"One of the challenges I face in my classes is helping students to “translate”
what they learn from the study of religion into discussions taking place about religion in a variety of contexts—from
politics, to economics, to international law. One of the ways I do this is through their final course project. I ask
them to identify the audience they want to address, which determines not only the language they will use in the project
but the form of the project itself. For example, in thinking through issues of religion and the environment a student
may write an editorial for a local paper. "
"These projects challenge students in two ways, First, they must take the concepts we have discussed in class
and make them accessible to a wider public. Second, they need to figure out how to write a successful editorial. My
experience is that students take ownership of the projects and, in many cases, build upon and use these projects in the
future."
Shelly Rambo teaches masters and doctoral students at BU’s School of Theology. A constructive feminist theologian,
she engages the textual tradition of Christianity with particular attention to literary analysis and criticism. Her
current project, Witnessing Spirit between Death and Life, examines Christian theology in the aftermath of trauma. In
her teaching and writing, she examines in how classical themes in the Christian tradition interact with and inform
contemporary discourses around suffering, trauma, and violence. Her teaching interests include: feminist theory and
theology, trauma studies, the rhetoric of religious writing, and postmodern biblical theology.
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