At the GTU, the month of May is dedicated to celebration. It is a time when we honor our graduates and mark the completion of their programs with a joyous commencement ceremony. In addition to recognizing the graduates themselves, celebrating their achievements is also an opportunity to acknowledge the many people who have supported them along the way, including their families, friends, teachers, administrators, and peers. I offer my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all the graduates as they begin their vocational journeys. To all those who are continuing: Congratulations! You are one step closer to your commencement!
PDP Workshops
Since I was on paternity leave in March, I wasn't able to share the PDP Newsletter for April or the PDP Workshops that took place during that month. Therefore, in this month's newsletter, I will be including those workshops as well.
In March, the first workshop was on "How to Write a Teaching Philosophy," and Dr. Diandra Erickson, Associate Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, led the workshop. The second workshop was led by Dean Ruth Meyers from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific on "How to Write a Diversity Statement?" (Thanks to Dean Arce for moderating that workshop!) These are two of the important documents that you would be requested to submit along with your application for teaching jobs. You may check the recordings below:
In April, we covered another important element that goes along with your application, perhaps the most vital piece: your curriculum vitae, or CV. Dr. Eric Sias, Assistant Professor at the Berkeley School of Theology, shared his wisdom on the topic of "Crafting an Impressive CV."
In addition to the requirements of an academic job application, we also covered a significant aspect that can covertly help in the job search process: social media presence. Victoria Price, our Marketing and Communications Manager, shared her experience and wisdom on this topic.
From the Library:
Do you know that there are libraries in North America where you can do research and obtain check-out privileges? It is called ATLA Reciprocal Borrowing Program. GTU is a participating institutional member of this reciprocal program among the libraries through the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). This means that you can walk into one of these participating libraries, show proof of your current enrollment at GTU and member schools, and check out materials based on its local lending policies. Here is the interactive map & list of these libraries.
The GTU library will be open throughout the summer. And your reference librarians are available via live chat (Mon-Fri, 9am-4 pm, Pacific), email (library@gtu.edu) and one-one-one virtual appointment.
Call for Papers
“Open Theology” (https://www.degruyter.com/opth) invites submissions for the topical issue "Religion and Spirituality in Everyday Life," edited by Joana Bahia (State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Cecilia Bastos (National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil María Pilar García Bossio, UCA-CONICET, Argentina). Please find the CfP here.
FSubmissions will be collected until May 15, 2023, via the on-line submission system at http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/.
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My [kitchen, syllabus] is a disaster. [Higher ed, the planet] faces impending disaster. [The responsible party of your choice] bungled the disaster response. We frequently invoke the word “disaster” to convey a sense of magnitude but also to imply events beyond our control. Questions of agency lie embedded in the word’s etymology—maybe it’s the stars’ fault—and yet we seem to believe that human response is possible and perhaps even imperative. Among the many possible responses to various disasters over the millennia, the literary offers the opportunity to slow down, to examine what has happened and what may be salvaged—and to develop and practice Christian virtues... More details about the cfp for After Disaster: Southeast Regional Conference on Christianity and Literature are here.
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Established in 1968 as a direct result of Black student struggle on campus, the Black Studies Department—now Africana Studies Department— at San Francisco State University was the first Black Studies department in the nation. The establishment of the department also marked the institutionalization Black Studies “as a ‘scientific discipline’ rooted in racial redemption, liberatory scholarship and community revitalization, the discipline of Africana Studies is a body of systematized knowledge, theories, methods, and laws, which are congruent with the African centered paradigm and philosophy.” (Tshaka, 2012, p 29).
Sixty years later, Black Studies—and all its colloquiums such as African American Studies, Africana Studies, Africology, African Diasporic Studies—has seen much growth and evolution in the field. It is in this vein that this work seeks to critically engage subjects relevant to people of African descent in the 21st century, from an African centered perspective.
Topics of interest Include, but are not limited to:
Africana Education
Africana Social Science Research
Africana Studies in the Digital World
Africana Gender and Identity Studies
Africana Religious Studies
Africana Health and Wellness
Africana Family Studies
Moving the Field Forward
If you are interested in contributing, please send a 400–500-word abstract that indicates your intended topic area to me at: cledwards@sfsu.edu . Abstracts will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until May 31st, 2023. Upon acceptance, full drafts of articles (4,000 to 6,000 words) in APA 7th edition formatting are due September 4th, 2023. Inquiries and questions can be sent to: cledwards@sfsu.edu or apitre@sfsu.edu .
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CFP The Afterlife in Popular Culture (special issue of The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture). Please check out this link for more details.
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The Journal of Religion, Culture & Democracy (JRCD), a new peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal focused on the intersection of religion and civil society, invites article submissions to be considered for publication. For more details, check out this link.
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Living Together: Environmentalisms and the Good Life - 2023 University of North Texas graduate student conference. Submission deadline: June 23, 2023. Here's the cfp.
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You can find more CfPs and other resources at this website: The Religious Studies Opportunities Digest
Grants and Scholarships
A list of scholarships is available at: http://scholarships.gtu.edu. You can search the scholarship webpage based on your area of study, the stage in the program you are in, the deadline, or any other tags as listed in the sidebar.
job Opportunities
The Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries in the Department of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit, Catholic university, seeks applicants for Quarterly Adjunct Lecturer (non-tenure track) positions to teach courses in Theology, Spirituality, Ethics, Restorative Justice, Pastoral Ministries.
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The Department of Jewish Studies of San Francisco State University has openings for part-time lecturer in Jewish Studies, with training in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Judaism, and Jewish Literatures, and Jewish Studies as a collection of related disciplines. Responsibilities include undergraduate--both lower and upper division--teaching in Jewish Studies. More details are here.
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The University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, is seeking applications for the position of Religious & Spiritual Life Coordinator. Here are the posting details.
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San Francisco State University is seeking to hire a Muslim Student Life & Interfaith Programs Coordinator. Visit: https://careers.pageuppeople.com/873/sf/en-us/job/519016/muslim-student-life-interfaith-programs-coordinator-student-services-professional-iii-equity-community-inclusion
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If you come across any calls for papers, job openings, or scholarships that might be relevant to your peers at the GTU, please share them with me. Also, if you have any questions with regard to the workshops or any suggestions to improve this newsletter, please email me: cmotupalli@gtu.edu. Thank you! - Chai