 343 4184 (general) • http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk

18. References and acknowledgements • Stuerzenhofecker, O’Loughlin & Smith (2010) ‘Sustainability in the Theology Curriculum’ - in Jones, Selby & Stirling eds. Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice across Higher Education • Cochrane & Saunders (2009) ‘Teaching PRS Beyond Boundaries’ • Noake & Yore (2008), ‘Creativity in Teaching’ • Hanscomb & Franks (2006 & 2007), ‘Core Courses, Critical Thinking and the Reflective Student’ • Thanks also to all contributors to our events: • PRS Beyond Boundaries (9 June 2010, Birmingham) • Teaching Spirituality (14 January 2010, Leeds) • Beyond the Ordinary (24 June 2009, York) • Details on our website: http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk