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Buddhist Pedagogy Seminar

Call for Proposals for November Meeting

The Buddhist Pedagogy Seminar welcomes papers on any aspect of pedagogy for teaching Buddhism in a semester-long course or as part of a world religions class. For our last seminar, we would like to solicit roundtable proposals as well as individual paper proposals. The roundtable moderator/organizer will send one proposal that includes the discussion topic and each discussant’s subject. The discussants do not need to send individual proposals.    

 

Aligned with the 2024 AAR presidential theme, we particularly would like to investigate teaching strategies that concern engaging with students about Buddhist responses to violence and nonviolence. The forms of violence can be physical, emotional, psychological, ritual, or from other relevant contexts.

Statement of Purpose

The mission of the Buddhist Pedagogy Seminar is to promote critical reflection on how our teaching and presentation of Buddhism enhances understanding of Buddhist traditions, practices, and values. Our seminar will facilitate discussion and support research about pedagogically effective approaches to teaching Buddhism. We will focus on a variety of pedagogical challenges within the field over the course of five years, including but not limited to, the religious or secularized use of Buddhist meditation practices in everyday life, modern public understanding of Buddhism shaped through current events, hotly debated ethical issues, and scholarship about teaching Buddhism. This seminar invites discussion about teaching Buddhism in today’s classroom, how Buddhism has been taught historically, how different media about Buddhism can supplement classroom instruction, and how insights from Buddhist traditions can enrich pedagogy in other fields. Although we envision the seminar appealing primarily to those in Buddhist Studies, we believe it will be beneficial for instructors and scholars outside of the field who teach about Buddhism in their courses. We are committed to supporting important work in the nascent field of Buddhist pedagogy. Our goal is to grow this field and provide it with a robust arena in which scholars engage in dynamic conversations.

Chairs

  • Trung Huynh, University of Houston
    1/1/2019 - 12/31/2024
  • Beverly McGuire, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
    1/1/2024 - 12/31/2029

Steering Committee Members

Method

Review Process

Proposer names are visible to chairs but anonymous to steering committee members