RT Article
T1 World religion and fake news: A pedagogical response in an age of post-truth
JF Teaching theology and religion
VO 22
IS 4
SP 280
OP 290
A1 Shoemaker, Terry D.
LA English
PB Wiley-Blackwell
YR 2019
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1682187446
AB This article describes a pedagogical response to teaching world religions courses in a post-truth age. The course assignment and its application, utilized in both online and in-person formats, bridge student academic pursuits with religious traditions, require students to engage with source-based journalism, and extend beyond the classroom into many of the contemporary politics encroaching upon the humanities fields. Related to the first, the objective of the assignment is for students to discover that religiosity permeates multiple sectors, both private and public, corresponding with student career paths. As a result, students discover that religion is relevant to their academic pursuits and that they must consider the possibilities of how religion might integrate with their career choices. Regarding the second objective, the assignment develops student digital media literacy skills as a form of civic education that challenges the current political attacks on journalism and factuality. Last, this exercise acknowledges the realities facing many humanities programs across the country and offers this assignment as a way of engaging with those issues within the classroom. See as well, published in this issue of the journal, three short companion essays by Sarah L. Schwarz, Jonathan R. Herman, and Harshita Mruthinti Kamath, each of which analyzes this pedagogical strategy for their particular teaching contexts.
K1 Activism
K1 Fake News
K1 Media Literacy
K1 Pedagogy
K1 Post-truth
K1 Religious Studies
K1 World Religion
DO 10.1111/teth.12504