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Education for Justice: Stitching a Seamless Garment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 September 2014
Abstract
This essay aims to present the challenges of teaching Catholic social thought to undergraduates at a Catholic college. It begins with a review of the three foundational principles of the Church's social tradition: dignity, community, and preferential option for the poor. It next moves to three primary obstacles to making these concepts come alive for college students: (1) the prevalence of social and economic stereotypes, (2) a Romanticized reduction of Christianity which emphasizes charity to the neglect of justice, and (3) an unwillingness to allow the resources of one's faith to challenge the policies of one's government. The essay concludes with some reflections on the appropriateness of all of these subjects at a college dedicated to the liberal arts. Throughout this paper, generous use is made of writings by my students that demonstrate the pedagogical principles and pitfalls I narrate.
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- Creative Teaching
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- Copyright © The College Theology Society 2000
References
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