CFP: APA/AAPT Teaching Hub - Religion in the Philosophy Classroom

The APA Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy (CTP) and the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) seek presenters for a session of the AAPT-APA Teaching Hub on Religion in the Philosophy Classroom at the 2022 Eastern Division meeting to be held in Baltimore, Maryland from 5-8 January 2022.

We envision 3-4 presentations on how philosophers can handle the challenging religious questions that often arise within typical undergraduate philosophy courses. Presentations may fall within any of the following areas, or others related to the general theme: 

• Engaging students’ religious views: What are the best ways to respond when students introduce their own religious standpoints on ethical, political, metaphysical, and epistemic questions that contemporary philosophers more commonly approach from a secular perspective? 
• Inclusive environment: What are the best ways to ensure a welcoming environment for students from all (and no) religious traditions, especially those that may be persecuted or exoticized? 
• Teaching philosophy of religion: What are the best ways to interest students in texts and practices from religious traditions remote from their own experiences, or to invest students in approaching familiar religious texts and practices through a more philosophical lens? 
• Texts with religious elements: What are the best ways to allay student fears about commonly taught philosophers who integrate religious elements into their texts (e.g., Laozi, Plato, Aquinas, Descartes)? 

Guidelines for submissions: 

• Anonymized proposals of 400–700 words should be sent as attachments to Ryan Miller ([email protected]) by Sunday, July 31, with the subject line “Religion TH proposal.” 
• Proposals should be for 15–20-minute presentations including some concrete interactive element which demonstrates your techniques and welcomes wisdom from the audience. 
• Strong proposals discuss the concrete challenges you have faced, the concrete steps you took to address them, and the effectiveness of those steps. 
• Proposals should specify the texts, assignments, modules, or other approaches you used to facilitate these objectives and outcomes. 
• Supporting material such as syllabi or handouts are welcome and may be attached. 
• Presenters will be selected in early August.

For any questions about the session, please feel free to contact Ryan Miller ([email protected]). For any questions about the Eastern APA Teaching Hub more generally, contact the 2022 Eastern Division Teaching Hub Co-Chairs, Rebecca Millsop ([email protected]) and Jerry Green ([email protected]).