Where can religious studies scholars fit in the context of a half century long shift towards a career-minded neoliberal university? How can the skills cultivated in the study of religion contribute meaningfully to the future of the liberal arts when religious studies departments are being cut? This roundtable offers reflections on one example of a public R1 university where religious studies scholars have been central to the implementation of a new advising model integrating academic advising with liberal arts classroom teaching.
Each scholar will reflect briefly upon how our disciplinary training produces an academic toolbox that allows us to perform the kind of “musical listening” and interdisciplinary pedagogy that are the hallmarks of academic advising and the first-year experience. Additionally, we will touch upon how the theoretical underpinnings, methods, and conversations in religious studies have prepared us to implement a transformative academic experience that affects thousands of undergraduate students annually.