Newspapers / Saint Mary’s School Student … / March 4, 1983, edition 1 / Page 3
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THE BELLES PAGE 3 A Revised Transcript of an Address given by Mr. Steven Esthimer in Chapel during Academic Week, February 1, 1983, St. Mary’s College. The topic which I am going to explore with you is the place of the study of religion in a liberal education. First, I must ask what a “liberal education” is. St. Mary’s presumes to offer such a thing -- it says so in the College catalog. Traditionally, we take this to mean the studies (such as language, literature, philosophy, history, and the abstract sciences) in a college or university intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop the general intellectual capacities, such as reason and judgment, as opposed to professional or vocational skills. But what do we really mean by “education”? To make my answer to this question clear to you, I must point out that I am taking two things for granted: First, that humans are limited. Time and space keep us relatively fixed in our places, in spite of our imaginations. We cannot live- forever; we cannot be everywhere in the universe at once; and we cannot think everything there is to think in the cosmos. The second point, though, seems to fly in the face of the first, because I want also to hold that we are, to a large extent, self-determined as human beings because we can shape our environment (in cluding our bodies) to suit ourselves. We create and discover myths which shape our views of ourselves and our 'vorld in general. So, because of our limitations and our flexibility as humans, we for- hiulate ways to get a handle on 0 world which always outstrips our capacity to know it in its entirety. We perceive our subjects, no matter what they Ore, even ourselves, through these various myths and theories. I think that education should involve the interaction *^tween these forms of one’s Perception and the content of ®ome subject. In and through ^ucation we should seek to develop those forms of per- '^eption which are most Adequate to our subjects, jyhether they are found within fl>e human or natural worlds. In Addition, in education, we should seek to enlarge the ‘earner’s vision and teach him “v her how a subject might or '“'ght not be employed in his ^‘'Perience. Now, we may enlarge •Sion in many ways, but let us “7 to avoid the transmission of ? •‘igid, dogmatic outlook from ^cher to student, parent to ^fld. Rather, I would say that ^Ucation should give the j‘ddent (and the teacher) the j®edom to search, interpret, J'd evalutate his or her fin- This means that "Cstlons and imagination be- the primary tools of the ^cher, and the discovery of an answer becomes the burden of the student. The notion that knowledge or answers are predetermined must be abandoned if true education is to take place. The way for novel perspectives must be kept open by allowing the teacher and student to explore and compare results. In all of this, the teacher must direct by iden tifying the questions and in dicating resources, but he must not block passage to new an- swers by insisting that there is already a single best answer. And when the student arrives at a conclusion, the teacher cannot merely say that the answer is as good as any other. The teaser should challenge the student with a contrasting conclusion. Education is not simply a matter of dispensing facts. It is also a matter of critically evaluating the ways in which fsets 3r6 estflblishcd, in- terpreted and patterned. I can reduce all of what I want to say on this point to this: Do we learn to pass, or do we think to learn? In education we must do the latter beiause there is so much to think about in the nrocess of learning how to be a the canons aim uugma. ^ Liman We are unique in the -many of the qu^tions, and &e SdofWnywT« thalwe resources, « way MJhe u must earn in subject matter at hand. At St. Mary’s you will find that religon is approached in such a way that we may teach you about the major traditions of the West and East. Criticism and open discussion of questions and issues are central to the academic approach to religion as a field of study. Yet this is not incompatible with religious belief. In fact, there is an im portant connection, a personal dimension to the study of religion. We see the overall subject of the liberal education, the human being, as a vital, dynamic, acting person, then we must find a personal element in all conduct. Even in the conduct of scientific inquiry, it is always a person who is behind the inquiry, ob serving, judging, and making decisions. In all human actions there is a commitment to or trust in a principle which at the time is not itself in question. To recognize this does not lead to the destruction of our pursuit of knowledge. It should lead us to keep in mind the fact that a human being is a whole being, constituted by a body, mind and spirit, all of which come into play when the person acts. It should be a commonplace, in education, that one be con cerned for the whole person. While the teaching of religion may have a personal dimension, it is also possible to view the study of religion as paradigmatic for the overall approach to the liberal arte. Here is what I mean: since the phenomenon under study are so varied and rich, careful students in the study of religion are forced to acknowledge the limitations of every method they use. That, in turn, frees them from blind obedience to the canons and dogma. We have swer. But broadly understood, the study of religion is an open approach to the issues and problems of life all over the taJrsomuchwemustl^niin order to know who and what we are as beings. We learn, though, by thinking first. NOW, on the matter of “liberal education, “liberal” refers to the genera^ nature of the studies that are appropriate in the process of KSg who and what we are as human beings. As I have said, language, literature, art, music, philosphy, hist^ Sfcs“‘°®^anr“r’ nTm^S are all parta of Itas rather large picture. In ad dition, the terconnections of all of to«e fields of human experience and inquiry must be sou^t in order instruct a unified concept of Ean^ing. Finally, the tern. “Kal” refers to the goal of “inline growth, broadening Son andfiberating the mind from the entrapment of blind JStion, ignorance, and ’“«move».ome^ world. This is also the aim of a liberal education. Thank you for listening. STUDENTS LEAVING ST. MARY'S Karen Lado, UNC-CH; Florence Norris, UNC-CH; Ellen Truner, Salem, Hollins; Susanna Langley, Wake Forest; and Gray Ogden, Presbyterian College. The Seniors are: Mary Glenn Barwick, NCSU; Barbarba Brame, College of Charleston; Charlotte Cochran, College of Charleston; Ruth Cox, UNC-CH, ECU; Ann Diedrick, College of Charleston; Marion Dudley, ECU; Laura Fox, College of Charleston; Stuart High, NC SU; Emily Longley, NCSU, UNC-CH; LuAnne O’Bannon, UNO-CH; Michele Pridgen, College of Charleston; Mary Ragsdale, UNC-CH; Kathryn Ray, UNC-CH; Mary Duke Sanders, UNC-CH; Lynn Snead, NCSU; Bryant Tanner, ASU; Paula Williams, UNC-CH; Robin Hardy, UNC-CH; and Robin Crummie, UNC-CH. Please note that although these are acceptances, these are not necessarily the final destinations of our SMC graduating classes. rcssuui k-co, V*. j answers and conclusions about what is going on in the practice of any religion are never finally established. The general technique of education which I outlined earlier is always in force in the study of reli^on. Because the aim in all religions is access to something that is ultimately and exphctly a^ stract, and of “another world, those who study religion must remain open to new ways to conceive of the inconceiveable. Insofar as that opennep is central of the study of religion we have an excellent example in that field of how one can truly pursue a liberal education ^ I ultimately want studente to think critically about their own religious traditions or what they have for perhaps many taken for granted in connection with any aspect of life. Who and what a person is depends in laree part on how she s^ hereelf fitting into or not fitting into one of our culture s larg^t institutions: the Church. I think et Morv’s stU- Some Sophomores and Seniors have been accepted to different colleges for the up coming 83-84 school year. Those sophomores are: Molly Brooks, UNC-CH; Nancy Dubose, UNC-CH; Susan Sawfield, NCSU; Mary Beth Hughes, ECU; Amy Hurka, UNC-CH; Carline Johnson, UNC-CH; Lynn Jones, Va. Tech; Julie Karnes, UNC-CH; Sydney Kepley, Peace, Meredith and N(^U; Diane Lee, UNC-CH; Elizabeth Rouse, UNC-CH; Katherine Sutechenko, NCSU; Virginia Smith, UNC-CH; Susan Somers, ECU; Lisa Spruill, UNC-CH, Spelman College, Fisk University ; Crystal Stout, ECU, ASU; Margaret Sydnor, St. Andrews; Cree Taylor, University of Iowa; Jo Carol Walters, Brenau College, Meredith; Ann Whitaker, Duke; Susan White, ASU; Amy Younge, UNC-CH and Laurie Garlington, NYU. ’The accelerated Juniors are: Holly Tulford, UNC-CH; Just in Case You’re Interested On the first day of Muse Week, Mrs. Angela Davis Gardner came to speak. Mfs. Gardner, who lives in Ralei^, has recently published, her first novel. Her book, Felice, is a critical success, and has been named a Book of the Month Club Alternate Selection. During the course of the evening, Mrs. Gardner read selections from Felice and answered questions from members of the audience. Basically, Felice is the story of an orphaned girl’s life in a con vent in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the twenties. The girl, Felice, possesses a lovely imagination, as well as a strong sense of religion, and the two sometimes come into conflict. Futhermore, Felice must also deal with the normal problems of growing up. Mrs. (Jardner’s presentation was well-received by her audience. Anyone in terested in reading Felice will find a copy of it in our library. I ““*Now, I move on to the |nsutmmns. u. part of the ^tudy dSit should find her way back to what do we mean by the Jlr church or synagogue and of religion • Histinction become a resource or an I think that a ^com^ minister, priest must be made l»tw^ or r?bbi. Religion is discovered teaching of r^‘8'on dialogue. Religion can teaching “^““tntivelvis not be ^studied only m ‘^mlo^e. Teaching about putatw y jjo predeter- aimed at evoking commitoe l si^ m answers. Religion First and foremost it a^mpte mined, discipline, any to transmit facts and fomutet^ isno philosophy or perspectives asscKia i* natural sciences. Religion does f^lig^n. Instead, for «ampl^ supply intellectual answers of making the daitnjhat J^ig ® ^ ^gnse. Instead it telps mmmrn a « » a St. Mary's Chapel by Jerry Miller >:• r55
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March 4, 1983, edition 1
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